THE VERDICT Falling off doesn’t make you a better rider and it can cause serious injuries. You won’t find a good rider who hasn’t fallen off but it’s experience that makes you better, not hitting the deck. Sure, trickier horses teach you lots and there’ll be times when you do fall off and learn something from it, but this is different to falling off being necessary for progress. When it could affect someone’s behaviour to the point they take unnecessary risks, perhaps the definition of a decent rider needs a tweak that values time in the saddle over time falling out of it.
THE VERDICT While a horse’s sex can impact their behaviour and is certainly something to consider when buying one, we’re strongly against discriminating our equine best pals based on their sex. Sure, some mares may need different management or handling, but this is true of all equines and we know the best owners treat their horses as individuals. Just like we wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) tar all chestnuts with the same brush, if you don’t judge each horse on his or her own merits, it’s you who’ll miss out.
THE VERDICT A huge amount of the joy of riding comes from developing a partnership, and this just can’t be done when one side is forever placing all the blame on the other. Instead of writing off your horse’s attitude, why not approach the issue in a different way? Sometimes all that’s needed is a simple reframe to get your horse speaking your language.