This Question is a Test: If You Can’t Help, You’re Missing Key Skills
If I told you that outside I had a horse that wouldn’t get on a horse float (trailer), rearing up and rushing backwards, would you feel confident to help me?
I asked this question to an audience during a presentation on what I believe are the essential horsemanship skills everyone should learn. These skills are what I call the “vital few”—skills that have a disproportionately powerful effect on a person’s ability to positively influence a horse, helping the horse understand and gain confidence in what is being asked of them.
When mastering any skill—whether it’s playing a musical instrument, excelling in a sport, or advancing in a profession—certain skills are used more frequently and have a greater impact on performance. These are the “vital few.” The rest, while still relevant, are known as the “trivial many” because they are used less often.
Elite teachers and coaches understand the “vital few.” For a pianist, this could include scales. For a tennis player, it might be serving. For a medical practitioner, it’s methodical questioning. Whatever the discipline, identifying the “vital few” is crucial, as it determines where time and energy should be focused to develop mastery.
This concept is widely recognised in the development of expertise and is known as the Pareto Principle. It suggests that a small portion of actions or inputs (the "vital few") often produce the majority of results, while the rest (the "trivial many") contribute far less. For example, 80% of mastery might come from focusing on 20% of key skills.
I believe these skills are those employed to put a foundation on a horse. The foundation is akin to the basic operating system of the horse: ground handling, leading, tying up, simple groundwork to develop basic gaits, accepting a saddle, rider, bridle, guiding left and right, stopping, backing up, and transitioning up and down in gaits.
I have identified exactly what I believe are the “vital few,” and it might surprise you—they number just 22. They appear in this image below.
The 22 exercises and activities of my “Reboot Program”
I call my approach to teaching these skills “rebooting.” I use this term because these exercises and activities reset or rebuild both the horse and the rider. Training a horse in these foundational skills rebuilds the horse’s operating system, addressing and overcoming any glitches that are typically the root cause of behavioural problems. For instance, a horse that rushes, spooks easily or is reluctant to go forward, all have glitches in their foundation. They are behaviours that are solved by rebooting the foundation.
However, the transformation doesn’t stop with the horse—it also profoundly impacts the person. Developing a sense of competence in reliably influencing a horse is a powerful “knowing” to possess. It eliminates frustration and helps create an equestrian who can not only support their horse but also advocate for them. These individuals become better at discerning the root causes of issues and more adaptive at overcoming challenges.
There is far more peace and harmony in the partnership between horse and rider when the rider is skilled in these 22 exercises and activities. They provide a versatile skill set that is transferable to any situation, improving performance, overcoming challenges, and protecting horses from unnecessary struggles and bad advice.
Now, back to the horse that won’t get on the float…
Would you be able to help me?
Anyone I’ve taught these 22 “vital few” skills to would know exactly what to do. These skills provide an approach. Anyone with these skills doesn’t see this situation as scary or problematic. They’d simply see a horse that needs to learn how to load onto a float and gain confidence with the process. Everything we do with a horse comes back to the same approach: allowing the horse to gain clarity about what’s expected and feel safe doing it. It’s about breaking things down, finding a starting point, and helping the horse realise there’s no threat. Horses are the most gentle, trainable animals on Earth when you understand how to communicate with them and build their confidence.
Unfortunately, these skills—and a true understanding of horses—are not widely appreciated. It’s mind-blowing what a horse will accept when approached in the right way. Between my mid-20s and mid-30s, I spent around $40,000 on riding lessons. Yet in all those lessons, not once was I introduced to the “vital few” skills. Ironically, it is my mastery of these skills that makes me a great riding coach today…and I am effective as I teach them!
So why is this knowledge so under-appreciated in the equestrian world? Is it deliberate gatekeeping? A misunderstanding of horses? Or simple ignorance?
I am not sure, I think it is all these things and more.
By the way, hardly anyone in the audience raised their hand to help the horse. The sheer majority where my clients who had come and watched me present my talk on the topic.
So, would you have raised yours? If not, I have a few things I can offer you:
Enrol in my Reboot Program HERE, you will get my individualised personal help.
For my help in a group situation you can join my Society Membership which has all the 22 exercises as part of the Practical Skill Set Toolbox video series. On the private Facebook group (CWCH Members Group) starting the 1 December 2024, we will be going through all the exercises one by one. This will be a fun and motivating challenge as we watch everyone work through the exercises together. To join the Society Membership click HERE (it is only $19.95AU per month and can be cancelled at any time). Make sure you go to the Facebook group and request to join!
To watch this presentation for FREE by going to the App Store on your iPhone or Google Play on your Android phone and downloading my app called “Calm Willing Confident Horses”. If you have done courses with me before you can sign in, otherwise you can sign up using your Facebook, Google or Linkedin Accounts. Then follow the following steps below to access the webinar presentations below:
