Comments like Palm Beach’s are often made by people who handle already trained, unspoiled horses all the time. I don’t know Palm Beach personally and I don’t know how his/her comment was intended, but I could think of probably 20 friends who would say something similar as they lead around their perfectly trained show horse that was selected for it’s docile temper and has years of training (by someone else) under it’s belt. Comments like that are NOT typically made by people in the trenches who are bravely dealing with imperfect, less finished equine specimens.
Training is a long process. Horses are complex creatures and remaking their behavior patterns and attitudes can require a long period of time. Some horses have deeper levels of anxiety, energy or distraction, or have gotten away with pushing humans around in the past. Some were gelded late. Some have been affected by the high adrenaline experience of racing. Some are simply used to being handled/led in a snugly controlled fashion.
And, at the end of the day, some very excellent horses will occasionally retain quirks for a lifetime despite an otherwise very high level of training.
My respect goes to horse owners like the OP who are facing the challenge of a more difficult horse with humility and patience. I admit, I am annoyed by people who look down their noses at owners who have horses still in these “rougher” stages. This attitude creates a very discouraging environment for people who are committed to developing young or difficult horses. How on earth are these horses supposed to be developed into useful animals if we act like it is some kind of poor reflection on the owner if they aren’t “trained” with a snap of the fingers?
Personally, I am only annoyed by owners of difficult horses when they fail to maintain control of their animal and allow it to disturb or endanger other horses/riders.
