Find a Horse’s Present Skills to Set the Right Training Goals for the Future
SALIDA, Colorado, May 26, 2022—It’s hard to know where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been—and where you are right now. Nothing is more true when it comes to training horses. Julie Goodnight developed a revealing quiz to establish a horse’s current training level and make the right training plan from there.
“Think of a horse’s training level like literacy,” says Goodnight. “If there is a gap in foundational knowledge, like how to read, we need to go back and teach the ABC’s, not skip immediately to Jane Eyre. Horses run into similar limitations when riders ask for more complicated responses, and the lack of foundational skills lead to confusion and frustration.”
This quiz is one of the first steps Goodnight requires of students in her Goodnight Academy online coaching program to set a baseline, illuminate training priorities, and develop an effective training plan tailored to the needs of each horse and rider.
“Because I meet each horse and rider that enrolls in the program wherever they are on their journey on the day they join, I need tools to help me see the whole picture to know how I can best help them,” says Goodnight. “I’ve used these evaluation tools in my online coaching program for almost a decade now, and they’ve served me and my students really well!”
RELATED: Listen While You Ride with Julie Goodnight’s Private Audio Lessons
Explore Goodnight’s training library of articles, videos, and more at JulieGoodnight.com/Academy
The Colorado Horse Source is an independently owned and operated print and online magazine for horse owners and enthusiasts of all breeds and disciplines in Colorado and surrounding areas. Our contemporary editorial columns are predominantly written by experts in the region, covering the care, training, keeping and enjoyment of horses, with an eye to the specific concerns in our region.