Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship And Personal Growth With Van Hargis

As you should know, we love getting listener questions and feedback on the show. This episode is centered around one of those questions, and it has to do with the “It” factor—meaning greatness. Can greatness in our horses be taught, or do they have to be born with it? I find this to be a fascinating question that clearly straddles the overlap between horsemanship and humanship. Key Takeaways First, let’s get my definition of a great horse that has the “It” factor. There are many aspects to what makes a great horse, I don’t think it’s just one thing. Athleticism is important, because the things we tend to ask of our horses require them to be strong and swift. Eye appeal is important too, a horse that easily displays that strength and athleticism and stirs that thing inside you called beauty. The biggest part of greatness in my opinion is trainability. If you can’t train your horse, they won’t do a single thing with that greatness. You can’t teach this quality to your horse—all you can do is take what is alre