You might measure your approach to a horse the same way as your approach to people because there are going to be some horses, like some people, who might be inclined to tune you out.

Anytime you are with a horse, no matter if you are a daily rider or one who just gets a chance to ride to the mailbox, you are interacting with your horse. It is all about the quality of the communication, not the quantity. Doing something right once in a while will far surpass anything done wrong more often.

Like Tom Dorrance said, ‘It boiled down to one thing: observe, remember, and compare.’ Do something, observe what you did, remember what you did, compare it to what you were doing before, and adjust.

When you find that the horse is compelled and interested in you, something in you changes. That can be healing or move you deeply.

It's a process and it's a matter of understanding the horse and through any of these little projects you have a beginning, a middle and an end. And if you made up your mind early when he's still scared, you'd think that wasn't working at all. Sometimes it might get darker, before it gets dawn. You might have to work at it a little bit in order for it to come out the other side.

My expertise lies in what I've devoted my life to. I wouldn't pretend to be a great gift to any other animal. My interest has always been in the horses.

I often tell people that I truly want the horse to be my feet and legs. I want to be an extension of the horse and him to be an extension of me. That's what I'm always working toward when I'm on a horse.