Life as the Blue Creek Trail Riding/Packing Clinic instructor is always interesting, never boring, and often as much a learning experience as a teaching one. The personalities of humans and horses always make for a lively program, and this was especially evident this year when some guests brought their own horses.

It is extremely important that your horse respects your space. Any number of situations could arise: the horse moves toward you and steps on your foot or clips your heel, or you go to halter or bridle him and he pulls his head away or pushes it toward you, causing you to lose your balance.

The horses were tired and hungry, and we needed to find them good feed. We had travelled all day in the alpine, over shale ridges and snow patches, through meadows that were just greening up, and finally over a pass between two rocky promontories. Route finding had gone well, but the last trail — dropping 1000 feet down into a pass — eluded us. We ended up in the bottom of a bowl above 400 foot cliffs, taking the brunt of a nasty wind.

Discipline is a touchy subject. Riders and trainers have varying attitudes and techniques when it comes to discipline; combined with the range of horse dispositions, behaviours, and experiences, you can see why diving into this topic is like diving into a can of worms.