What does it mean to adapt to the horse's pace?

I can best explain from my own perspective what it means to adapt to the horse's pace. In this case, I mean the pace of development. How quickly a horse develops into a riding horse, or at best into a healthy, long-lived and well-groomed riding horse, depends on my abilities as a person and trainer, but also on the basic condition of the horse, the level of training and, last but not least, on the horse's conformation and breed and its abilities.

Nowadays, we have countless images in our heads of proud, easy-to-ride, beautiful horses that literally float over the ground. The reality is often different. We have horses at home with heavy chests, short legs, long backs etc. that we would like to give a different appearance. We then often only see everything that doesn't work and not what we have already achieved through a lot of empathy. We can be satisfied with small steps forward. And we can patiently adapt our horses' curriculum to their physical abilities. It's fun to watch the horses in their own little learning environment, where they feel comfortable and can slowly face new challenges.

That's why I always show pictures of my work, ground work, lunge work or ridden work, even if no perfect lesson can be seen yet. Because especially for a horse with a difficult physique, which is not born to carry the rider's weight easily, it is important to know that the person at his side is proud and happy! Everything in its own time, well thought out and with a lot of care!