04/11/2019
Let's talk about the most underappreciated professional in the horse world: The c**t starter!
Y'all, a good c**t starter is the most important person who will ever lay a hand on a horse. Sadly, a sorry excuse for a c**t starter can ruin a horse for good. An event specific trainer might blow up, or sour a horse for that particular event, but the horse can most often be carefully brought back around, or given another job. If the person starting your young horse blows them up, or sours them, that is the foundation on which any further work for the entirety of their life will set. Sure, someone can go back and "fill in the holes" but those holes will always be there. Even having been filled in, they will never be so strong as they would have been if they were a part of the original foundation.
Sadly, most folks don't consider the c**t starter to be nearly as important as they should. They just want someone to get on and ride the nonsense out of them. That's not a start. That is merely getting them sat on. People want to slap tack on one, ride them around for 30, or 60 days and send them off to a trainer to learn their new job. Most often, that person has had their event specific trainer picked out since that foal hit the ground. They can usually be found "looking for someone" to put 30 rides on one come January of that sucker's two year old year though.
There is a reason that many specialized trainers want horses to be started by certain people. For instance, We have several professional barrel horse trainers who love to ride behind a young horse we have started. They know how that horse has been handled, what that horse is going to feel like, and they will have been exposed to and ridden in real life situations. More than anything, They know that the horse will be properly prepared to begin learning its new career.
Good c**t starters often cost more than event specific trainers. Most folks balk at that. There's a damn good reason that they charge what they do! First of all, they deserve hazard pay! More than that, they earn their money by riding your horse. Your event specific trainer makes very little from the training of your horse. When they haul your horse to an event, you get charged a hauling fee. When they are helping you at the horse show, you get charged a coaching fee. They charge either a flat rate, or portion of the winnings when competing on your horse. Your c**t starter is too busy back at home riding your c**t to go horse show.
There is also a reason that good starters stay booked out. You only have to mess up once to learn that not everyone can start a c**t well. After that, most folks are keen to use only someone really good. That might mean reserving your spot a year in advance. It might mean waiting a couple extra months. Don't be cheap. Don't be impatient. Any of us can teach a horse how to go around three trash cans. Very few can teach one to be a good, solid, willing horse for the rest of their life.
