TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
So much is averted and avoided by not taking responsibility for yourself/actions. People love to take responsibility for all the good things or even things that sound bad that actually make you look good. So and so abused this horse and it's _____ so I'm having trouble trying to fix it. This horse ______ so it threw me off because _______. (blah, blah)

Now, I'm not saying that this stuff isn't true or doesn't happen. But, let's analyze the difference between the following two sentences.
1. My horse threw me off.
2. I fell off.

Yep, in both cases you hit the ground and it probably didn't feel so great for any number of reasons. But, if the fact is that your horse did what you said, i.e. stopped really short because you yanked back on the reins in your own panic, and you flew over his head because you were up and out of the saddle, the horse didn't throw you off.

You fell off.

But, "I fell off" sounds so much worse, doesn't it? Saying my horse threw me off retains your ego and sadly, frequently allows you to not get your skills better because, after all, it's not your fault!
I'm not trying to crush anyone's ego, here. I'm trying to help you get better and if you don't think it's your fault, you won't be in a hurry to fix it. You fell off. SO WHAT!
The only real "so what" is that you are looking at it from a viewpoint that will not benefit you. Really! You will not benefit from telling yourself you're better than you are and it was your horse's fault. This story spin is easy. The truth? Difficult. But, that doesn't change the reality of the situation. If you can say to just yourself, "I fell off" you're on your way to fixing it.
There are so many different situations and causes for the various ways we end up on the ground, but analyze truthfully or ask someone who was watching what they saw, to see if your idea of what happened is in line with an outside view. It happens so fast sometimes and skills and perception get out of whack. Ponder, will it really kill you to admit, even just to yourself, that you fell off? If there was someone watching that knows horses, they'll know anyway that you fell off and didn't get thrown off, so... Don't go looking for corroboration. Hopefully, that someone watching can give you a more accurate account of what happened so that you can work on fixing it. If you don't believe you have anything to fix because it wasn't you... ? I'm not even saying that you're not trying to fix things every time you get on. I'm sure you are. However, be/get more precise with your assessment of yourself and horse so that you can precisely focus on the points that will help you stay on top. There is an art to riding ( The Art of Riding, Book 5, sadly well away in publishing time but started) well. It's not just staying on.

Bucking may or may not be a different story. If the horse was bucking because that's what he does for whatever reason and you can't stay on, it still doesn't necessarily mean he threw you. If the horse really wants you off his back that's a different story and we're not talking about that here.

SPOOKING

Is there someone out there who likes riding a spooky horse? Anyone out there who likes sitting on a horse whose hair tingles under you and feels like a bomb ready to explode? Anyone out there who likes having a horse jump right on you because something to either side or behind or in front spooked him and your 12 square inches of real estate seems to be the best place for his 1100 pounds to be?
People... this will NOT take care of itself. If you don't tell horse that isn't how it's going to be from now on, it will not stay like this. It will get worse! And Worse!
If you take the time to re-train you and your horse to not spook, it will continue to get better. But, both of you must consistently challenge each brace and thought process in the beginning. And the beginning isn't a specific time frame. It's until it's good. Then it's a maintenance deal, but the more you maintain it, the less you have to.
Your approach to de-spook training is so important. If you approach it wrong, you will cause the horse to get more worried and more spooky. Ask someone if it's not working for you.

I was a judge for one of the obstacles on the ACTHA competitive trail ride in Bumblebee the past Saturday. Huge turnout, 95 or so riders. Always interesting to watch what the riders and horses are doing. Some of the handling/bits/attitudes are distressing to watch, but, all in all it's enjoyable. But, it's interesting how many people tell their horse to do the wrong thing and don't know it. I score the horse higher if he is doing exactly what the person asks even if it isn't what the task is supposed to look like because he is following the direction. But, then I score the rider lower for asking incorrectly.
Some people are jerking their horse's head with their rein coming across their belly button and on toward their opposite shoulder and wanting horse to step over with the front feet, yet the technique with the rein and body position they are using is directing the hind feet and causing a turn on the forehand instead of the required turn on the haunches.
I just have to sit there and watch. I'm not sure how to get the word out about the skills needed to operated horse feet. There should be a way for people who don't know they don't know this to find out.
Suggestions????
Maybe a judges corner on an ACTHA newsletter. I'll look into it.

Be Open to the Possibilities.
Having a plan is great. But, it frequently means you miss what is actually happening in the moment that is a precursor to what you would need to accomplish the very task you were meaning to do in the first place.

For example: You're approaching a jump. Horse is bracing laterally on the turn and picking up speed (which means he braced vertically against the bit, too!) Yet, because you decided to jump, you continue. You may get over the ump, but... getting over that one jump isn't really the answer.

Getting over jumps well is the answer. Now, you don't always have to stop going over the jump, but certainly take time to remind horse how you'd like the approach to be afterward. If you don't take care of this, you are then telling horse that how that just went down is correct. After all, you didn't ever say so. What else are you telling horse is fine, when it's not now you would really like it?

Softness and willing response vs. bracing and malicious compliance. One keeps getting better, one keeps getting worse.

Tom Dorrance must have had great reasons for not being famous. He didn't approach any horse matter in a way that the average person wants to "get something done". And most people don't want to start where they need to start. So, I'm guessing he only worked with someone who was open to not knowing and was interested in finding out.

Now, I'm not going biblical on you, it's just that everyone knows this verse - Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door is opened to you. Nowhere does it say - tell yourself and everyone how good you are and you will be.
Every day with horses is one heck of a learning experience. Every nuance, movement, non-movement, notice what you notice. You don't have to DO anything, but notice, be aware and wonder.
You will not get to be a horseman without constant learning. There really isn't a get to. It's a constantly changing awareness of what is. Then, you can do stuff and see what happens.

Per the comment on prepping ideas for veterinary needs.

It's an old saw and is in my book, but I also understand that the depth of the concept is frequently not understood. Will your horse do as you ask forward, backward, left, right, up, down or stand still WHEN you ask?

If we even ask this question of ourselves, we get to the do as you ask and then aren't very precise about the answer. But, the second part of the concept is WHEN you ask.

If a horse does what you ask because he was going to do it anyway, or it's convenient for him, or it's not a big deal, no difficulty or stretch, that isn't what we're going for here. Will your horse do it when he doesn't want to?

This takes time setting up situations where you can test horse's responses and test your own skills, observations and knowledge. While you don't need to have the exact experience that you may encounter down the road, it certainly helps if you take every opportunity that arises and make up others.

Taking every opportunity encompasses a lot more from the person in awareness and a lot less of making opportunities. This is because all the little things that horse does that person does not correct/teach are where the opportunities are. A step here, a shift in weight there, put this foot here, no, not that foot and don't shove me with your nose when you're irritated. You can pin your ears and swish your tail, but not for very long. Only as long as I see that you're trying to figure it out. Do you have to? How can you get out of this? You don't understand. Yes, horse those are perfectly fine questions for you to have and contemplate. I'll wait. Well, ready to give it another shot? Well yes, we are working on this. No, not that foot. No, not there. That wasn't it. Nope, not that. I'll wait. But, I'm going to keep asking and only helping you with a small clue every so often if I think you really don't UNDERSTAND. I'm not going to help you much if you're just being difficult because you think you can out persist me.

ALL this can happen just walking over to where you were going to tack up. If you tack up without fixing these slights, they will carry over to the ride where you might have a bit more trouble with them once you're mounted. Even if you don't have trouble that day, when the chips are down or the vet is there or some other crisis arises, right when you really hope that your horse is going to do as you ask WHEN you ask, horse is going to say, "well, I rarely do as you ask, why would I do it when I REALLY don't want to"? And horse's response is right. Why would he? It, of course, is a matter of trust and respect along with time spent earning both that contributes to cooperation and accomplishment.

People just want to get on. Sadly, getting on isn't as much fun as it could be if horse did what person wanted. This doesn't make horse bad or wrong. Not at all. Just a horse. Person doesn't take the time to be precise and horse is aware of every lapse of precision because he gets points for it.