Hmm, well...

Riding - I am terrible. I have had several years of lessons, and require several hundred more. Riding has never been my favorite part of being around horses. I can stick on pretty good, but that's about it. I should post a video...but I never let anyone take one.

The rest - I launched into horse ownership with a fervor unmatched. The more I learned, the less I knew. What I do know for sure is that mucking stalls and grooming ponies is a lot more rewarding for me than riding a nice course. I am confident that my mucking and grooming skills are at a good level. I am also confident that my ability to read behavior is well above most people with similar experience. I attribute this to many factors, the biggest of which is trial and error. I left horse country with my herd in tow to the frontier, and am on my own in all practical respects. It is very much a sink or swim situation, and I rely on my horses to tell me what to do. I do not think that my level of horsemanship is very high on an absolute scale, but I think that given my time and exposure, it is coming along nicely. The biggest lesson, again, is understanding that you are never done.

I have also achieved a nice level of knowledge in the area of hoof care, again out of necessity. The best lesson I learned is what is "out of my league". I learned what I was able to trim/assess and when to call in more experienced people. I am happy with my level of knowledge on hoof care, and my ability to build on that knowledge. I have figured out where to go for answers, and that is the most important part.

My level of knowledge/experience with teeth and illnesses is weak. I need to improve in both these areas, and am seeking a short internship with the vet around here to try and build a practical base. I am particularly interested in learning more about bit-fitting as it pertains to teeth and jaw structure, but we will see how that comes along.

I am also weak at assessing soreness/lameness. If there is heat or swelling, easy. If there is only a mild gait disruption, I am poor at diagnosing. I have recently improved in this respect, but am far from competent.

I rely on a lot of people around me for advice, and periodically come to boards like this to draw out information. More often, I rely on the people I see as having excellent horsemanship and barn management skills (in real life). Anything I "learn" on the internet gets run past one of my real life advisors for validity.