For me, there are 2 types of equestrians.
The fakes and the real ones.
First of all the fakes:
These are the people who claim to 'know' horses, because they ride one every week at their riding school. But some of these people don't even know how to saddle up a horse, or how to lead them correctly. They think they can ride difficult horses because they rode one who bucked once in his life...
They ride with whips and spurs, pull the reins to hard and don't even have a bond. Sometimes they evolve to the real equestrians, but most of them stay the same and don't understand horses at all.
Secondly, the real ones:
These people have at least ridden 10 different horses and at least a couple of troubled ones. They have been around horses all of their lives and know more than one discipline.
They know a lot of sicknesses and how to give first medical aid. They mostly have a closer bond to the horse or have their own horse.
BUT: not all of the real equestrians are good, some only want to win and achieve high goals, these are not the ones I support. I support the ones that know natural horsemanship, those that know that the horse doesn't need you. You need them, and if you're lucky, one day, they will 'need' you.
This is purely my opinion, and I don't claim to be either of them, I am my own type of equestrian, I make mistakes and I'm still learning, after 15 years of experience.
This is not to offend anyone! Just my opinion on the horse world :)
Lots of Love
