I watched the documentary "Hoof Dreams" on Peacock the other day. It follows three women who event on their quest to make the Tokyo Olympics. I found it worthwhile to watch, and I was particularly struck by the various horses in the story.

If you are horse shopping, you may have heard the advice "Sound, Sane (or trained), Cheap-pick two".

This makes sense, a horse that is sound and untrained (or has behavior problems) or Trained and not sound will both be more budget-friendly than a horse that is trained and sound. You can spend upfront money on a horse that is already doing what you want to do, and is physically capable of doing it (at least so far) or you can spend time and money over time on training or soundness issues.

There is another pick-two scenario at play as well, though it is much less well-known in this format. Rider, horse, goal (or discipline) pick two. Basically, if it has to be this horse, you may need to be flexible in your desires and goals. If it has to be this discipline/goal, then you may need to rethink the horse. And if you are in the high-dollar "owner" category, if it is this horse, and this goal, sometimes you have to rethink the rider (or just get a return on your investment).

Horses are just as much of the team as the rider. Horses can have all sorts of physical issues that go undetected in a PPE, the farrier can have them at negative hoof angles or other subtle trim issues that cause problems, trauma, and anxiety from previous handling that can be difficult to over come... there is an endless list of things that can make it hard for a horse to perform at our dream level.

The horses were a little bit of a side story in the documentary, but each rider (and owner) was making these choices, and navigating this triangle as they tried to get to the Olympics. On a smaller scale, most people I work with are navigating this daily. Taking inventory of what is most important to you can help guide decisions around choosing a different horse, pursuing expensive vet treatments, or pivoting to a new adventure with the horse you have (driving. liberty work, trick training, etc)

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