Whether it’s something I’ve learned over time or something I have learned through a mistake, I try to learn from my experiences. It’s not always easy, but learning itself is the important part. I remember reading Ann of Green Gables once, and one thing that I remember the most is when Ann says something that basically means “I never make the same mistake twice, because the first time I make the mistake, I know how to avoid making it again”. I am pretty much the same way. I try to learn from my mistakes, figuring out what I did wrong so I won’t do it again. I also learn from other types of experiences, like field trips and other things like that. Learning from something over time is a little bit different. When I first bought my horse, I thought I knew everything I needed to know in order to take of him. I had read countless books and articles, gone on tons of websites, and talked to different horse people. I had already learned how to ride, too. So I thought I was all set. Boy, was I wrong! During the first year of having my horse, I learned a lot more than I had in all of my reading. I even found that some the things I had previously thought was true, was not. I learned how hard it really is to pay for and take care of a horse. I had to train him by myself, occasionally getting help from my trainer. Granted, he was already rideable and all, and I thought that meant I could just do anything with him. Wrong again. There is a lot of training you have to do to get a horse to learn something, and it certainly isn’t about just getting on and riding. I also learned a lot about the different feeds because my horse has a very sensitive stomach and it is hard to get weight on him. I learned a lot about the shots and things done for horses, and was surprised to learn that there was no difference between what was given to horses than what was given to ponies, as my mom and I already had a Shetland pony each. So, those are the ways that I learn from experience.