By Jim Wofford

Find such a horse and treasure him. Teach him that you will trust him with your life. Give him the education he will need, and then sit quietly while he does the job you have very skillfully and very patiently taught him. He won't let you down. We owe all this and more to our horses. As Jackson Browne says, "There are lives in the balance."

A highly regarded coach, Jim Wofford has ridden on three Olympic and two World Championship eventing teams. He won the U.S. National Championship five times. Visit his website at jimwofford.blogspot.com, and read his monthly columns in Practical Horseman magazine.

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