When I was studying to be a riding instructor my teacher back then, Christina Drangel, often talked about having patience as an act of courage and to learn from the "carrot land".  

Now this was soon 2 decades ago but this metaphor has continued to evolve with me and mirrors how I view education—not just as a process of cultivating behaviors but also as a way of building strength. 

Planting the Seed

Every behavior starts as a seed—a tiny idea we want to grow into something strong and sustainable. But before we can plant it, we need to prepare the soil. Nutritious, well-cared-for soil represents the foundation we create for learning.

This might include setting up the right environment, ensuring the horse is in a positive emotional state, and having a plan for reinforcement.

Once the seed is in the ground, we water it. We wait. Nothing seems to happen.

This is often the most challenging phase. It's easy to lose patience and give up. The process feels futile, especially when there are no visible results. But growth is happening below the surface. The roots are spreading. The behavior is starting to take hold, even if we can’t see it yet.

Clearing the Weeds

In the meantime, weeds might sprout—unwanted behaviors or misunderstandings that pop up alongside the desired growth. These weeds need to be cleared out without damaging the tender shoots of the new behavior. Removing them carefully, without discouraging the horse or uprooting progress, is part of the work.

Case Study: Ellen’s Journey

One example of this process comes from my horse Ellen, who started as a very crooked horse. Not only was she physically imbalanced, when she moved to me she was also very stressed and had a hard time enjoying training at all. I wanted to introduce her to reward based training AND be quick about also helping her with her physical balance. Targets was the way for us to do this and to work on our connection and her engagement and autonomy.  In the beginning she was willing to follow the targets but still crooked and somewhat stressed out to work on exercises that challenged her stability. The main focus was finding the right amount—enough to keep her calm and relaxed while still encourage exploring new movements. Just like us, horses have a balance they perceive as "normal," and it can feel uncomfortable to change it.

We started small, always keeping the long-term picture in mind. What we called a shoulder in in the beginning of our work together looked very different from the one we could do after some years of work together. At least from a gymnastically aspect....from the idea that Ellen now liked gymnastic work and grown in confidence I couldn't be more happy.

If we want to do some more advanced movements—or ride at all—then we owe it to our horses to help them develop both mental and physical balance together. 

Recognizing the Growth

When the first signs of growth appear, they might not look like what we envisioned. A tiny sprout pushing through the soil doesn’t resemble a carrot, even though it’s the start of one. Similarly, early versions of a behavior often look unpolished or incomplete. They can be hard to recognize as part of the final product, especially if this is your first journey with your horse.

It’s often only at the time of harvest that the full picture emerges. When we finally pull the carrot from the soil, we see what we’ve been nurturing all along. The process transforms vague beginnings into clear results. But this only happens if we’ve trusted the process and kept showing up—if we’ve watered, weeded, and waited.

Trusting the Process

The carrot land metaphor reminds us to honor every stage of growth: the soil, the seed, the first fragile shoots, the weeds, and finally, the harvest. Each phase is necessary and interconnected, requiring care and trust. Experience helps us develop this trust. It teaches us that even when progress is invisible, growth is still happening.

Carrot land also highlights why education takes time. During this time, it’s not always possible to see the results until the carrot is finished. That’s why it takes courage to face all phases—the waiting, the uncertainty, and the effort—before the final outcome is revealed.

Cultivating behaviors—like growing carrots—is time consuming, but it’s well worth the effort. The reward isn’t just in the harvest but also in what we learn along the way: the connection we grow with our horse and the joy of seeing them grow.