The path to knowledge

I was messaging back and forth with a friend yesterday, and something came up that has been a recurring theme in my life, so I thought I'd write about it a little today.

My friend is fairly new to horse ownership and she is struggling a bit because she doesn't like feeling incompetent.  She is accomplished in her professional career and enjoys feeling like she is good at things.  But as she learns more about horse care, she realizes how little she knows and she finds herself feeling like she is a failure at caring for her horses.

Our conversation reminded me of something that I learned when I was in a masters program for education.  One of my professors introduced me to the Four Stages of Learning:

1. Unconscious Incompetence
2. Conscious Incompetence
3. Conscious Competence
4. Unconscious Competence

When anyone is learning something new, they start at the stage of Unconscious Incompetence.  This stage is often referred to as "you don't know that you don't know."  Whether it is learning to paint, learning to read, learning a new job, or learning to take care of a horse, there is no way that a person can just start knowing all the things.  And there is no way they can know the breadth of the things that they don't know.

But over time, a person starts to learn terminology and techniques and they start to realize that there is a whole world of stuff out there that they don't know yet.  It can feel overwhelming and frustrating, especially for people who like to feel good at something or have achieved a lot in other ways.  This is the stage of Conscious Incompetence, or "you know that you don't know."

Eventually, though, if a person keeps working at the skill, they reach the stage of Conscious Competence.  This is the point at which things start to feel more comfortable because the person is both aware of what they need to do and also has a certain level of comfort with what they need to do, even if they aren't perfect at what they are doing.  I think I feel this stage most often when I'm schooling dressage movements.  I have a self-dialogue going in my mind where I remind myself to do things like sit back, engage my core, be aware of where my hands are, and feel the connection with the horse through the reins.  And if I follow my own instructions, more often than not, I get good results.

And sometimes, if we are lucky, we reach the stage of Unconscious Competence.  I think riding a bike is most often cited as an example for the average person.  At some point, a person no longer needs to think about how to balance on the bike and they can instinctively apply the brakes and steer and turn while talking or thinking about something else.  Their brain and body know what to do without conscious thought.

I was explaining this process to my friend as a way to tell her that she needed to go easier on herself.  Except learning horses is not like riding a bike.  The knowledge and skill required to care for them goes well beyond balancing on an inanimate object.  It is no longer enough to know that horses eat hay, drink water, and need shelter.  Horses of today are typically managed in such a way that owners need to know about dental care, hoof care, feeding concentrates, supplements, and medications, environmental management (e.g. stall care, field care, blankets, fans, fly sheets, fly sprays), body work (e.g. massage, chiropractic, other specialty fields), handling the horse on the ground, fitting saddles and other tack, grooming, wound and other medical care, and if they are lucky, they get to ride and then they have to learn one or more disciplines with enough competence to stay on the horse.  Plus, they have to know how to maintain a truck and trailer, and haul through a variety of conditions with an unbalanced load.  And God help the poor horse owner who wants to compete.  Then there are a plethora of associations and fees and rules to figure out.

I feel like I spend most of my time in Stage 2 (Conscious Incompetence).  It seems like I am always looking for new information to help me answer questions that I don't know the answer to.  Occasionally, I get to hang out in Stage 3 (Conscious Competence), and that is nice.  And sometimes I get a glimpse of Stage 4 (Unconscious Competence).  I would love to spend more time in Stage 4, but I have a feeling that even if I thought I was there, a little bit of research would send me right back to Stage 2.

For me, owning horses is always about a search for more knowledge, and that makes me happy on the aggregate level.  Admittedly, there are some situations and some days when my brain would really like to intuitively know the answer, and I wish I didn't have to dig in to a book or the internet or call a friend for help.  On the other hand, what an amazing gift to be able to enjoy life with an animal that has no expiration date.  There will always be something more to learn.  There will always be a way to improve my interactions with my horses.  There will always be something I can do better. 

Horse ownership isn't for everyone, really.  Even people who love horses.  I think being a true horse person means accepting that we will never know all the things.  We will never hang out at Stage 4 very long because something will happen to remind us we don't know all the answers.  Horses have a way of humbling the very best of us and I think that is a good thing.  

For true horse people, the path to knowledge doesn't have a destination.  There are too many side trails and rabbit holes to go down for us to ever find the end.  That can be hard to accept for many people, but if you can make your peace with it, the possibilities are endless.