And most IMPORTANTLY - Patience is a requirement, not an option! Let me tell you a bit about my Equine teachers...
Regular lessons and clinics at The Balance Point Equestrian Learning
Center are taught by Rachel
Steen, a life-long horsewoman with over 20 years of experience
training horses. In her horse-career, she has bred Quarter Horse and Arabian
performance horses, trained horses for Endurance, Eventing, Dressage, Driving,
Competitive Trail, team penning, and has shown in Western Pleasure, English
Pleasure, Trail, Dressage and Combined Training. She has experience training
all manner of horses, from draft horses to ponies, wild Mustangs to gaited
horses, and all sorts of in-betweens.
Whether its cowponies or dressage horses, the fundementals are the same.
Rachel: "I am the type of person who always asks WHY? When people couldn't give me an adequate answer, I had to find out 'why', the hard way. I thank God that I survived the "equestrian school of hard knocks"! It is not a learning methodology I would recommend to others.
It taught me however, the importance of communicating to students the function/reaction of each part of the horse/human partnership. I teach students how to read the body language of horses and FEEL what is about to happen in each moment. Timing is critical for accurate communication and learning.
By the time I was training horses in college, I had stumbled upon the techniques of natural horsemanship. It was so similar to what I had been doing with my own horses, but it was great to find validation through someone else's proven process. After college I sneaked into the world of dressage. I say sneaked, because even though I had always yearned to understand the secrets of collection, I was afraid to have my horsemanship critiqued by the civilized equestrians.
What I found through dressage was the basic training ideology that made every training moment make perfect sense! I began incorporating Natural Horsemanship techniques with Dressage principles and I found that even the most difficult and sensitive horses could learn to work happily with humans and become reliable mounts. And I found that my best cutting horse was my best dressage horse!
Throughout the years, I learned:
No matter how well educated a horse may be, he will be limited by the understanding of his rider.
Time spent building your foundation will enable you to build layer upon layer and far surpass those who skip their foundation.
And most IMPORTANTLY - Patience is a requirement, not an option!
Let me tell you a bit about
my Equine teachers...
MAJOR SPORT TWIST The first horse I ever
trained was my Quarter Horse gelding, Sport. He loved to swim in the ocean
in Hawaii, and he learned to appreciate snow when he went with me to college
in Northeast Oregon. His days of glory are long past, but he is
enjoying his retirement. Certain people still enjoy re-telling the story
of him getting in the house and christening my new white carpet, but I have
learned to accept Sport's twisted sense of humor. His life in
pasture consists of eating as often as possible and teaching the youngsters
of the herd to respect their elders.
MALAKH
From the moment of his birth, Malakh has been a very special part of my life.
He and I have shared our lives through both the good and the bad. His
name means, "Angel" but he is no soft dulcet-toned creature. 
He
is more like the Archangel Gabriel who embodies authority and power. He
teaches students to be confident and work with clear boundaries. Malakh
is a strict but fair herd leader. I've had several nervous and excitable
horses that are quieted by his authority when integrated into his herd .
ZAHIR KAMAL Zahir's name means "Shining Perfection",
needless to say I was very pleased with him when he was born! Zahir has
always been fun-loving and opinionated, but also very calm and trusting.
When I started him under saddle, everything was easy for him, and he never
made a fuss. Whatever I asked for, he gladly gave. Zahir was
so sweet and easy-going, I thought I could find him a home with someone
who could appreciate him more than me, since I already had Malakh. And after
much searching for the right buyer, I sold Zahir. What a tremendous
mistake! Zahir was gone a total of 8 months before I was able to get him
back, and yet it took me 4 years to clear out most of the baggage that he
aquired in his time away. The journey we had is worthy of a book in and
of itself. For now I will just say that in the end he learned
to trust again, and I promised him I would never sell him again. He is where
he belongs now, with me and the herd. 
BONNE VOLANTE My lovely Bonne has left me, but I will always remember what she taught me: a still, quiet, and calm confidence. Bonne was mischevious and sweet, and riding her was like trying to contain fire. Every student who met Bonne, fell in love with her. She somehow managed to convince every student that stroking her ears was much more important than work. Bonne taught me the importance of not rushing things - that learning must be free from tension. Since her passing, I have learned to find happiness in the things that are, rather than what will be.
SHELTON
Shelton is a 16.2h Thoroughbred I adopted a couple years ago. He was too dangerous and un-managable
for his previous owner, so she made arrangements for me to take him - permanently. I went back to square one with him, teaching him
trust and respect - the basics of submission. It was very difficult for
him to believe he no longer had to fight to be heard. Any physical or mental pressure caused him to explode violently.
The first 6 months I had him, I did not hold much hope that he would be
anything more than a pasture ornament. 
Finally, he got it. He had tested
my rules in a thousand different ways, and finally he said, "Okay, you mean
what you say." He learned that if he gave to the pressure, it would be released immediately. He learned that there would always be a "right answer" within his reach, all he needed to do was listen. Over time, Shelton has become one of my best lesson
horses. He loves attention, and has found happiness in his work. He has
even aquired his own fan club: ex-students send him all sorts of presents
every year.
TAMAR ALIYAAliya is the new addition to my equine family. Her
name means "to ascend". 
I really thought I had enough Arabians in my herd, but when I saw her, there was no question that she was what I needed. She is a sweet, gentle and calm soul who astounds me everyday with her quiet presence of mind. Aliya sire, Visionary, is Malakh's brother. And like Malakh, Aliya already shows his strong leadership skills. Unlike Malakh, she HATES getting in trouble! Teaching her is a tremendous joy, and I am certain we will have a great future together.
For now, she gives the best hugs, and that is enough for me:)" - Rachel