Is it better for my progress to ride easy or difficult horses as an intermediate beginner?

We can sometimes get a little black-and-white in how we think about horses, calling some "easy" and others "difficult". Every horse has strengths and weaknesses. A horse that finds the canter strike-off easy, for example, may struggle with something like leg-yield.

As a rule, riding different horses is good for you, precisely because each one has its own strengths and weaknesses, just as we do as riders and as people.

Some horses are more schooled and others less so, meaning they need more education. Learning something completely new on a well-schooled horse that already knows the exercises you are tackling can be a sensible choice, above all if you feel unsure or nervous.

That said, it is by no means impossible to learn new exercises on a horse that does not know them well either. In that case you usually need an instructor on the ground to guide you and tell you when you have it right or are on the right track, because it is very hard to know when you are learning new exercises. If you like, talk to your riding instructor about trying a few more different horses. ☀️