Horses are not problems to be fixed

I am tired of seeing horses being treated harshly in the name of training, it leaves an even more bitter taste in my mouth when that sort of training is marketed as kind and ethical and as if its somehow doing the horse a favour.

It is not kind, nor is it necessary, to cause high-stress to horses in the name of training and making them safe to be around. If the training is causing the horse to explode, rear, pull back and try to kick you in their desperation to get away from you then surely we can see it is not kind or ethical.

There are plenty of ways to teach horses boundaries and help them navigate through our world without causing them to resort to these behaviours. But I suppose when all you have in your toolkit is a hammer everything looks like a nail.

There is so much more to horses than whether you can get them to do something or not. Often these horses are struggling because their bodies are sore and they’re living in a state of chronic stress. The last thing they need is to be yanked and chased around to make them comply.

If you value your relationship with your horse and genuinely do want to treat them kindly, please seek out professionals who understand learning theory and behavioural science and consistently show calm, relaxed horses. Training should look quiet and “boring”. I have plenty of free information on my page and website if you’d like to move towards a more peaceful, horse-centred approach.

High-stress training is unnecessary and detrimental to your horse’s wellbeing. We are at an exciting time in the industry when welfare is really being pushed to the forefront. Let’s all strive to do better and treat our much-loved horses with the respect they deserve with the wealth of information we have available to us. 🐴