"My horse loves his job"

You often hear “my horse loves his job” as a justification when anyone points out stress or conflict behaviours in a horse. Its a bit of a nothing statement, none of us can ever really know exactly how a horse is thinking, but we can see the obvious tells. If a horse loved doing something they wouldn’t actively try to avoid it.

My horse loves his job I just need to tie him up while I tack up so he can’t move away and I can avoid his teeth.

My horse loves her job she's just a nightmare to catch from the field when I come to ride her.

My horse loves his job he just goes to the back of the box when I enter with his tack.

My horse loves her job I just need someone to hold her or pin her against the wall so I can mount her safely.

My horse loves his job I just need someone to lead him into the ring/start box otherwise he naps.

My horse loves her job she just immediately has explosive diarrhoea as soon as she sees the horse box.

My horse loves his job he just needs "encouragement" from the lunge whip to load onto the trailer.

If this has made you feel cross or upset, I challenge you to just think logically for a second. Instead of coercing our horses into complying with us when they’re clearly telling us they’re uncomfortable, wouldn’t it be so much better if we improved things so we didn’t need to?

What is the first thing most horses do when the rider falls off in the ring? They try to leave, very few will continue trying to find the jumps or trotting perfect circles. I am not saying jumping horses is bad, but I am saying using “he loves his job” as an excuse to justify not addressing clear signs of discomfort is a total cop-out.

If you care about your relationship with your horse beyond what he can do for you, then its important to really look at what he is trying to tell you. Just because these behaviours are normalised doesn’t mean they’re okay. We can always do better. 🐴