The scapegoating of novice horse owners

I have had these comments on my posts enough to write about it. It will be something along the lines of “people should have to take a test before they’re allowed to buy a horse!” or “if these novice owners didn’t buy horses we wouldn’t have these problems”.

They frustrate me for two reasons

1) It completely disregards the whole point of my posts which are always talking about the systemic issues that run through the entire horse industry from the top down

2) Novice/inexperienced horse owners are some of most conscientious and clued up when it comes to behaviour and welfare as they haven’t spent decades being indoctrinated into the industry norms

The “people should have to take a test” ones make me laugh, a test from who, who would be judging this test? I’m not going to name organisations but I cannot think of one in the UK I would trust to uphold high welfare standards given what goes on. If we’re looking at the five freedoms model of welfare most “approved” livery yards struggle to meet those standards. So who would be judging whether you’re fit to own a horse and based on what exactly? It reeks of elitism.

What about the high-end competition rider who’s horses get 4 hours of individual turnout per day and spend the rest of their time alone in their stables, do they pass the test?

What about the rider who has owned horses for 50 years, feeds their horses cereal mixes and lunges them in tight side reins, do they pass the test?

Neither of those people are novices.

Most of the novice horse owners I meet have their horse’s needs very high on their list of priorities, they have done their research and are very aware of what those needs are. They also tend to be the type of horse owner who really just love their horses for who they are and want to build a good relationship. They’re in a much better position to be making good choices for their horse’s welfare.

When I’m posting about client horses who have been seen by different professionals and nobody has recognised that the horse is struggling or in pain, its interesting that its the owner who was seeking help who is blamed for not knowing enough, and not the professionals who are meant to support them.

Novice or inexperienced horse people are not the problem here. The entire industry has normalised high-stress and pain behaviours to a degree that we do not recognise them, some of the most traumatised horses I meet have come from high-end competition yards or from people who have had horses in their family for generations. Traumatised horses are the norm, shut down horses are the norm, horses in pain are the norm, we describe them as “fine” as long as they still comply.

I am very defensive of people who are trying their absolute best. Scapegoating them as just some “novice idiot” who has no business being around horses, when in reality their horses are more likely to better have their needs met, have much lower stress levels and have a better quality of life.

Time and time again I am meeting clients who perhaps are fairly new to horse-owning and are surrounded by very “experienced” people telling them they’re being too soft and their horse is taking the mick. Of course when I go out to assess the horse we discover a very stressed horse with pain/discomfort issues, which the owner already suspected but kept being told otherwise by the very “experienced” people.

If I was a horse I would very much like to be purchased by a “novice” person who wanted to learn all about me and build a relationship with me rather than passed through yards where the most important thing is that I perform and everything else is an after-thought.

I think its so exciting how much information people can access online now and how we can all seek out information for ourselves. I have met many clients through them reading my posts on here and recognising their own horses behaviour in them, I think that’s really cool and is a huge reason why I continue to write. I want to reach the people who are looking for a different way.

Are you new or new-ish to horses and have felt dismissed by people who’ve been around horses longer than you? 🐴