30/01/2026
I feel this personally so I too am at war 💪
Who I’m at War With (Part One)
I am at war, and to be clear, I am not at war with you, your horse, or your current level of competence, coordination, confidence, or general life togetherness. I am at war with the parade of arseholes from your past who installed deeply stupid ideas in your head and then disappeared.
Every time I work with someone, I can feel them hovering. A parent who thought criticism was motivational. A teacher who confused authority with insight. A bully who peaked emotionally at fourteen. An ex-partner who weaponised doubt and called it honesty. Possibly a coach who mistook humiliation for instruction. These people now live rent free in your head, offering commentary you did not ask for and should not trust.
They tell you that you are too old, too slow, too stupid, too uncoordinated, too hopeless, and uniquely terrible with horses. They tell you I am judging you, even when I am not, because judgement has been the dominant language spoken to you for years. They tell you not to try, not to risk, and definitely not to start here, today, with this horse.
The impressive part is that most people think these voices are their own. They call it realism. They call it intuition.
So no, I am not fighting you. I am fighting ghosts. Loud ones. Confident ones. Arseholes with no data.
Here is what ruins their day. Humans are not fixed. Skill is not a personality trait. Confidence is not something you are born with or denied by the universe. Humans learn extremely well when someone believes in that capacity and knows how to teach.
I was lucky. Many of my own demons were intercepted early. Lies were challenged. Damage was contained. That made me resilient, and I refuse to waste that luck by standing quietly while other people drag old wounds into new moments.
The war I fight is for your right to begin. Here. Today. As a human who can learn. I win it with evidence, not platitudes. With a horse beside me, proving things are possible.
Those voices hate that.
They do not get the final say. Not today. Not with this horse. Not on my watch.❤
Collective Advice 143/365. Saving and sharing encouraged. Copying, pasting, or laundering through AI is not.😆