11/18/2025
Good thoughts.
The Real Safety Issue: Not Your Horse — Your Awareness.
I know I’ve talked about this before, but the comments keep rolling in and they’ve made me think a lot about the average rider nowadays. A while back I posted a photo of me riding my horse with my toddler—yes, without a helmet—and apparently that photo lives rent-free in some people’s minds because I’m still getting comments about her safety.
And here’s the thing… the harder people try to “prove a point,” the more they end up proving something else entirely: they’re completely out of touch with their horses.
Even after I gave a brief description of this horse’s training, temperament, and reliability (basically saying my toddler is safer on this horse than she is in the car seat on the way to Walmart), people still come charging in with worst-case scenarios.
“What if your horse trips or stumbles?”
Well… if my horse is stumbling across flat ground on a normal day, you can bet your saddle I’m not putting a toddler on him to begin with.
But secondly, I train my horses to carry themselves balanced, aware of their feet, and mentally present—not wandering around like teenagers on their phones.
“What if your horse slips and falls?”
My immediate question is:
Are you not aware of your environment when you ride??
Are you so mentally checked out when you swing a leg over that you don’t notice holes, slick spots, or obstacles? I’ve spent many years packing and cowboying. Out here you learn real quick that you must pay attention—badger holes and downed barbed wire don’t care how broke your horse is.
Terrain awareness isn’t optional. It’s horsemanship 101.
“What if your horse spooks?”
My counter-question:
How do you not feel the signs leading up to a spook?
A horse doesn’t just levitate six feet sideways out of nowhere. Their energy shifts. Their body tightens. Their focus changes. If you’re truly with your horse, you feel that before anything happens.
And I don’t want a horse who panics first and thinks later. I train mine to look to me for direction, even when they’re unsure. That’s why they stop and ask, “Okay, boss… what next?” instead of bolting to the next zip code.
“Most accidents happen on the most broke horses!”
True… but not for the reason people think.
Accidents happen because riders check out. They treat their horse like a machine and stop paying attention—stop feeling, stop noticing, stop communicating. Meanwhile the horse has been politely saying, “Hey… I’m uncomfortable,” and the rider is basically replying, “Lol nope.”
Whether I’m on a c**t or my most seasoned horse, I stay tuned in to their energy, body language, and movement. The moment you assume your horse “won’t do anything,” you’ve already stopped riding.
The real issue: people aren’t reading their horses anymore.
We live in a generation where people claim “horses are unpredictable” to justify every safety fear under the sun. But here’s the truth:
Horses are extremely predictable.
People just aren’t paying attention.
That’s why we see so much bucking, bolting, rearing, and drama today. When you ask owners when the behavior started, nine times out of ten they say, “It came out of nowhere!”
No… it didn’t.
The horse has been saying it for years.
Tail swishing. Tension. Head tossing. Hollowing out. Not standing still. Locking up. Inconsistent movement. Reluctance. Tightness. Changes in expression. All waved in front of their face like flashing neon signs…
But they didn’t notice until the horse finally had to yell to be heard.
Closing: Tune In or Hang On
Bottom line:
If you stay connected to your horse, riding feels like a conversation.
If you don’t… it turns into one of those “hang on and pray” rollercoasters people love to post in Facebook groups with the caption, “He’s never done this before!”
Trust me—he has.
You just missed the memo.
