
03/03/2025
🍃 The strongest thing you can offer your horse is softness. Softness of hand. Softness of heart. Softness of presence. Horses react to force, they don't follow it. What they follow is trust.
So many of us were taught that to gain respect, we have to be "in charge"—to make the horse listen, to establish dominance, to always be in control. But true leadership in horsemanship isn’t about control at all. It’s about trust. And trust is built through softness.
👉🏻 Softness doesn’t mean weakness.👈🏻 It means clarity. It means communication. It means recognizing the moments where less is more.
A horse who is met with force will brace. A horse who braces will develop their mind and body in a way that is not conducive to a happy life with humans. A horse who is met with patience will soften. A horse who softens will learn that what you ask of them helps them feel ✨better.✨
When you step into the barn today, ask yourself—am I using more pressure than I need? Am I listening as much as I’m asking? Am I giving my horse the space to trust me, or am I trying to make them do what I want? To follow my agenda? To appease my ego?
Because in the end, the softest thing always wins. 💛🐴