06/16/2025
Horses did not evolve to be ridden.
They did not evolve to go in circles.
They weren't designed for any of it.
WE decided that we would get on their backs and ride them into battle.
Then, we decided we'd ride them for sport.
We didn't know better. Not at first.
We tacked them up and threw ourselves on top of them. We labeled any and all misbehavior as some kind of rebellion, as if the horse was plotting against us. We "worked" it out of them with sweaty saddle blankets, tied up legs and leverage.
We broke the horse. Literally and figuratively.
Then, decades later, we learned more about their bodies. We learned about growth plates, development, the spine, the structures and how it all works together. We learned about their nervous systems, their social structures, how they learn, how they feel. We began to know better...
Yet we didn't do better.
And so we continue to break them.
We push them too far, too fast, too young. We accelerate training to meet the needs and desires of the human ego. We use gadgets and tools designed to create pain and leverage to put the horse into the "frame" that we deem desirable.
And we break them.
We do permanent damage to the spine that can't be undone.
We create lasting scar tissue to ligaments and tendons that support the most delicate and intricate structures of the horse.
We overdevelop muscles that create nerve impingements, continuous pain and hyped up nervous systems.
And for what?
A blue ribbon? The thrill of the ride? The jackpot? To be able to say we've conquered the beast?
Cool.
I'm not saying we can't do the things we love to do with our horses. I'm saying we need to do it WITH them. Not TO them. Our success in the saddle cannot continue to exist at the expense of the horse.
We know better now. So do better now.
Take the time it takes to properly develop the body.
Take the time it takes to heal the nervous system and teach it to regulate.
Take the time it takes to create an emotionally healthy horse who loves the work as much as you.
"Okay, well how long will it take to do that?"
As long as it fu***ng takes.
For one horse, it may be 6 months. For another, it may be 3 years.
They are individuals. Beautiful, imperfect, intellectual, spiritual, kind individuals. And they do not conform to the timelines of human existence.
Enjoy the journey instead. Savor the small moments of progress and fall in love with every single part of your horse that makes them who they are. Give up the need for dominance, for quick fixes and for human satisfaction.
I'm so tired of seeing horses who have bodies and souls that have been ruined by humans...sometimes past the point of "fixing" any of it.
So please, do better.
You can be the difference.
Be the human your horse deserves.
