08/22/2026
Maybe this is a counterintuitive thing to post, especially since I'll soon be announcing an opening for a training spot in September... but I feel like I need to say this anyway...
Today reminded me why I don't want to be taking outside training horses forever.
Not because of difficult horses & not because of difficult clients...
It's because every horse I work with leaves carrying a little piece of my heart.
When a horse comes to me, I don't just try to teach them to saddle, pack, or ride.
I genuinely open my heart & soul to them.
I try to show them exactly who I am because I don't believe there can be real trust without honesty and vulnerability. If I want a horse to trust me enough to show me who they truly are, then I have to be willing to do the same.
More than anything, I want every horse to feel heard and understood.
I've found that when a horse feels understood, the training changes. We stop acting like opponents trying to win numerous battles, and start becoming partners trying to understand each other and work through problems together.
That kind of partnership creates a bond.
And that's the hard part....
Because at the end of the day...
They're not my horses.
I pour my heart into helping each horse I come in contact with, navigate the domestic world, knowing that one day they'll climb onto a trailer and head home with the people who own them and also love them.
And that's exactly how it should be.
Not everyone has the time or experience to train their own horse, and I truly believe the world needs more ethical horse trainers.
But today, as I stood there with tears in my eyes watching one of my students load up and head home, I was reminded yet again-
I don't think my purpose is to train hundreds of horses.
I think my purpose is to help thousands of horses, especially mustangs... by inspiring and teaching people how to better understand them...
Currently I have some things building in the background that I can't wait to share with you all when they're ready to honor my greater purpose to the horses, so stay tuned...
Until that time, I will train.
Because while each horse I train may always leave with a little piece of me... I hope they (and my client) also leave knowing that, for a little while, they had someone who truly listened. Someone who saw them for who they were instead of who they were expected to be. And maybe because of that, they leave just a little more confident and a little more prepared to find their place in the domestic world.
❤️ FearLis
P.S.- The horse in this photo is actually one of my very first client horses... and the very first mustang I ever touched.
Callie and her first owner, changed my life in ways I'll probably never be able to fully explain or understand. Years later, her owner gifted her to me, and she became part of my herd. Today she's happily retired with friends back home, and every time I visit Pinedale (home), I make sure to go see her.
She is proof to me that sometimes the horses we think we're helping, end up helping us just as much... and if we're lucky, we get to carry a little piece of each other for the rest of our lives.
📸 Credit: Miranda Mitchell
