09/11/2025
Morality and Horsemanship
It’s tempting to believe that morality can be legislated, that we can enforce our sense of right and wrong by mandating laws, by shaming, or by threatening others into compliance. But morality is subjective and doesn’t bend so easily to external pressure. Especially in horsemanship, where values and practices are as varied as the people who love horses, we can’t force anyone into alignment with our standards by wagging a finger.
I believe, truly, that everyone is doing their best with their horses. That doesn’t mean everyone’s best looks the same. It doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes witness things that I find absolutely deplorable. I do. And yet, I also know that most of those actions come from people who think they are serving the horse in some way. Harm doesn’t usually spring from cruelty; it often grows out of ignorance, frustration, fear, or the belief that there is no other way.
I know this because I’ve been there. I’ve done things I now recognize as harmful. At the time, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I wasn’t able, or willing, to see through the horse’s eyes. I was too tangled up in my own agenda, too focused on outcomes rather than relationship.
Our ability to extend empathy to a fellow sentient being, horse or human, is closely tied to our own sense of safety and contentment. When we feel threatened, judged, or out of control, our thinking brain shuts down, and we fall back on defensiveness. When I hear someone call a horse stupid, I understand it usually means they’ve just been outsmarted by one. The horse isn’t the fool in that exchange, the human has simply lost access to patience, perspective, or creativity.
This is why I’m skeptical of anyone who claims to have all the answers. Horses are too complex, too subtle, too variable for any one person to master fully. Most days I feel more overwhelmed than enlightened by how much there is to learn. Likely more than I will ever be able to absorb.
But in the face of that enormity, I carry a simple philosophy: do the best I can, for as many horses as I can, and do my very best to harm none. That doesn’t make me perfect, or always right. It simply means I walk forward with humility, curiosity, and a willingness to keep learning.
Because morality in horsemanship isn’t about proving we’re right, it’s about giving the horse the best chance we can to feel safe, understood, and respected.
If this way of thinking resonates with you, I explore these themes more deeply in my new book, The Horse Lover’s Guide. It is a collection of stories, reflections, and lessons from my own journey, written with the hope that it inspires more harmony between people and horses.
