27/05/2026
Something Iโve learntโฆ
Perhaps more deeply since becoming a mother, is that we ask an awful lot of women, especially women in the horse industry.
We ask them to build businesses, train horses, teach lessons, support clients, run properties, and somehow maintain the same standard of excellence they always haveโฆ while also growing, birthing, and raising tiny humans.
And when they pause, slow down, or need flexibility during that season, too often the response is disappointment instead of understanding.
I was speaking to someone recently who had chosen to pull their horse from a trainerโs program because that trainer had recently had a baby and, understandably, her time was now divided between raising her child and working horses. They knew her circumstances before sending the horse, but still felt dissatisfied when things werenโt moving as quickly or consistently as they had hoped.
And it made me think, unless youโve lived it, itโs hard to truly understand what this season asks of women.
As female horse trainers, many of us desperately want to continue serving our clients at the same level we always have. We want to be present. We want to deliver results. We want to protect our reputation and keep our businesses alive.
But in between school runs, breastfeeding, sleepless nights, nappy changes, feeding horses, mucking out stalls, replying to messages, cooking dinner, folding washing, teaching lessons, and trying to find five spare minutes to breathe, it can feel impossible.
Many of us are effectively doing three full-time jobs at once just raising children let alone running a horse training business.
And yetโฆwe still show up.
Maybe not perfectly.
Maybe not on the timeline we once could.
But we show up.
What mothers in this industry need most from their clients, and from themselves, is two things:
1. Flexibility.
Life with babies is beautifully unpredictable. The ride planned for 6am may happen at 6pm. A week that looked productive on paper may unravel because a child is sick or sleep has disappeared. Strict schedules and motherhood rarely coexist peacefully.
2. Grace.
Grace for the trainer who is trying harder than anyone realises.
Grace for the mother who feels guilty every time she falls short of her own expectations.
Grace for the woman navigating a completely new identity while still trying to hold onto the career and passion she loves.
To the clients of female trainers in this season: if you value your trainer, please remember this, your inconvenience may be temporary, but your support can be life-giving.
Your patience tells her:
โI see how hard youโre trying.โ
โI respect what youโre carrying.โ
โI believe in you, even in this slower season.โ
And that matters more than you know.
To the mothers training horses while raising babies:
you are not failing because your pace has changed.
You are doing one of the hardest things a person can do, building a family while holding onto your purpose.
Some clients may leave because they cannot offer flexibility or grace.
Let them.
The right people will stay.
The right people will understand.
And the clients worth keeping will honour not just your work, but your humanity.
This season is not a weakness.
It is proof of your strength.
Written by:
Vanessa Thurner | Coolabah Equine
๐ธ: La Bella Vita Photography - Shannon Smith
