15/05/2026
Yesterday was one of the hard days⌠đ
I helped a beautiful young thoroughbred gelding cross the rainbow bridge.
Jay was only six years old.
Too young.
Far too young.
But sometimes the kindest decisions are also the heaviest ones to carry.
Behind so many behavioural problems, âquirksâ, shutdowns, anxieties, and performance issues in horses, there is often pain.
Pain in the body.
Pain memories.
Confusion.
Compensation patterns.
Trauma from environments and expectations they physically or mentally could not sustain.
And unfortunately, sometimes there isnât a fix.
No amount of love, hope, injections, surgery, or wishful thinking can always change the outcome.
Today was one of those days.
As difficult as it was, I have enormous admiration and respect for Jayâs young owner, who made the heartbreaking decision to put his welfare first. That takes courage. Real courage. To let go not because you stopped caring, but because you cared enough to end the suffering.
We canât save them all.
And thatâs the part of horses people donât often talk about.
The broken bodies.
The emotional damage.
The horses bred for speed, convenience, or commercial gain without enough consideration for longevity, soundness, temperament, or quality of life.
Temperament matters.
Conformation matters.
Soundness matters.
Welfare matters.
Thoughtful, effective training matters.
Every horse deserves the opportunity to feel safe in its body and capable of the job being asked of it.
Sitting here tonight in the mud, feeling pretty low about it all, Iâm reminded again why education matters so much. Why awareness matters. Why good horsemanship matters.
The horse always tells the truth.
Not always immediately
Not always loudly
But over time, the body keeps score.
Perhaps part of our responsibility as horse people is not just learning how to ride or train horses, but learning how to truly see them as horses.
To recognise pain
To recognise try
To recognise when holding on is for us, and letting go is for them.
Run free, Jay
No more pain now, mate
Greener pastures from heređ¤
