10/26/2026
Things I Won’t Sugarcoat as a Horse Trainer. 🙃🐴
30 days isn’t going to undo years of bad habits.
I don’t care how talented your trainer is. If they claim they can fix it in 30 days it probably won’t last or there will be other issues that pop up because they were crammed and jammed.
Sometimes you’re the problem.
Sometimes it’s your horse. Sometimes it’s both of you feeding off each other’s bad decisions Either way, somebody has to say it. And I promise I’m not telling you because I enjoy awkward conversations.
The horse comes first.
Not your show schedule, not your expectations, and definitely not the timeline you came up with before your horse was consulted. I’m going to do what’s right for the horse standing in front of me, even if that means taking the scenic route.
Your horse isn’t plotting your downfall.
I know it feels personal when they spook at the same trash can they’ve walked past 437 times, but horses aren’t waking up in the morning brainstorming ways to ruin your day. Sometimes they’re confused, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, or just having a moment. Our job is to figure out which one before assuming they’re being jerks.
My time is valuable too.
I love my clients, their horses, and what I do. But I also have a schedule, a business to run and a barn full of horses that all require my attention. Boundaries and barn policies aren’t personal. They’re how I keep the circus running without actually becoming the circus.
Obedience and understanding aren’t the same thing.
Just because a horse does something doesn’t mean they understand it. I want horses that can think through situations, not horses that are terrified of getting the wrong answer. I’m trying to develop functioning members of society not four legged remote control cars.
Your horse might be in the wrong career.
You can have the fanciest papers, the best breeding, and a pedigree full of champions. That doesn’t mean your horse got the memo. Sometimes your fancy show prospect just wants to wander around the mountains. Sometimes the horse you want to pull out every two weeks and trail ride would rather be in the four walls of the arena. Genetics are great, but personality doesn’t always read the brochure.
More riding doesn’t always mean more progress.
Sometimes the biggest breakthrough happens in 10 minutes. Sometimes I spend an entire session working on something that looks painfully boring. And sometimes we have to revisit kindergarten because apparently standing still and steering are advanced concepts today.
Your horse is allowed to have a personality.
That doesn’t mean they get to run the show but I don’t want to train the character out of them either. I like a horse with a little personality. Clearly… considering I seem to have a talent for collecting the equine equivalent of society’s misfits.
Sometimes the horse you want isn’t the horse you have.
And that’s okay. Not every horse is destined to be a world champion, a kids horse, or your next unicorn. Sometimes you’ve got to stop trying to turn a horse into something it isn’t and start appreciating what it actually is.
I’m not manufacturing progress for social media.
Some days we’re doing fancy things. Other days we’re working on standing still, steering, or remembering that the arena they’ve trained in for two months isn’t suddenly haunted. Not every training session is Instagram worthy.
I’m going to tell you what I actually think.
If I think your horse is sore, overwhelmed, in the wrong program or that you’re contributing to the problem, we’re going to talk about it. You pay me for my knowledge and experience, not to sugar coat the truth just to get more money out of you.
At the end of the day I’m not interested in producing robots, rushing horses through a program, or putting a pretty bow on something that isn’t actually fixed.
I’d rather give you an honest horse than an impressive looking problem.
