03/05/2026
📣 “Are we losing real horsemanship?”
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much the horse world has changed—and not all of it, in my opinion, for the better so I’m going to address it.
I grew up in a time where a handshake meant everything.
You bought a horse on trust. Your word was your bond. Loyalty mattered. Reputation mattered. And horsemanship wasn’t something you bought—it was something you earned through years of experience, graft, and learning from real horse people.
And buying horses was completely different too.
You’d be out competing, and there’d be that one pony on the circuit that was hard to beat. You’d watch it, ride against it, learn its strengths—and often that was enough.
That pony could be bought there and then, at a show, based purely on what you’d seen.
No trials. No endless vettings. No long lists of requirements.
As a child, I wasn’t saying “I want this type” or handing over a wish list.
It was simply:
👉 That one does the job. That’s the one.
And that was it.
It didn’t matter if it wasn’t the perfect type.
It didn’t matter how it went in the contact.
It didn’t matter what bit it wore, or whether it had quirks in or out of the stable and a vetting? What was one of those? You saw if the horse/pony was suitable with your own knowledgable eyes.
What mattered was this:
You made it work.
That pony was yours, and it was your responsibility to build a relationship with it—whatever it took. You didn’t swap it, you didn’t write it off, you didn’t move it on because it didn’t suit you perfectly and there was no sales of goods act to fall back on it didn’t exist it peoples mindsets.
I believe because of this and no fall back throw away option You learned. You adapted. You grafted.
And in doing so, you made something of the horse/pony.
I can honestly say—every pony we bought, I made work. There was no throwaway mindset. No “not fit for purpose” mentality. That just didn’t exist in the same way.
And the way we managed horses reflected that mindset too.
We weren’t surrounded by endless products and specialists.
We relied on solid, traditional horsemanship.
– Horses with duvets on with circingles holding them in place or even further back straw in their rugs made out of sacks.
– Feeding straights—oats, barley, simple feeds you understood
– Boiling up linseed properly
– Sugar beet done the right way
– A proper hot bran mash after a hard day’s hunting or competing, often with a touch of Epsom salts
– Grooming that meant something—strapping a horse properly, not a quick brush over
You knew your horse inside out because you had to.
You didn’t outsource its care—you lived it daily.
And then there’s the way horses were produced and conditioned.
Fitness wasn’t done on a screen or a programme—it was built through real work.
– Gallops
– Long days out
– The beach and the sea
– Using things like weighted boots as part of strengthening and conditioning
You only have to look at examples like Red Rum, trained by Donald McCain, who famously used Southport beach and the sea as part of his training. The legend that is John Whitaker cantering through the Yorkshire fields popping over brick walls, That kind of thinking—working with the environment—was second nature.
And young horses?
They weren’t wrapped in cotton wool.
Many were started by going out hunting—learning to go forward, to think, to travel, to jump, to be part of a herd. They learned the job by doing the job.
Now?
It feels like we’ve gone the opposite way.
If you’ve got a dressage horse, the legs are seen as far too valuable, too protected to even consider letting them go across a field or do something outside the arena.
Everything is controlled. Everything is managed.
And yet people still end up with horses that go sour, switch off, or lack genuine enthusiasm for the work.
And then there’s another side to this conversation—one that’s become incredibly controversial.
The way horses were broken and produced.
There were tools and methods used back then that, in the right hands, were part of producing countless quality horses that went on to perform at very high levels.
Things like draw reins, side reins, and stronger aids weren’t unusual—they were tools. And like any tool, they depended entirely on the hands using them.
Now?
You wouldn’t dare put a photo or video online using certain tack or methods without facing serious backlash.
Even experienced riders and professionals think twice—or keep things behind closed doors—because the reaction from the modern-day audience can be instant and intense.
And that raises a real question…
👉 Have these tools become the problem…
or is it the lack of experience and understanding behind them that’s the issue?
Because when knowledge drops, tools get blamed.
Now… it feels very different.
We’ve got:
– X-rays on every horse before it’s even sat on
– 5 different vets giving 5 different opinions
– £150+ lessons with “top” instructors
– Specialists for everything—dentists, chiropractors, physios, massage, therapy machines
– Endless feeds, balancers, supplements, gadgets
And yet…
Have we ever seen so many horses broken, lame, or written off?
It makes me question—
Have we progressed… or have we overcomplicated something that used to rely on good, solid, common sense horsemanship?
That’s not to say everything modern is wrong—far from it. Veterinary advances have absolutely saved and improved countless horses.
But I do think we’ve lost something important along the way.
👉 So here’s the question…
Are we improving the industry—or are we slowly losing the art of true horsemanship?
I’m genuinely interested in people’s thoughts—especially those who’ve been around horses for decades.
Jennifer Thompson
CEO, Vecthom Sporthorses
Further parts to this debate to follow, including the sales side—covering the modern approach to buying and selling horses coming soon.
