03/11/2026
INFORMATION IS NOT KNOWLEDGE.
I accidentally stirred a hornets nest of the internet over on another page and it’s got me thinking. This is a long one but please stick with me.
We live in an extraordinary time. Never before have we had so much information at our fingertips. The internet has opened doors, challenged outdated practices, connected horse people across the world and given us access to research, ideas and education that previous generations could only have dreamed of.
And that is a wonderful thing.
But there is another side to this endless waterfall of information.
In a strange twist, the very thing that should be broadening our understanding can actually be narrowing it.
Algorithms feed us more of what we already believe. Opinions become increasingly extreme. Communities form around particular ideologies, and before long, what started as an interest in learning becomes an identity that needs defending.
We can now gather, read and view vast amounts of information without partnering it with real world experiences and the years it takes to understand what it is we are actually reading.
We see it everywhere in the horse world.
Hoof care. Feeding. Horse management. Training methods. Bits. Barefoot versus shod. Stabling versus turnout. Traditional horsemanship versus modern approaches. Even entire equestrian disciplines.
Somewhere along the way, the conversation stops being about understanding the horse and starts becoming about proving that one particular way is the ONLY way.
Ideas stop mingling and cross pollination of ideas experience and knowledge in the real world stops happening as those most in need of learning stick to their one sect.
And I think we need to talk about why.
Somewhere along the way, I think the horse world, like of other places where strong opinions are formed, has started to information with knowledge.
Because at the heart of it, most horse people simply want to do right by their horses.
When you’re starting out, the horse world can be incredibly daunting and confusing.
You want to be a good horse owner. You want to understand your horse. You want to make the right decisions. You want to belong, to be accepted by your little pocket of the equestrian community, and to feel confident that you’re doing the best you possibly can.
But then you’re confronted with thousands of conflicting opinions.
One person tells you something is essential. Another tells you it’s abuse. Someone else tells you everything you’ve been taught is wrong. Realistically most are in the same boat and stage of understanding as you and trying to pretend they aren’t.
And suddenly, something as simple as caring for your horse becomes a minefield of guilt, confusion and fear.
This is where things get tricky.
Because humans naturally crave belonging. We want to be part of something. We want a cause to believe in, a community that understands us and the reassurance that we’re on the right side of an argument.
And when someone comes along offering absolute answers to complicated questions, it can be incredibly appealing.
Especially when those answers come wrapped in a passionate community of people telling you that you’ve finally discovered the truth.
Before long, curiosity can turn into conviction. Conviction into ideology. And ideology into an unwillingness to consider anything that challenges it.
That’s how rabbit holes of misinformation are formed. And it’s how perfectly well-meaning people can become increasingly radicalised in their opinions.
The irony is that the louder we shout about doing what’s best for the horse, the less willing we sometimes become to actually listen, observe and learn from the horse standing in front of us.
I’ve spent much of my life working with horses, across different disciplines, cultures, countries and environments. And if there is one thing that experience has taught me, it’s that the more you learn about horses, the more you realise how much there still is to learn.
Some of the most extraordinary horse people I’ve met have never read a scientific paper or attended a formal clinic. Others have dedicated their lives to veterinary medicine, research and studying equine behaviour and are equally amazing.
There is knowledge to be gained from both.
Science matters. Experience matters. Observation matters. Practical skills matter. And perhaps most importantly, the ability to question your own beliefs matters.
None of these should exist in isolation.
I’m increasingly concerned that in our rush to become experts in very specific aspects of horse care, we are losing something incredibly valuable.
General horsemanship.
The ability to read a horse. To recognise when something isn’t right. To understand behaviour, movement, health, soundness, environment and the individual animal. To adapt rather than blindly follow a methodology.
To be a horseperson first, before becoming a follower of a particular training philosophy, hoof-care movement or management ideology.
Horses are wonderfully complex animals. There are very few absolutes, and what works beautifully for one horse in one environment may be completely inappropriate for another.
We should absolutely challenge outdated thinking. We should welcome new research, improve welfare standards and be prepared to change the way we do things.
But progress doesn’t come from replacing one rigid belief system with another.
And being passionate about horse welfare doesn’t automatically make someone knowledgeable.
Information alone is not knowledge.
Information is what we consume.
Knowledge is what we develop when we combine information with experience, critical thinking, observation, humility and the willingness to keep learning.
So perhaps we need a little less shouting, a little less judgement and a little more curiosity.
Follow people you disagree with. Ask questions. Look beyond the headlines. Learn from people with different backgrounds and experiences. Be wary of anyone who claims to have all the answers and ridicules all others.
And never be afraid to change your mind when presented with better evidence.
Because at the end of the day, horsemanship shouldn’t be about belonging to a movement or winning an argument.
It should be about understanding the horse.
And the horse doesn’t care which side of the internet you’re on.
