07/30/2025
Everyone Who Rides Is a Trainer—The Real Question Is: What Are You Training?
There’s this common idea floating around that there’s a line between riders and trainers. Like “trainer” is some special title reserved for professionals, and everyone else is just a rider along for the ride. But here’s the truth, plain and simple:
If you ride a horse, you are a trainer.
You’re either training that horse to be better—or you’re training that horse to be worse.
There is no neutral.
That might sound harsh, but horses are always learning something every time you interact with them. So the real question isn’t are you training your horse, but rather, what are you training them to do?
Training Isn’t a Job Title—It’s a Result
People tend to think “training” is some formal process that happens under the guidance of a paid professional with a whistle and a plan. And yes, good trainers absolutely have a method, a process, and a structure. But the act of training happens every time you swing a leg over, pick up the reins, or even halter your horse.
Every time you ride, you’re teaching. Every time you handle your horse, you’re reinforcing something. And the scary part is—if you’re not intentional about what that something is, it’s usually not good.
You might be teaching your horse to:
ignore the leg,
push through the bit,
lean on the forehand,
avoid pressure,
spook to get out of work,
blow through transitions,
or flat-out disregard you as a leader.
And you might not even realize it’s happening, because a lot of bad training doesn’t feel bad in the moment. It just feels like a horse being a little “off,” or having a “bad day,” or “not liking that one thing.”
But horses don’t do things at random. They do what they've been trained to do—on purpose, by accident, or through neglect.
You don’t have to be a world-class rider to train a good horse. But you do have to be consistent. You have to have standards. You have to be present and paying attention. And you have to stop blaming the horse for things you’ve allowed, tolerated, or failed to address.
You’re training with every cue, every aid, every reaction. If you ask for something and your horse ignores you, and you let it go—you just trained them that your cues don’t mean much.
If your horse gets pushy at the gate and you say, “Oh, he’s just excited,” and you let it happen—you just trained him that excitement is a reason to ignore boundaries.
And if your horse stops listening altogether, but you just keep riding the same way hoping it gets better, you’re not just holding them back—you’re helping them get worse.
That’s training, too. It’s just not the kind that leads to a better horse.
Training Happens In the Small Things
It’s easy to think training only happens when you’re working on something obvious—like leads, stops, or lateral work. But training happens just as much in the boring stuff:
Does your horse stand still when you mount?
Does your horse wait until you ask before moving off?
Do they lead respectfully, back when asked, yield their hindquarters, soften when you pick up the reins?
Those little things are where all the real training lives. That’s where your horse is learning who you are, what you expect, and what they’re allowed to get away with.
Good training isn’t flashy. It’s not about spinning fast or sliding far. It’s about the small habits that build a safe, reliable, responsive horse. That’s what real trainers focus on—every single ride.
You’re Either Teaching Good Habits—or Reinforcing Bad Ones
Horses are pattern learners. If something works once, they’ll try it again. If something gets them out of work, they’ll remember it. If you let them drift to the gate one day, you’ve just taught them the gate is an option. If you bump the reins to slow down and then let them blow through that cue because you’re tired—that becomes the new standard.
What you allow is what you teach.
What you ignore is what you teach.
What you’re inconsistent with is what you teach.
So if your horse gets worse the more you ride—don’t look at them. Look at you.
Because whether you meant to or not, you trained that.
The Best Horses Aren’t Born—They’re Made
People love to compliment good horses. “He’s such a nice horse,” they’ll say. And that might be true. But behind every “nice” horse is someone who made sure that horse learned the right things. Somebody held that horse accountable. Somebody didn’t excuse away the nonsense. Somebody trained—every ride, every day, every moment.
And here’s the kicker: if you’re not training your horse to be better, you are leaving a blank slate open for them to teach themselves—and what they teach themselves usually involves shortcuts, resistance, and ways to avoid pressure.
That’s not a flaw in the horse. That’s just a horse being a horse. It’s your job to teach them better.
So… What Are You Training?
You don’t have to call yourself a “trainer” to be one. The horse doesn’t care about titles. The horse only cares about what you’re teaching them today.
So ask yourself:
Am I training my horse to soften, or to brace?
Am I training my horse to listen, or to tune me out?
Am I training my horse to be confident, or to be anxious?
Am I helping them progress, or letting them stall out?
Because like it or not, you are training your horse every time you’re with them.
That training can build a better horse, or it can break one down.
It can build trust, or it can create confusion.
It can build habits that last a lifetime—or habits you’ll be fighting for the rest of that horse’s life.
Final Thought: Own the Job You Already Have
You don’t need to be a pro to train your horse well. You just need to take ownership of the role you already have. Be aware. Be consistent. Be intentional.
Because every rider is a trainer.
And every horse is the product of that training.
What kind of horse are you making?
