Renegade Equine

08/12/2025

The biggest privilege. Seniors are the best 💖

What a privilege it is…

…to watch the first few white hairs appear around a horse’s eyes, the face you’ve known for years. Maybe since they were a gangly youngster, or perhaps only in more recent seasons. Either way, you’ve become their constant.

One day, as you run your hand up along their face and brush aside their forelock, you notice something different. A few grey hairs, soft yet stubborn, threaded through the colour you’ve always known. Just a smattering, almost as if they were dabbed on with a brush when your back was turned.
And they stop you in your tracks.
Because there it is.

The first, quiet whisper of time.

There’s a particular kind of privilege in caring for an older horse. Not just the honour of fulfilling their everyday needs. But the deeper, quieter privilege… being the one who will walk beside them as they soften with age. The one whose hands they will come to rely on completely. The one who will know them for the rest of their life.

They won’t be passed along. They won’t be asked to start over with someone new. They’ll only ever know your care, your routine, your way of doing things. Until the day they take their last breath. That’s something profound.

Not everyone gets to be the person who holds space for a horse’s entire arc. You see the wonder of youth, the steadiness of middle age, and the gentleness that so often comes with time. Not everyone chooses it. Not everyone can. But for those of us who do…

…what a privilege it is.

To know them, not just when they were strong and sound and “useful,” but when they slow down and ask for a little more patience. A little more help. A little more softness. To be their person, not just for the ride, but also for the parts of the journey where you walk side by side, even for the times you carry the most weight for them instead.

Because even as their bodies change, their hearts don’t. The bond grows stronger and deeper and even more familiar.

What a privilege it is.

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©️Lauren Johnson Graveney Equine: Horse Track System - dedicated to Jasper who has graced us with the first few grey hairs this year. With us forever 💚

08/04/2025

The more you know!

08/03/2025

I’ve been called “Mushy Katie” more than once because I’m so pro-mashing!

07/27/2025

"BUT MY HORSE IS WELL CARED FOR…" A LOOK AT EQUESTRIAN ATTITUDES AND WELFARE

A recent study interviewed riders, trainers, and coaches from the UK, Canada, and the US to explore what equestrians think about performance horse welfare — and why some practices that compromise welfare are still defended.

Participants consistently expressed concern for horse welfare — but some also justified harmful practices as necessary for training or competition.

These contradictions showed up in five key themes:

• Conflicting ideas of a 'good life': Equestrians often have strong opinions on what horses deserve, but struggle to align these ideals with the realities of daily training and competition.

• Objectifying the horse: Horses were sometimes described more as tools or athletes than as sentient partners, making it easier to ignore harmful practices.

• Instrumental care: Management often prioritises performance results over emotional or physical well-being — focusing on what the horse can do rather than how they feel. Horses may be immaculately turned out, well fed, and kept sound, but still expected to tolerate uncomfortable or restrictive training without resistance.

• Traditions: Cultural influence and group norms — “this is how it’s always done” — shaped decisions. Many participants admitted that practices learned early in their training persisted over time, even when their awareness of better welfare practices improved.

• Cognitive dissonance: Even when welfare concerns were recognised, participants often downplayed them. They justified or reframed issues to reduce the discomfort of holding conflicting beliefs and behaviours — for example, believing welfare matters but still using harsh bits or pushing horses despite signs of discomfort.

This study highlights how deeply embedded cultural habits and beliefs can block progress, even when riders want to improve welfare for their horses.

It’s yet another reminder that caring for horses means more than physical upkeep. It means reflecting on traditions and being willing to adapt our practices to support not only their physical health but also their emotional and psychological well-being.

Study: Cheung, E., Mills, D., & Ventura, B. A. (2025). “But my horse is well cared for”: A qualitative exploration of cognitive dissonance and enculturation in equestrian attitudes toward performance horses and their welfare.

07/23/2025