07/31/2025
Everyone Who Rides Is a TrainerâThe Real Question Is: What Are You Training?
Thereâs this common idea floating around that thereâs a line between riders and trainers. Like âtrainerâ is some special title reserved for professionals, and everyone else is just a rider along for the ride. But hereâs the truth, plain and simple:
If you ride a horse, you are a trainer.
Youâre either training that horse to be betterâor youâre 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 isnât are you training your horse, but rather, what are you training them to do?
Training Isnât a Job TitleâItâs a Result
People tend to think âtrainingâ 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, youâre teaching. Every time you handle your horse, youâre reinforcing something. And the scary part isâif youâre not intentional about what that something is, itâs 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 itâs happening, because a lot of bad training doesnât feel bad in the moment. It just feels like a horse being a little âoff,â or having a âbad day,â or ânot liking that one thing.â
But horses donât do things at random. They do what they've been trained to doâon purpose, by accident, or through neglect.
You donât 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 youâve allowed, tolerated, or failed to address.
Youâre training with every cue, every aid, every reaction. If you ask for something and your horse ignores you, and you let it goâyou just trained them that your cues donât mean much.
If your horse gets pushy at the gate and you say, âOh, heâs just excited,â and you let it happenâyou 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, youâre not just holding them backâyouâre helping them get worse.
Thatâs training, too. Itâs just not the kind that leads to a better horse.
Training Happens In the Small Things
Itâs easy to think training only happens when youâre working on something obviousâlike 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. Thatâs where your horse is learning who you are, what you expect, and what theyâre allowed to get away with.
Good training isnât flashy. Itâs not about spinning fast or sliding far. Itâs about the small habits that build a safe, reliable, responsive horse. Thatâs what real trainers focus onâevery single ride.
Youâre Either Teaching Good Habitsâor Reinforcing Bad Ones
Horses are pattern learners. If something works once, theyâll try it again. If something gets them out of work, theyâll remember it. If you let them drift to the gate one day, youâve 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 youâre tiredâthat becomes the new standard.
What you allow is what you teach.
What you ignore is what you teach.
What youâre inconsistent with is what you teach.
So if your horse gets worse the more you rideâdonât look at them. Look at you.
Because whether you meant to or not, you trained that.
The Best Horses Arenât BornâTheyâre Made
People love to compliment good horses. âHeâs such a nice horse,â theyâll say. And that might be true. But behind every âniceâ horse is someone who made sure that horse learned the right things. Somebody held that horse accountable. Somebody didnât excuse away the nonsense. Somebody trainedâevery ride, every day, every moment.
And hereâs the kicker: if youâre not training your horse to be better, you are leaving a blank slate open for them to teach themselvesâand what they teach themselves usually involves shortcuts, resistance, and ways to avoid pressure.
Thatâs not a flaw in the horse. Thatâs just a horse being a horse. Itâs your job to teach them better.
So⌠What Are You Training?
You donât have to call yourself a âtrainerâ to be one. The horse doesnât care about titles. The horse only cares about what youâre 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 youâre 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 lifetimeâor habits youâll be fighting for the rest of that horseâs life.
Final Thought: Own the Job You Already Have
You donât 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?
