Dawn Gilbert Show Horses, LLC

06/23/2026

Correction is not abuse, and these principles will keep it from going there.

Leadership and Firm boundaries now days are seen as negative, overbearing, and tyrannical but done correctly actually sets much needed boundaried and expectations for our horses and in our lives. This is an excerpt from my book Beyond the Saddle that discusses guardrails for keeping these qualities fair. My book Beyond the Saddle can be purchased on Amazon.

06/23/2026

To piggyback off of my earlier post, since it seemed to resonate with some and hit others all wrong....

Im sure you've all seen/heard the fable-

The Tale of the Expert's Touch

A massive, multimillion-dollar ship (or factory) broke down, leaving its engines completely dead. The owners called in a string of top-tier engineers and specialists, but none of them could figure out how to get the machinery working again.
Finally, they hired a grizzled, old mechanic who had been working on these types of machines for decades. He arrived with his toolbox, methodically inspected the engine from top to bottom, and listened to its gears for a few minutes.Without breaking a sweat, he reached into his bag, pulled out a small hammer, and gave a specific component a single, precise, gentle tap. Instantly, the massive engine roared back to life and functioned perfectly.A week later, the owners received an invoice from the old mechanic for $10,000.Shocked by the seemingly outrageous price for a few seconds of work, the owners sent him a note demanding an itemized bill. A few days later, they received a revised invoice that read:
Tapping with a hammer: $2.00
Knowing where to tap: $9,998.00
Grand Total: $10,000.00

To relate this to the horse industry it's not difficult to believe that in the process of getting to the old man, the business owner probably hired a number of well advertised companies that came in (some he paid more, and some less) and-- 1) didn't have the knowledge to get the results 2)took the money and "put in the hours", but in reality were sleeping in a dark corner somewhere. 3) took the money, realized they didnt know how to fix it, broke something else entirely so they could fix that and call themselves the hero.

My point being, just to be very clear, is that not every trainer is perfect. Some are not a perfect fit for what you need... and some.... well... let's just say they earn their bad reputations. 🤷‍♀️.

To carry through with the parallels with this story- you don't have to just give up and be content with a broken machine.....but your money doesn't entitle you to a set number of hours either (unless that's literally what you're buying). You pay for the program. If it's important that the farm (oops... sorry... mechanic 🤪) be 10 minutes from your home- that's part of what you're paying for. If it's important that you use the same one that all your friends do- that's part of what you're paying for. If it's important they roll up in nice shiney rigs- that is part of what you're paying for.

In this story, the business owner wanted his machine fixed- he finally hired the right guy that actually could deliver results and got what he'd been trying to find all along. He went through some lemons along the way. To be clear, however, he never said "Please fix my machine but I want you to take a week to do it so I feel better about paying."

06/22/2026

Tori, we wish you all the joy with this guy. Looking forward to seeing what adventures you get up to! 💙🩶 💜

06/22/2026

Clients come. Clients go. That's a truism in this industry.

In this day and age, it seems like "everyone" is a horse trainer. That means there's plenty of options and opportunities to find a good fit if you're trainer shopping.

Over the years, during inboarding new clients and horses the primary discussion revolves around expectations. On the rare occasion an inbound client will "bad mouth" a previous trainer (instant 🚩🚩). Sometimes it seems warranted, but just as often its a simple, common, complaint.

So what are the most common? There are a few and mostly they revolve around time management.

* My trainer requires an appointment for me to see my horse.*

- Maybe they do. Someplaces have reasonable concerns about liability. If they own the facility, it can feel like an invasion of privacy with people showing up willy-nilly. If they rent, it might be a clause in their rental agreement. Your best course of action is to ask for an explanation.
Ex: My personal policy isn't that you need an appointment to see your horse. Come visit them any time *during business hours*, but you DO need an appointment to see . Do I think I'm that special.? No. I'm that busy. Im juggling the needs of multiple other customers, farm management- some days I have staff, some days I do not. Plus my own needs- laundry, errands, and bills do not pay themselves. (I wish!) Often times that means Im scheduling two weeks out or better.
This sort of thing is true no matter how large or small your trainer's program is. Your trainer wears MANY hats.

*My lesson times kept shrinking but I was paying the same amount!*
-This might happen if a trainer has overbooked themselves or is overwhelmed. It also might happen if as a client, you tend to roll in late, or don't understand your trainer's policy on start times. 98% of lesson programs will give you a start time for your lesson that is the start of your instructional period- not the time to show up to tack up. If.you have a lesson at 9am, that's when you shpuld be in the arena, as that's when your lesson starts- not the time for you to show up to catch Fluffy. Clarify that at the start of the relationship, not when you start to get resentful.

*Fluffy was ignored*
- Possibly. The better horses naturally get more time in most programs. The horses showing in the Open.... the ones that are hauling down the road every weekend. Its not fair. It seems like the owners with more money are catered to. Those Open horses DO cost more, and those owners bills are nothing you want to see. They tend to represent a large portion of a trainer's revenue, and therefore DO recieve a certain level of preferential treatment. That being said, the discrepancy may not be as large as you feel it is. Most trainers really do try to spread their time fairly. 10..15... 20.. head of horses and, generally, no ONE horse or owner is any more special than any other. The only time you *might* see that comes to when a trainer is choosing which horses to show themselves... or which horses get which stalls. Not always, and they are probably juggling a ton of other factors in their decision making process.

With all.of these things, before your ego takes a bruising, have some quiet, respectful discourse.

Asking for a transparent explanation can go a long way.

06/21/2026

06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day to the man that started all of this and enabled the hell out of me.

I'm not actually at a horse show- which in almost 50 years of being a daughter is a rare occurrence.

That's because my own "daughter" (4 legged type, to be fair) makes bad choices and needs bandage changes and meds. 🤷‍♀️. It runs in the family. 💁‍♀️

06/21/2026

Solving the problems of the world, one at a time.

Tonight it was fishing in the dark. 🎣🐟
(The buggy reality of it, not the song)

Things get can get realllllllly weird here at the end of the day. 🤷‍♀️

(As a side note, I feel like we didn't extend enough credit to Ella for being super matchy-matchy)

06/21/2026

If your week has been like mine, it has definitely had its trying moments.

The things we focus on are the things we give power to- so lets shine the spotlight on what was positive!

Tell me what went right this past week?

06/21/2026

She stole her momma's spot. 😂🥹

06/21/2026

Thankful for a vet that cares about my dog as much as they do my horses.

Thankful for leftover bandage materials from Andi... from Colton... from Sullivan.. and my mother's decision to brutally clean out her first aid supplies and bringing me her extras.

She's all doctored up and none too happy about it, but the pain is being managed and I don't *think* my carpet will end up all bloodstained...... (can't say the same for my clothes. Toe wounds bleed almost as bad as head wounds 🤦‍♀️)