05/21/2026
What's the hardest part of our job? It's not the scheduling and planning, nor the packing and unpacking. It's not the airports, the driving, or the traffic. It's not the hours. The hardest part of our job is the honesty. It's looking at that sweet little lady who loves her horse and saying, 'Ma'am, your horse isn't a jerk; he's in pain.' It's saying that if you don't like what your horse is doing, you're going to have to change something about yourself. It's saying that more bit won't fix your problem, but writing accurately will. It's saying that your horse needs more time before going down the trail on that trip you've been looking forward to all year. It's saying, 'Yes, your horse is smooth, and I know it feels good to you, but your horse is upside down, broken into, and his pelvis is tilted with his legs tracking out behind, which doesn't feel good to him.' The hard truths can hurt. I know; I've been there. We don't know what we don't know, which makes it an even harder pill to swallow. But we owe it to our horses.
When you're honest with people, it can sometimes be considered a lack of kindness because kindness is often measured by how well we tell people what they want to hear. But what we hear and see is a horse begging for help. So shouldn't we be kind enough to be honest for your sake and your horse's? To keep your horse sane and sound, and therefore keep you safe? The world calls it brutal honesty; the horses call it relief. Finally, someone will say the hard things, even if they aren't referred to as the kind guy or the funny guy who makes the clinic entertaining. Maybe it would be easier if we couldn't see – not see that the horse is in pain, confused, scared, or shut down. Not seeing these things would allow us to just tell people what they want to hear and make it as easy on them as possible, because seeing things can be very painful and draining. It's also carrying a future grief for the horses we haven't even met yet.
So, it's always with us and on us to do right by the horse. To continue our original mission, which we started 14 years ago, to be a voice for the voiceless and hope that the right people will hear what's in our hearts and know that we're not only here for the horses, but also here to go through this journey with you every step of the way. We're not here to sell smooth, easy, and fast; we're here to promote truth, correct, and sound for the horse's sake. It's a worthwhile journey to be on, and the horses will thank us for our honesty and kindness❤️
