09/05/2026
UNPOPULAR OPINION: LET PEOPLE RIDE YOUR HORSE. š“š„
Yep. I said it.
If your horse can ONLY be ridden by youā¦ Iām not convinced thatās a broke horse.
Before everybody gets mad, hear me out. š
If weāve actually done our job correctly, our horses should be able to handle different riders, different hands, different balance, and an occasional mistake.
I have people get nervous about getting on my horses because theyāre scared theyāre going to āwreckā them.
Nobody is going to wreck my horse in 20 minutes.
And if 20 minutes with a nervous beginner can completely undo your horseā¦
Maybe the problem isnāt the beginner.
Now, does that mean I hand my horse to every idiot who walks through the gate?
Absolutely not. š
Thereās a difference between being careless and giving someone a controlled opportunity to learn.
Let them make a mistake.
Let them be awkward.
Let them learn what it feels like when a horse actually takes care of them.
Let them experience a horse that forgives them when they donāt get everything right.
Because somebody did that for YOU.
At some point, you were the beginner.
You were the one with the wrong hands, wrong seat, wrong timing and way too much confidence for the amount of knowledge you actually had. š
Somebody still put you on a horse.
Somebody trusted a good horse to teach you.
And maybe that horse taught you more in 20 minutes than you could have learned in 20 lessons.
We ALL started as the person who didnāt know what they were doing.
So donāt get so good at riding horses that you forget what it felt like to be the person who was just learning.
Because hereās where I REALLY think weāve gone wrong:
We spend so much time protecting our horses from beginners that we forget beginners are the future of this industry.
If every good horse is ātoo specialā to let someone learn onā¦
Where exactly are the next generation of good horsemen supposed to come from?
Your horse doesnāt need to be a babysitter.
But a truly good horse should be able to teach someone something.
And sometimes the best thing you can do for the future of horses isnāt winning another buckle.
Itās putting someone on your horse and giving them the opportunity that someone once gave you.
š„ So letās debate it:
Should good horses be ridden by different levels of riders, or should your horse ONLY be ridden by experienced riders?
I want to hear both sides. š
Ariel Hahn
šø credit Rustlinā Rose Photography
