Ahimsa Equine

07/18/2026

honest and beautifully made

Listen to your horse and persist in your advocacy.

The 24 Behaviors of the Ridden Horse in Pain is a film that dares t...

06/25/2026

Amazing training from some incredible people

05/31/2026

Thanks for crunching the numbers on this social dynamic we all feel and now have some data for, Dr. Lindsay Palmer!

04/20/2026

04/17/2026

The sobering reality that is having the truth about your horse uncovered, after death.

My OTTB gelding, George, was an incredibly resilient horse.

He recovered from 2 slab fractures and a bone chip following his racing career, requiring surgery.

I followed the rehab protocol and chased the dream of taking him to the Thoroughbred Makeover, which seemed like the ultimate way to highlight my name as a trainer and lover of OTTBs.

He was young, just 4 years old, but industry norms helped me to feel I wasn’t pushing him too hard, though, in hindsight, I would never replicate what I asked of him.

We ended up making it to the Makeover, but not without struggle.

He would perpetually have issues picking up and holding his right canter lead.

I attributed this to his time at the racetrack and being unbalanced and many people validated this for me.

During our dressage test at the Thoroughbred Makeover, he picked up the wrong lead.

It was disappointing, frustrating. It had been prior in training too and such frustration led to me “drilling” him in training, working on what I viewed as a training issue and weakness.

But then, he died.

And in necropsy, the truth came out.

George was euthanized about 6 months after he had attended the Makeover, following a sudden onset of neurological issues.

We tried treating for EPM but about 12 days into the treatment, he suddenly worsened.

Emergency vet call in the middle of the night.

He was laying down in the mud and couldn’t get up.

My sweet youngster, Banksy, had stood like a sentry beside his fallen friend.

George was in the mud for long enough that he had pooped where he was.

Worse feeling ever.

I hope his buddy at least brought him some peace.

So, a month before his 5th birthday, my beautiful and sweet young gelding was put to rest.

In his necropsy, findings included degradation of his spinal tissues, brain swelling and other findings that explained the neurological issues and confirmed his body was damaged beyond repair. Euthanasia was the only option.

But, what it also uncovered was that he had OCD lesions in both stifles.

He didn’t pick up the leads intermittently because it hurt.

And still, he packed me around without resistance. He jumped. He travelled across the country to Kentucky.

He did what he was asked without protest and maintained the sweetest attitude you could imagine.

And I had been frustrated with him for it.

I had viewed it as a training issue.

George is one horse in an industry horses with the same issues and worse.

Don’t wait until a necropsy to have more grace for your horse.

Behavioural issues and bodily struggles need to be approached with the benefit of the doubt.

Not frustration or contempt.

Because while slowing down and delaying gratification may hurt your ego, it won’t break your hurt in the way that misinterpreting the communication of a beloved friend will.

Behaviour is communication, listen to it.

Most of the struggles our horses have are actually telling us a deeper story.

It’s time to listen to them.

04/15/2026

04/13/2026

Our cultural framework in the equine industry holds up the leader (trainer) as someone unreachably wise and all-knowing.

But we can demonstrate excellence while acknowledging how much we still have left to learn.

Understanding why the horse world clings to tradition even when the science is becoming increasingly pervasive requires looking at the human brain as much as the horse.

Even the most objective of us is subject to cognitive bias which can act like a set of blinders, causing us to favor information that fits the narrative we already know. When a trainer has been taught through generations that a specific type of training is the only way to get results, their brain naturally filters out any data that suggests otherwise. It is a protective mechanism that keeps our worldview intact, even when that worldview is becoming outdated.

This leads directly into cognitive dissonance, which is that uncomfortable feeling we get when our actions don’t match new information. For a veteran trainer, looking at the effectiveness of positive reinforcement can be genuinely painful.

Accepting the science often means acknowledging that decades of previous work might have been unnecessarily stressful for the horses. That is a massive emotional pill to swallow. It is often much easier to dismiss current research as a passing trend or something that only works for “tricks” than to sit with the discomfort of realizing there is a kinder, more efficient way.

There are very real external pressures at play, specifically regarding money and ego. In the equestrian industry, your reputation is your livelihood. If a professional has spent twenty years branding himself as an expert in a specific discipline, admitting he needs to go back to square one to learn behavioral science feels like a financial and social risk.

There is a fear that clients might lose confidence or that his authority will be challenged. The ego wants to protect the status of being the expert, and being a student again requires a level of vulnerability that many aren't yet ready to embrace.

Ultimately, the shift toward evidence-based training isn't about throwing away everything we know; it is about having the open-mindedness to refine our tools. Being an excellent trainer means being true student of the horse which means putting the horses first, which requires the humility to let go of old habits when better information arrives.

When we trade our ego for curiosity, we stop being stuck in the way things have always been done and start moving toward a partnership based on how horses actually learn. It takes a lot of courage to change your compass mid-stream, but the horses are always worth the effort. And so is the journey for ourselves as this transformation is surely not just about the horses.

03/08/2026