09/04/2026
Are we accidentally making our horses fragile?
Not just physically, but emotionally.
We talk a lot about keeping horses comfortable. Keeping them calm. Keeping them from getting stressed, scared, tired, frustrated or overwhelmed.
And obviously, good horsemanship should never be about intentionally putting a horse in a bad situation just to see what happens.
But I do think thereâs a difference between protecting a horse and preparing one.
A horse that never experiences pressure doesnât learn how to work through pressure.
A horse thatâs never allowed to be briefly frustrated doesnât learn how to regulate frustration.
A horse thatâs always removed from something the moment theyâre uncomfortable can start to learn that discomfort means something is wrong or that their only option is to escape it.
And I think physically, we sometimes do the same thing.
We want perfect footing. Perfect conditions. Perfect surfaces. We worry about hills, rocks, uneven ground, longer rides and different environments.
Of course there are legitimate physical limitations and injuries that need to be respected. But a healthy horseâs body also adapts to appropriate, progressive stress. Balance, coordination, strength and sure footedness arenât developed by avoiding every physical challenge.
Maybe good training isnât creating a life where our horses never experience discomfort.
Maybe itâs giving them manageable doses of the real world and teaching them, âYouâre safe. Take a second, think your way through itâ.
Because the reality is, we canât predict or control every environment our horses are going to encounter.
We canât control everything that happens at a show. We canât guarantee what theyâll see when they step off the trailer somewhere new. We canât make every trail quiet or every piece of footing perfect.
We canât even control everything at home.
Sometimes the neighborâs tarp comes flying over the fence. A dog appears where it shouldnât. Something falls over. A tractor starts up. A horse gets loose. Something happens that we never wouldâve thought to specifically prepare for.
Itâs near impossible to train a horse for every thing they may encounter in life.
But I want to teach them what to do with themselves when they encounter a thing theyâve never seen before.
Because eventually theyâre going to encounter something we couldnât manufacture perfectly for them.
And when that happens, I donât want my horses to think the world is ending.
I want them to know how to pause, think, regulate even when neither of us saw it coming.
