NS Equestrian

09/04/2026

Behavior is feedback 📣

Bit of a vent today after hearing yet another horrible story from a friend of mine who practices in another area of the country. There are so many stories I wish I could share from my own experiences but I cannot do so and remain professional, so I’ll share this one from someone else to give you some insight into what its like trying to advocate for horses in this industry.

My friend was called out to a horse who was showing worrying signs of aggression on the ground, they were told the usual “she’s had all the checks”, upon assessing the horse they explained the horse was showing clear signs of pain, showed the client how they could find further resources to learn and spent a long time with them explaining the behaviour in depth. The horse threatened to kick when she was touched anywhere behind her withers and was biting when being led. My friend explained that it wasn’t ethical to train this horse and referred them onto the vet urgently.

3 days later the horse appeared on another professional’s social media being chased around with a flag and slammed in the face with the lead rope clip if they even thought about pinning their ears, talking about how they had fixed the horse’s horrible dominant behaviour and that the horse “trusted” them as a leader now. They pulled the horse to a stop and approached to feed them a treat, to prove the training is kind of course, the horse backs away unsure if they are about to be punished again. The horse was of course still grimacing in pain, but they had learned any communication of their pain resulted in punishment, so they were now obedient so we can just call them fixed and use them how we wish.

This isn’t about having different opinions over training methods or losing business. Those of us who choose this path are generally extremely empathetic people. This is not just a job to us that we can easily switch off from when we drive away from your yard. I worry about your horses, I think about your horses when I’m not with you. I research and analyse and seek further opinion to help you and your horse in my own time, because I genuinely care about their welfare.

I feel like there’s a perception that we just go out and feed horses treats and have a lovely time, that advice is followed and all of the horses get the help they need. Sometimes it is like that, most often it is not. Many horses I meet are not in a good way physically or mentally, and those things can be really hard to hear, it is not fun to have those conversations. The industry has such a long way to go even with meeting horse’s basic needs and there is so much pushback for people to deal with, its really tough out there.

I have really limited what I see on social media because I cannot stand watching this treatment of horses dressed up as good for them. Unfortunately simply by existing in places where people are handling horses it seems unavoidable to witness abuse that I can realistically do nothing useful about. Just last week I pulled into a yard car park to witness someone repeatedly punching a worried young horse for not wanting to go near the mounting block.

There are clients I have been out to who have clearly painful, compromised horses who I refer to the vet with support, only to see those same horses turn up with another trainer trying to “fix” them, using their stressed behaviour for social media engagement. For them to eventually give up after a few weeks/months when the horse just won’t improve and actually then take the horse to the vet. They are then praised as extremely ethical and so good at listening to horses for stopping and vet referring. Despite the fact we just tried to train and ride a blatantly sore, under muscled, compromised horse for several weeks until they screamed.

I used to torture myself wondering if I could have just worded things differently or found the right thing to say to that particular client I could’ve convinced them and prevented that horse suffering further. I realise now there is nothing I can say if people aren’t ready to hear it.

It is also so difficult to navigate with other professionals, often a vet/bodyworker referral isn’t enough, it has to be the right vet/bodyworker. So many professionals in the industry are also indoctrinated into this behavioural psuedoscience instead of seeing behaviour as the communication it is. It seems we are also used to seeing compromised, under muscled horses as the norm. I cannot imagine taking my dog to the vet, explaining that they are showing signs of pain and having the vet say “well have you considered he is just taking the p**s out of you?” instead of actually trying to investigate and help my dog. Yet I have seen this happen repeatedly in the horse industry. This is why I am so fussy about the professionals I work with and why I recommend the specific professionals I do to my clients. I need to know that professional will take my client and their horse seriously and not be dismissive. I am always hoping to add to that group of professionals so its not so difficult to advocate for our horses to get the help they need.

I have had to start screening people and saying no to some prospective clients to protect my mental health. I used to go out to anyone who wanted me, but it was becoming soul-destroying. I try really hard to make sure my social media and website present what I do well so the right people find me, but even that is difficult as everyone is marketing as ethical now, despite their actions showing otherwise, so we all get lumped in together. I understand that this is really hard, I understand the human draw to take the easiest route out when everyone around you is pressuring you to do so, but we owe it to our horses to do so. We’re all they’ve got.

There are so very few of us actually walking the walk, we are still swimming against a heavy tide, that’s why it all feels so difficult. But there are more and more of us, things are changing, not quickly enough for the horses but we can only try our best.

I thought I would share this as I know many of us feel the same, it is exhausting and perhaps this gives some insight into why I have disappeared off socials recently. 🐴

09/02/2026

Most people would freak out if they knew how much we spend on just hay every month. It’s an insane amount of money just to keep horses fed. So this is your reminder to take the extra lesson or two a month, sign up for the clinic, or just take a second to thank your trainer/ boarding facility. I don’t know a single one of us that is getting rich taking care of your horses but I do know a whole lot more of us that are constantly finding creative ways to keep the lights on and the doors open!

09/02/2026

Discussion post!
Horsemanship.. what does it mean to you?
What do you define as the important elements of horsemanship?
Google definition attached below.

08/31/2026

Horse Show Season kicks off in September. It's time to make those reservations and get your entries in.

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💻Enter Online at

08/29/2026

⚠️ Slight rant alert…

Lately, I’ve had several people tell me that their trainer or coach has changed their horse’s bit or bridle set-up without any discussion with the rider or owner.

And I have a real problem with this.

I’ve seen nosebands tightened because somebody thinks they’re “too loose”.

Hanging cheeks put higher because the cheekpieces look baggy — when the whole point of the hanging cheek is the way it suspends the mouthpiece and can reduce pressure elsewhere. If you alter how it sits simply to make the cheekpieces look neater, you change how that bit is functioning.

I’ve seen horses sent away for starting in a simple snaffle and come home in a gag. 🤦‍♀️
Seriously.

And ponies having flashes put back on at Pony Club, despite the pony having already demonstrated very clearly that they are uncomfortable in one.

Equipment shouldn’t be changed simply because “that’s how I like it”, “that’s how I was taught” or because something doesn’t look how we expect it to look.

There should be a reason.

If a horse is opening its mouth, putting its tongue over the bit, throwing its head up, leaning, running through the hand or generally becoming difficult, adding more restriction or more leverage might suppress the behaviour.

But suppressing the behaviour isn’t necessarily solving the problem.

Sometimes the behaviour is information.

Why is the horse opening its mouth?
Why is it trying to evade the contact?
Why does it dislike the noseband?
Why does it suddenly need a stronger bit?

Before we change the equipment, we should be asking why.

And if somebody genuinely believes a different set-up would benefit the horse, then absolutely have that conversation. Explain what you’re seeing, what you’d like to change and why.

But ultimately, it is the rider/owner who needs to understand what is being put on their horse and how it works.

Do I have all the answers? Absolutely not.

Do I get it right every single time? Of course not. Horses are individuals, and sometimes finding the right answer involves listening, observing, trying something and reassessing.

But one thing I can promise is that your horse’s comfort and welfare will always be my priority — and alongside that, your safety.

Equipment should help create clearer, quieter communication between horse and rider.

It should never just be used to silence what the horse is trying to tell us.

Listen to the horse. Ask why. Then make the change. 🐴

08/28/2026

“It seems like every behaviour issue now has a medical explanation. They’re not just bad… they all just ‘have ulcers.’”

This was said in response to someone suggesting that a very girthy horse might warrant medical attention.

It’s almost like research has found that gastric ulcers are extremely common in horses in work, with some groups reporting rates as high as 80–90%.

When a horse shows significant sensitivity to girthing, that is information.

When a condition is statistically common, considering it is not coddling. It is due diligence.

Acknowledging pain does not mean horses are fragile.
It does not erase training.
It does not eliminate boundaries.

It means we rule out discomfort before we assign character.

When discomfort is common in working horses, it deserves to be considered.

Ruling it out is not over-medicalizing behaviour.

It is part of responsible training.