12/03/2025
Horses are intuitive, and can read through intentions. They’re also, usually, willing and compliant beings, even if human direction is lacking clarity.. Meaning, they try. They will try to escape discomfort. Many will try to please. Some try so hard that they will get easily confused. Our integrity as trainers will bleed through to this try. Our steadfast direction should support this try, give it healthy boundaries, and a solid foundation on which to grow. You may not consider yourself a trainer, but, if you are riding or working any horse, even just your own horse, you are training them during every interaction. Try comes back to our integrity, and continues through our intentions, our trustworthiness and knowledge, compounded with experience and honesty.
Without a character of integrity, we ourselves have holes in our foundation. If we can’t be honest with ourselves, horses see through that. If we can’t allow for freedom in our own mistakes, by freely admitting to them, we are held captive to pride.. and if we don’t understand the value of forgiveness and grace from a higher power, we might not be humble enough to offer forgiveness and grace when we ourselves hold more power than other beings in certain situations.
Integrity isn’t always neat and easy.. The word itself has the word “grit” within it. It means showing up, investing our own try, and doing what we say we’ll do.. and simply being honest with ourselves and others on guarantees we can or can’t make.
There are many aspects of horse training that can relate to living a peaceful and steadfast life, if we encourage our humble hearts to have true integrity. This doesn’t mean we won’t mess up, or that we won’t have emotions, or that we won’t have faults in our character. We won’t always please everyone. However, I think a baseline characteristic of any decent horse trainer is integrity. Integrity to not say you’ll do something that you don’t have the knowledge capacity, or simply time, for. Integrity to value someone else’s finances and safety enough to not make empty promises of your, or of a horse’s, abilities. Integrity in letting pride go, while staying solid to who you are. Integrity to have “try” ourselves. *Try* similar to that which we should seek to encourage in each horse we work with. Not *try* for perfection, but *try* to strive for next bests, and leave the day a bit better than you started it.
So, my heartfelt question to the horse industry is this: Why is there such a bad rep for horse trainers? Why, if integrity is the baseline for a good horse trainer, do dishonest happenings seem to be a somewhat common occurrence within our industry? As a Christian, the easy answer is that we all fall short. We can all be susceptible to the faults of greed, hurriedness, and pride in ourselves, which can lead to unmet expectations. While understanding this, and knowing none of us are perfect, I do challenge the industry to be better. Just as God calls us to be upright through our faults, specifically calling us to be like him and “holy.” Whew, that’s a hard mark. He knows we can’t do this alone. We need Jesus, and we need to seek personal convictions from the Bible and the Holy Spirit. I truly believe that, while God gives us the grace to fall short, he moreover gives us the strength to strive for integrity with him when we choose to do so. Acknowledging being a sinner, and needing Jesus, while so freeing, is not a pass for being lackadaisical. This doesn’t mean our training style or personality will appeal to everyone, just as my belief in Jesus will not appeal to everyone.. But, if we strive for this integrity, it will surely show through the horses we work with.. and carry through to the industry as a whole.
*Sincerely, a humble horse trainer, who has heard and seen too many misdealings over the years, but closer to home more recently.. I’m frustrated for my clients that come to me after having paid for months of training, for a horse now worse off than when started.. whether that be in body condition and/or mental state. I’m hurt for my clients that invest in a high dollar, guaranteed broke horse, that turns out to be green with unsafe chronic lameness.. and so on. Quite simply, the industry is capable of a better general standard.
P.S. This isn’t just a blame post.. Hopefully it’s received as an elevational post: to push people to be better. Horse owners, do your due diligence, be responsible for your horses by checking in with trainers. Note horse behavioral and health changes, good or bad, from the start. Buyers, do your research before buying. All of this aside, I’ve seen people check off accountability boxes, and still be wronged.
And to those doing right by the industry, hats off to you! Thanks for putting the “grit” in integrity! It’s not easy. 💛
Oh, and lastly, here’s a lighthearted video to soften the tone. ♥️
