Ask a room of twenty horsepeople: “What’s the best way to load a horse on a trailer?” How many answers do you think you will get? Is one right, and all the others wrong?
When it comes to horses, anyone who claims they know the one true way is probably trying to sell you something.
Our philosophy is that only horses know what’s truly best for them. That means the best we can do is listen to our horses — even when they humble us! — and educate ourselves as thoroughly as possible, remaining open to new insights and information.
But how do we teach this to our students, who often ask us how to do something the right way?
Good instruction goes beyond teaching students how to do something. They should also understand why they do things a certain way, even if the students in question are very young.
This means encouraging your students to ask questions, teaching them to think critically, and helping them discover how to trust their gut — and how to learn from a mistake.
Your barn, your rules — but can you explain the reason for those rules?
You’ve developed your rules and horse handling practices through years of experience and education, and on your territory, you call the shots.
Make it clear that as long as students are part of your program, you expect them to do as you say, and that rules are enforced not just for their own safety, but for the safety of your horses and everyone else at the barn.
But for every rule they follow, provide a reason, especially when there are pros and cons to your method. We often choose the lesser evil when working with horses, and owe it to our students to explain the reasoning behind our choices.
Consider a simple operation we practice every day: exchanging the halter for the bridle.
- Does the horse remain tied, or do you untie/unsnap? If using crossties, do you undo one crosstie or both?
- Do you slip the halter off entirely, or buckle it around the horse’s neck?
- If you slip it off, do you let it dangle from the tie ring or do you remove it and hang it up?
We were originally taught to slip the halter around the neck, at multiple barns and through Pony Club, and used this method successfully in a number of circumstances. We’ve seen a couple of instances where it prevented an incident, and a spectacular runaway that could have been prevented with a halter in place.
But it isn’t a good idea if the horse wears a rope halter, or you use cross-ties, or the horse has a tendency to pull back. Context matters!
Yet our students watch and imitate every move without necessarily recognizing the antecedents and environment that make our moves safe.
Help your students practice critical thinking by explaining every choice you make in the barn, from the way you approach each horse to the order you use grooming tools to the bits each horse wears. Imagine you are defending your decision in court. How strong is your argument?
Never say never
It’s a good idea to be careful of the language you use around the barn. No, we’re not talking about the affectionate-but-PG-13 nicknames you have for your horses, or the sound you make when one stands on your foot. We’re talking about absolutes, such as “Never” and “Always.”
Maybe you always tie your horses before grooming, but would you endanger students by telling them to tie a phobic horse that flips backward?
Telling your students never to lean forward on an out-of-control horse sounds like a good idea in theory, but what if that horse rears, or runs directly toward a low-hanging branch?
There are exceptions to every rule, and those exceptions are important to point out.
Especially when you consider that some of our “always” and “nevers” are based on old traditions that could stand to be updated.
Is mounting on the left side actually the best practice for our horses? Is it the best for our already one-sided riders, who often complain about their crooked horses once in the saddle?
(Whenever possible, we ask our students to practice mounting and dismounting from both sides — but tell them to default to the left on an unfamiliar horse, just in case!)
Listen, don’t label
Speaking of choosing our vocabulary with care, be wary of using anthropomorphic labels for horse behavior.
Saying that a horse is acting “naughty,” “sassy” or “stubborn” may feel true, or simply be spoken in jest, but it contradicts scientific research about how horses really behave and think.
It also teaches students not to look for the root cause of the behavior, such as fear, discomfort or chronic pain.
To dismiss is to miss a valuable learning opportunity. Instead, practice responding with one of the most important words in an instructor’s vocabulary, one that should be used at every available opportunity: Why.
Why might this be happening? What could the horse be trying to tell us? How might we be causing the situation?
Teach your students to question everything — but to mind their manners
Teaching your students to evaluate everything they practice with horses is both a blessing and a curse.
It will help them become wise, compassionate, educated equestrians, and make choices that benefit them and their equine partners. But it can also cause confusion and frustration when they are confronted with examples of horsemanship that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Before your students go to shows, ride at other stables, or — scariest of all — leave comments on the internet, teach them to approach new situations with an open mind.
Have them practice asking questions full of curiosity instead of accusation.
Remind them not to judge without seeing the big picture, and that it’s okay to politely walk away from a situation that feels unsafe or inhumane.
You might even consider teaching an “Ethics in Horsemanship” class as part of an advanced camp or clinic. Have students practice thoughtful critique, navigating awkward situations, and evaluating practices from the horse’s perspective.
Own your own mistakes
Ask any compassionate, committed horseperson what they wish they’d done differently ten years ago, and you’re likely to get a long list of regrets. It’s part of the process of continuing education, and no one is immune, including those of us who teach.
We try to be transparent about lessons learned the hard way and the ways we’ve changed our mind over the years. We usually don’t get a second chance with past horses and students, but we can help the next generation see that it’s okay to evolve — and that horses often require us to Level Up our horsemanship by learning different techniques and approaches.
Life with horses is rarely black and white. By teaching students to look beyond the “right way” and the “wrong way,” we can help them learn to determine the best way for every horse and situation they encounter, making them safer, happier equestrians!
