06/06/2026
.....my whole body hurts when I think about some of the experiences I've had with horses and owners–
because I love them- human and horse- and the pair together. And I understand where the human is coming from with lack of understanding–
I've met an owner who became distraught about any scratch on her horse caused by being turned out with other horses....
Aaaaaaaaand....her horse would pin her ears back every time she got on her. The horse moved in a shuffle undersaddle, pinned her ears whenever leg was put on, and showed an unmistakable hatred for riding....
Aaaaand the owner would get frustrated with the horse.
Aaaaaand trying to tell her that her horse might be in pain or at least uncomfortable led to offense/mockery.
"I just want us both to have fun. That's all," as if that's a small ask that can be accomplished in a couple lessons when the horse was never prepared properly for riding in the first place.
The amount of times I've seen the following situation:
1. Scratch from other horses = not okay
2. Hurting the horse by riding rather than taking the time to train back engagement = totally fine
I know that attitude comes from lack of education. If those owners had been taught how important it is to train back engagement from the get go, they wouldn't have any problems with taking the time to do it and it would have saved themselves and their horses a lot of grief.
It's rough out there with these tricky situations.
But YOU never need to be anywhere near a situation like this. You can understand how important training back engagement is, the problems not doing so can cause, and just go ahead and do it– for your horse and yourself.
Need help with the how? That's where I come in. Comment "Kiwi is a cool dog," below and I'll send you more info. (Kiwi is my dog. And he is cool.😎)
