07/25/2026
Well stated…
Just to clarify, not all pros are trainers. There are a fair number of people, hanging out their shingles, going by the moniker, who will gladly take your money in exchange for somehow dealing with your horse.
In the industry, 'professional' means only that money is paid for a service. It does not necessarily follow that the job will be well and thoroughly done. So, a warning. You'll need to do your homework.
I will post any number of stories, or answer a horsemanship question, by recommending that you seek the help of a professional. The sheer number of you who recoil in horror, by sharing that your horses ‘were ruined by going to a trainer’! No.
Your horse wasn’t sent to a trainer.
Your horse, unfortunately, was sent to a person who thought they were ready for great responsibility… and they weren’t. A caricature who has somehow made it this far by convincing trusting and unknowing people that he, or she, is knowledgeable and caring enough to replace a horse's natural fear and ignorance with calm doing.
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the word ‘trainer’, itself. In the case of starting a c**t or bringing along any horse to a higher level of performance, you are not looking for a coach or a riding teacher. In some circles, these terms are interchangeable but from the horse’s standpoint they are not.
A trainer is someone who makes his, or her, living by ethically creating safe and uncomplicated horses. By replacing fear and doubt with confidence and know-how.
How do you find a reputable trainer? It’s quite simple, really. You ask around. You get references. You walk up to someone who is riding a wonderfully straightforward young, green horse and you ask , “Who started your horse, if you don’t mind my asking? He, or she, has done a great job!”
This is not necessarily the pro winning in your sport of choice, nor the one feeding us rock ‘n’ roll reels on Instagram every day.
Bottomline, as professionals, the horses we make are our calling cards. Not the people who currently love what we’re doing, nor the people who no longer have a kind word to say about us and don’t mind loudly saying so. I will suggest that a pro who has a really divided group of followers and naysayers, or a lot of drama about them, is probably best avoided.
The trainer who will do a genuinely thorough and positive job with your horse will likely have quite a wait list. Nor will he, or she, be your cheapest option. Maybe, read this little bit, again.
Trust that there are incredibly kind and devoted trainers around us! They may not be household names. They may not be competing at the top of their sport, or maintaining much of a social media presence. It’s doubtful they’ll boast a rollcall of paid endorsers. What they WILL be is quiet, matter-of-fact, effective horse(wo)men, day in and out.
I’m going to mention something else, too. It is grossly unfair of us, as clients, to expect miracles from someone who is now second, third or fourth in line, to fix a troubled or problem horse. People will do that to a trainer, all the time. If you’ve got a horse who needs serious building or repair, he deserves to go straight to the best person you can find, without first messing about with wild card options.
Both the horse and the trainer deserve your honesty, too, when you're telling the horse's story. Any worthy trainer will soon find out, if your carefully-selected words don't add up.
Good trainers are good people. They are not going to give you a damaged horse in exchange for your money. They will also, most likely, be willing to teach you on your horse before you are expected to make a go of it on your own. They will expect you to continue riding your horse when you bring it home, a different scenario from turning it out, unhandled.... all the while, telling others that So-and-so was supposed to have trained your horse but it is still not safe to ride.
Good trainers will also be forthright enough to tell you something that you don't necessarily want to hear. They will firmly tell you when you're wasting their time and your money, or when you're trying to ride a horse that you probably shouldn't be trying to ride.
And so, like all agreements between two people, there is a responsibility by both parties to be open and honest with one another. The joint aim should be in bettering the life and future opportunities for this one particular horse!
I have always found that the truly good professionals build us up. They deal in truths, gaining no satisfaction in breaking down, ruining, or ripping off.
