16/04/2026
I Do Not Know Who Needs To Hear This Todayā¦
ā¦but riding can, and could, be a meaningful part of an ethically minded horsemanship program.
A lot of people who start questioning their training end up in a crisis around riding. You start wondering if itās fair, if horses should even be ridden at all. You hear theyāre not built for it, not designed for it, that itās unnatural. Then you look around and try to find good examples. Maybe you find a few, but mostlyā¦ once you see it, you canāt unsee it. A lot of horses are, in some way, made to do it. Conditioned over time to not question that riding is just part of their life whether they like it or not.
So people stop. Or they keep riding, but it doesnāt sit right anymore.
This morning I was teaching a lesson and found myself saying something that felt important, even to me as I said it. Riding is important to me and my horses. Not essential, not something they have to do, but something that adds to their lives when itās done well. And at the same time, Iām very clear that not all horses should be ridden. Some donāt have the body for it, some donāt have the mind for it, and those horses shouldnāt be part of riding at all.
But for the ones who can be, we can at least try.
Because the benefits of appropriate weight-bearing work are actually very clear now. Done well, it builds strength, supports soundness, reduces pain over time, improves longevity. But that only holds true if the weight is appropriate, if the horse is taught how to carry it, and if itās built up progressively rather than just expected.
And this is where I think it changes.
Because unlike us going to the gym and lifting dead weights, the weight a horse carries can be something meaningful. It can be the person they trust, the person they enjoy, the person who actually knows how to help them carry it instead of just sitting on top of them and hoping for the best.
At that point it stops being extraction. It stops being obligation. It becomes a relationship and a conversation. Something that can actually be interesting for the horse, something that keeps them thinking, adapting, staying mentally sharp as they age.
And that version of riding looks nothing like the stuff that makes people want to quit in the first place. It doesnāt feel the same, it doesnāt look the same, and it doesnāt produce the same horse.
Not all riding is equal.
And not all riding is unethical.
