18/03/2026
Many riders of a certain age likely share a similar 'life experience." When we were growing up, we learned to ride by trial and error, falling off, and riding anything we had permission to sit on - with or without a saddle. Some of us never had access to an arena, some of us rode our horses down the road to the closest thing resembling a saddle club or formal stable, some cleaned innumerable stalls for the occasional riding lesson, and some of us only had access to the "horses in the city" trail riding stables. If we were lucky, we may have had a 4-H program in our school or a friend who had a horse we could ride.
Most of us didn't know about saddle fit, or what made a 'good' saddle pad, or that there were bits outside a plain 2-piece snaffle and the generic 'grazing bit' that came with every off-the-shelf western bridle at the local Ag-Way. Dewormer consisted of the vet tubing the horse during annual vaccination day. There was sweet feed, and later, there was Purina Senior.
If a horse bucked, reared, was spooky or reactive or didn't want to move forward, he was a 'problem' or 'needed training' - we could not test for underlying causes of these behaviors, such as genetic diseases like HYPP or PSSM, stomach ulcers, or the ever-important and simple saddle fit.
Somehow, we survived. Our childhood horses were truly saints - if they had not been, many of us would not be here to tell our tales.
But, see how far we have come? Today, we have horses that regularly live beyond 30 - many of whom compete well into their 20s. We have the capacity to test for underlying causes of behavior - from the simple 6-panel test to gastric scoping to back x-rays and standing MRI. We routinely look for ways to ensure our horses are comfortable - with better equipment that fits them correctly, and a team of professionals for them as well as for us.
When you look at recent history, you come to understand why we encourage education. Owning horses is more than your grandfather's knowledge, or your neighbor who had a sweet gelding you climbed on and rode around his pasture 40 years ago. It's the lessons, the clinics, the research, the case studies from veterinarians and farriers shared across social media, the local knowledge from those open to offering it.
Horse ownership is a lifelong learning process, and every horse who crosses our path has the capacity to teach us something more.
