Balance & Serenity Horsemanship

09/02/2026

08/31/2026

08/21/2026

08/13/2026

07/31/2026

I will also add that there’s no one size fits all “perfect” ethical way to keep/feed/manage horses as well. Yes, we can absolutely have some core guiding principles, but they are individuals, and individuals require nuance.

There is no SINGLE ethical way to train horses.

This happens in every corner of the horse internet.

Some R+ trainers claim that every other approach is inherently unethical.

Some R− trainers cannot wrap their heads around Positive Reinforcement being a legitimate, ethical way to train horses.

Both are wrong.

There is no single ethical way to train horses.

R+, R−, pressure and release, natural horsemanship, clicker training, NONE of it is magic, and none of it is immune to poor timing, poor application, coercion, frustration, confusion, or misuse.

A training method is not ethical simply because of the label attached to it.

Ethics live in the application.

They live in how well the trainer reads the horse, whether pain has been considered, whether the horse understands what is being asked, how much predictability and control they have, whether their emotional state is being considered, and what happens when they struggle.

Good training requires skill, flexibility, honesty, and an understanding of learning theory, not loyalty to a label.

This is where nuance lives.

You can use pressure ethically.
You can use food unethically.

You can use Positive Reinforcement while maintaining clear boundaries and prioritizing safety.

You can use Negative Reinforcement without escalating into fear, abuse, or Punishment.

The irony is that every side of the debate uses the same argument.

“That method is dangerous.”

If your argument is, “I’ve seen horses become dangerous using that method,” then every method has already failed that test.

“I’ve seen dangerous R+ horses.”

So have I.

Every single one of us has also seen dangerous horses trained with R−.

Neither example proves the learning process is inherently bad.

It proves that any learning process can be misunderstood, misapplied, or misused.

Neither label guarantees competent, humane training.

The question isn’t simply which method is being used?

It’s how is it being used, why is it being used, what is the horse learning, and what effect is it having on their behaviour and welfare?

That’s where nuance lives.

07/28/2026

“I asked for a plan for my HORSE’S movement, not mine. It’s the horse that needs rehab, not me.”

A student said this to me after receiving feedback on her riding.

Her horse was hollow, crooked, and struggling to carry himself well. She had expected a list of exercises for the horse—a rehabilitation program to strengthen his body and improve his way of going. Instead, much of our conversation revolved around her: her balance, her posture, her awareness, and the way she organized her own body in the saddle.

She was surprised.

Like many riders, she viewed herself as the instructor and the horse as the student. From her perspective, the horse was the one with the physical deficits, so surely the horse was the one who needed the exercises.

The problem is that a horse cannot separate their movement from the person sitting on their back.

Our bodies become part of their biomechanics.

Every shift in our pelvis changes how the horse uses their back. Every collapse through one side of our torso influences how they load a limb. Every moment we brace, grip, lean, or become asymmetrical changes the information the horse receives about balance, direction, and weight.

In other words, rider and horse become a single athletic system. One cannot move independently of the other.

This is why any rehabilitation or gymnastic program is only as effective as the rider’s ability to perform it.

Shoulder-in, for example, is a brilliant exercise for improving lateral suppleness, engagement, and straightness—but only when it is ridden correctly. If the rider overbends the neck, collapses a hip, drives with the seat, or blocks the horse’s back with tension, the exercise no longer develops the horse as intended. It simply rehearses poor movement under a different name.

The exercise itself is not therapeutic.

The quality with which it is ridden is.

This is why the conscientious rider learns to balance themselves, control themselves, and understand themselves before asking the horse to do the same.

They understand that horses cannot separate our influence from their own movement. Every aid, every posture, every habit becomes part of the environment in which the horse learns to carry themselves.

The goal, then, is not simply to find better exercises. It is to become a better influence.

Because a horse can only move as well as the conversation we create with them allows.

In the end, horsemanship is not simply the education of the horse. It is the continual education of the rider.

07/27/2026

Print editions of Yellow Horse Magazine are now available! Don’t miss my article “Community Over Competition” and enjoy a whole magazine full of other horse-first, welfare-centered articles for horse lovers across the globe.

07/18/2026

How concerned are you with your horse’s dignity?

First off, let’s look at the meaning of the word.

Dignity: the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.

I hear a lot of riders and horse owners talk about the importance of needing their horse to respect them, but I have a bigger, more important question that I feel needs to be asked.

Do you respect your horse?

Do you respect them enough to make sure they’re comfortable and not in pain? Do you respect them enough to prepare them for situations instead of just throwing them into them and expecting them to “handle it”? Do you respect them enough to listen to their feedback instead of ignoring it or trying to silence them with harsh hands, restrictive nose bands, tie-downs, and other gadgets? Do you respect them enough to learn how they think and how they learn? Do you respect them enough to educate yourself about their bodies so that you understand what exactly it is that you’re riding and interacting with? Do you respect them enough to slow things down and do what they need, instead of what you want? Do you call your horse names and continually complain about how stupid or bratty or ill-behaved they are?

In order to interact, ride, and train our horses in a way that preserves their dignity, we have to respect them. What you do, say, and think matters. It has a direct effect on your intentions and your actions. You cannot treat another being with respect if you are continually tearing them down.

For me, preserving a horse’s dignity is a key thing I strive for in my interactions with my horses, but also something I look specifically for when it comes to equine professionals, instructors, trainers, clinicians, ect. There are a great many programs and people out there who have no qualms with taking a horse’s dignity away from them. For me, that is not something I want to be a part of.

I have found that people who struggle to treat horses with dignity often struggle to treat other people with dignity as well. Learning to preserve my horse’s dignity has not only made me better for my horses, but it has made me a better person as well. It’s kept me humble and it’s made me more compassionate and empathetic. So much of what we learn from horses, if we are truly opening to listening, is internal work. Work that makes us better people.

I would encourage you to start regularly asking yourself, “Does this preserve the horse’s dignity?”

Horses don’t ask to be in our lives, we bring them into them. They don’t have a say in where they live or who they get to live with. They are sentient beings, deserving of being treated with respect, and if we care at all about horse welfare, it it vital that we do so.

Treat your horse with dignity and find others who will do the same.