06/11/2026
When I work with animals, whether it’s dogs or horses, I take the time to study body language and understand the animals behavior. Without any background, I put the story together with the information the animal gives me based off what I see, read and feel.
This type of work puts me in positions that could be dangerous. Especially since I work with reactive dogs a lot of the time. I could be cornered and attacked if I’m not careful. I could get bitten pretty bad. So when I go in these situations, I have a mind of I’ll be firm, stern but not emotional.
I’m in situations that my own emotions could make it so much worse if I don’t watch. If I’m nervous, anxious, angry, sad - all of these emotions are a burden to an already emotional animal.
Let’s take my video of Gideon. Day one of working with him. In previous conversations with his former owner, I was told he was very hot, very forward and kind of an ass. I was told he bucked when saddles but the former owner never rode him because she was scared. Which is fair. So after lunging Gideon for about 10-15 minutes without a saddle, I got a pretty decent idea of him. He was rude on the ground. And I think it comes from a place of insecurity and needing reassurance. This is normal. He’s in a new place and has no idea what is expected of him. Had my emotions gotten in the way, I would have lost control of this situation. I am not upset that he doesn’t respond right away, I am not angry that he doesn’t latch on to what I’m expecting of him, nor am I frustrated in any way. He doesn’t know me. I would only be making things worse for him if I were emotional.
So instead, I told him what my expectations were. Throughout the entire session, I wanted him to remain a safe distance away. I remember seeing the videos of him kicking and bucking on the lead and so a safe distance was a very clear necessity. Every time he would shoulder in, I’d push him right back out. He didn’t like it. He also didn’t like changing directions.
In the video, there were times when I asked nicely. He blew through that. So I told him. He blew right through that too. And then I made it very clear he would do what I asked. And he did.
Gideon is a decent sized Arab. He’s roughly 900-1000lbs and probably 15.1hh. Not terribly tall. But still bigger than me. If this 1000lbs animal decides to shoulder in on me and trample me (which our TWH, Whiskey, has done to me.) then it could cause some serious damage. I’ve already broken my back in a horse accident. I don’t want to get hurt again. With that said, yes I’m firm in what I ask of my animals and my expectations. While I give them room for mistakes, it’s my job to set them up for success.
Don’t take a minute long video and decide you know me as a person and know my horse better than I do. If you want to challenge me, do so in a manner that I can learn rather than be condescending and verbally abusive. Don’t harass. Discuss. I love a good debate.
