As a “horse-crazy” girl of nearly 20 years and an equestrian for over 15, I’ve seen and heard quite a few things. During this time, I’ve also developed what I consider to be some “hot takes”. This week I wanted to share my top 5 “hot takes” that I’ve come to hold as an equestrian.
1. Equestrians that choose to be ignorant have no place in the horse world.
The horse world is a place where learning needs to be constant. There is always something you don’t know or could improve on. Equestrians who choose to ignore science and fact-based findings are (in my opinion) unwelcome in the horse world.
2. Equine welfare should always come before anything else.
Now, to me, this one isn’t a hot take so much as it is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I have seen and heard numerous equestrians put both money and convenience ahead of equine welfare. I sincerely hope that one day this will be less of a hot take and more of an expectation for all equestrians.
3. Horses are not nearly as complicated as people make them.
Human beings love to complicate things and the equine world is no exception. After years of stalling and over supplementing my horses, I came to realize that horses just really aren’t that complicated. The equine world is a billion dollar industry that is constantly trying to sell you the next miracle product. Most horses don’t need miracles. They need friends, forage, and freedom. Simple as that.
4. The feed industry is “scammy”.
With all the research I have done into horse nutrition and feeding, the more I have come to believe that the equine feed industry is somewhat of a scam. Whether it be feed companies not sharing nutritional study findings or claiming certain embellished benefits, it all seems shady to me. I would love to dive more into this hot take in the future as equine nutrition is one of my favorite subjects.
Note: I am mainly speaking on pelleted sweet feeds, not pelleted forages or ration balancers.
5. Most professional training “methods” are just recycled ideas.
After learning more and more about different equine professionals’ training methods, the more I have come to realize that it’s all about marketing. Most trainers that I have seen take the same basic principles and ideas and just repackage them. They come up with fancy names and exercises that all accomplish the same thing as many other trainers.
Thank you so much for reading about my top 5 hot takes as an equestrian. What are some of your hot takes? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.<3
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