22/06/2026
Tonight’s Musing.
I have so many thoughts around this topic that it is hard to know where to start, but this is something that has been weighing heavily on us as a small business in the equine industry.
For many years, we have loved giving young people an opportunity to be part of our team. They are 16 or 17 year olds, it used to be 14 and 15 year olds but we just can't take them that young any more. They love horses, have a dream and want to find their place in the industry. We understand that dream. We respect it. We had it and still do!! We have always wanted to support it.
But what has become clearer over time is that the dream often comes before the understanding of the responsibility, risk and seriousness that comes with working around horses.
Horses are large, sensitive, unpredictable animals. The risk of injury to people and horses is real. As business owners, we carry responsibility to many people at once: the owners of the horses, our staff, our clients, the horses in our care, and the young people we are trying to teach and support.
That responsibility keeps me awake at night.
While there are equine certificates available through schools, in our experience they are not enough on their own to prepare young people for the practical reality of the workplace. There is a big difference between learning about the industry and safely, confidently and efficiently working in it.
So much of this work requires hands-on education. It requires structure, repetition, supervision, planning, awareness, confidence and the ability to think ahead. These are not things that appear overnight.
Some young people come to us with very little practical experience. Sometimes even basic workplace skills need to be taught before horse skills can be built on top of them. That is not a criticism. It is simply the reality of where many teenagers are starting from.
Because of this, we invested heavily into creating a structured educational platform for our team, including around 150 “how to” videos. This took hundreds of hours and significant financial investment. We offer this training free of charge to our team, alongside a supervised and in-depth induction process, so that everyone could work from the same system and so we could do our best to protect the safety of horses, humans and clients.
We have always clearly communicated our process both verbally and in writing, with direct questions being asked in both. We then work through this process as efficiently as possible. Ensuring all parties are safe in the decision making.
However, we have also had to ask difficult questions.
Where does our responsibility begin and end?
Are we responsible for teaching young people to drive?
Should they learn in our vehicles?
Should their early mistakes happen in our vehicles, at our cost and potentially at risk to themselves or others?
Should they learn on my horses?
Should they learn on other peoples horses?
Is all this our responsibility to teach while we pay them?
These are not easy questions, but they are real ones.
Recent experiences have made us reassess what we can safely and reasonably offer. The responses from some parents and outside parties, including threats, lies, negative reviews, fake profiles and toxic messages, have made it clear that we can no longer continue taking on juniors in the way we once did.
This decision has not come from a lack of care. It has come from too much care, and from a need to protect our business, our team, our clients, the horses and the young people themselves.
I am sharing this not to blame, judge or discourage anyone. We still believe young people deserve pathways into the equine industry. But those pathways need to be structured, realistic, supported and understood by everyone involved, including families.
The equine industry needs better hands-on education. It needs clearer expectations. It needs shared responsibility.
For now, we are choosing safety, clarity and sustainability.
I hope this is received in the spirit it is intended: with honesty, care and a genuine desire for better understanding.
Goodnight friends!
