Harm Reduction in the Horse World

Trying for better horse welfare can be incredibly frustrating and demoralizing when you feel trapped by circumstance.

When you’re limited by the types of available boarding options in your area.

When you lease or take lessons and have limited say.

When you are working with horses who aren’t yours, be it as a trainer, groom, stablehand etc.

When you want things to change for your horse but aren’t sure where to start and are doing this best that you can.

There is no shortage of roadblocks that may halt and slow down people on the path to bettering the lives of the horses around them. 

The industry hasn’t really prioritized welfare much at all, it’s only recently becoming more popular, which means there are limited options available in many areas.

Don’t let feeling stuck by the environment you’re in stop you from wishing for better. 

Don’t let the discouragement of feeling out of control of factors you know would better horses life stop you from the harm reduction that you CAN do for the horses around you.

Don’t give into cognitive dissonance and accept the way things are simply because you feel trapped and may be immersed in an environment that encourages this mentality out of necessity for survival, to avoid falling victim to compassion fatigue.

Instead, do whatever is in your power to better the welfare of the horses in your presence.

This is harm reduction.

If you are a barn worker, show the difficult horses more empathy and kindness. Simply hold space for them to understand that they aren’t acting out to be bad, they’re struggling with their environment or any number of underlying factors. Use this understanding to temper your patience and avoid getting angry with them.

Wherever possible, use softer equipment and advocate for this when it is in your power. If your lease horse is bitted up to the nines and you know they don’t need it, there’s no harm in asking if you might be able to try something else and see how it goes, with the understanding that its back to the drawing board if things go awry.

If your horse is at a boarding facility that doesn’t offer free choice hay, get them a slow feed net and pre-fill it so they can nibble at it all day, or if the facility is willing, ask if they will do this for you. This will help to avoid stomach ulceration that can occur from going several hours without food and make your horse a happier horse as a result.

Hold space for horses who are having a hard time and understand they’re not out to get you. When you run into problems with your horse, consider the underlying causes rather than focusing on the “symptoms” of the problem (the behaviour).

Try to gently guide clients to softer practices by showing them that they work with the other horses you handle. Offer less daunting options that they may be willing to consider as a middle ground and slowly build from there. 

In a world where many may feel trapped, harm reduction is the way to creating a better environment for everyone. It is the baby steps towards a new life in what is a very rigid and stubborn industry. It is gently inching towards the finish line, slowly at first, but then momentum may build.

While it doesn’t entirely solve all of the problems of the industry, it will soften their impact for many horses, allowing them some form of reprieve from stress and some more understanding. This is better than the alternative of nothing.

The path to changing the perspectives of the horse world will likely be one that starts off slowly with gentle nudges and when more people see the positive changes in their horse that improved welfare brings, their interest will be piqued and they will be more inclined to keep trying.

The horse world is like a young naive horse. Scared of the new. Scared of the unknown. We have to lead them up to it slowly in some cases, allowing them time to assess the situation from afar and then gradually warm up to the idea as they build confidence.

Does this mean that abuse needs to be enabled and condoned? No. 

There are boundaries and lines that can be drawn but it’s important to be mindful of the rigidity of this so we don’t discourage people from engaging in harm reduction, we want them to start the process of choosing better options, even if they aren’t the BEST options yet.

Plant the seed of the potential that a healed horse world will bring for all horses and humans and wait for it to germinate and come to fruition.

There will be resistance at first, for sure, but once that seed is planted, it likely will never leave.

So, until then, do what you can to create a better life for yourself and the horses around you.

Heal so that you can inspire the unhealed in your presence to consider doing the same.

Set the example of the change you would like to see in the industry but do so with the knowledge that change takes time. 

There may be moments that you revert to old habits and instead of approaching it with shame, approach it with gratitude that you notice these moments now and want to experience them less often, a huge improvement from being completely in the dark about these flaws.

Change starts with the desire and dream of something different. Of something better.

So, let that desire for change inspire you in taking the first steps to getting to the destination.

And, be incredibly proud of yourself for helping the horses around you using the means within your control that you have immediately available to you.

Allow your new awareness to have you see where deficits in welfare may be present, but, do so with the understanding that you are doing your best.

You can admit to where change is ultimately needed while doing what you can with the resources available to you to at least make things better.

And, remember, just because something is common does not mean it's normal.

Just because we have done the same things for a long time does not mean they are the best way or need to continue long term.

There is potential for so much more in this industry and how we bring out that potential is by believing in the possibility of a better world.