23/05/2026
Sunday Musings ❤️
I’m writing this from Wellington this morning over breakfast, after spending the weekend at the NZ Riding for the Disabled conference.
I feel incredibly privileged to be one of only two ambassadors for an organisation that quietly changes lives every single day - not only for the riders and families it supports, but for the horses too.
One thing I spoke about this weekend was how true welfare can never just be about one side of the partnership.
The best organisations, trainers, coaches and communities understand that care must extend in all directions. To the humans. To the animals. To the volunteers. To the people who are struggling quietly in the background. To the horses carrying so much of our emotion every day.
What struck me most this weekend was how much the philosophy of Riding for the Disabled aligns with everything I believe about ethical horsemanship.
These horses are not viewed as “tools.” They are sentient beings. Partners. Teachers.
Individuals.
And I genuinely believe NZ Riding for the Disabled s setting a world-leading standard here - not only in the way it supports people, but in the way it incorporates modern welfare science into the care and training of its horses.
The integration of the Five Domains model and the ISES First Principles of Horse Training into a therapeutic riding environment is something very special. Quietly, without fanfare, this organisation is demonstrating what ethical, evidence-based horsemanship can look like in practice, day anfter day, all around this little country of ours.
And perhaps one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves in any equestrian setting is this:
“If the horses could talk… would they tell us they love their job?”
Not just the couple of hours they spend working. But the other 22 hours of the day too.
Would they feel safe? Understood? Comfortable? Respected?
Able to predict the world around them? Would they feel heard?
Because good welfare is not just the absence of cruelty. It is the presence of a life worth living.
This weekend reminded me that horses have this extraordinary ability to help humans regulate, heal, connect and grow. But I also think humans have a responsibility to offer the same consideration back.
And maybe that’s the real magic of organisations like RDA.
The horses help heal people. The people devote themselves to caring for the horses.
And somewhere in the middle, both species end up better for the relationship.
That feels pretty special to reflect on this Sunday morning ❤️
