Featured Articles

Read the featured posts from across each topic

The State of the Industry

Featured

The Rise Of The “Auto-Everything” Horse

And look, I am a realist. Many horses are not just pets; they are performance animals. So, I am not saying that performance shouldn’t play a role in the sale of a horse, but from where I am sitting, trying to sell horses for my clients and scrolling through hundreds of sales every day, I think sales have become so heavily focused performance that it’s creating a deeply unrealistic market.

The Competitive Advantage of Training Average Horses

Horse people spend a lot of time looking for, talking about, watching, and obsessing over extraordinary horses. And let me tell you, as a professional, that obsession gets heightened. Nearly every professional is looking for “the next big thing” either for themselves, or to sell to a client, or if you really hit the sweet spot, both. The problem is you will spend the beginning of your career, or your whole career, never riding those superstar horses. And I am here to tell you, finding those horses should not be the goal.

See all articles

Memoirs of a Working Student

Featured

Don’t Model Your Riding after the Top 1%

I understand why the next generation of aspiring professionals are disheartened. All they see is the stories of wealth, beautiful barns, six-figure horses, and winning. Success looks expensive…I once wished I had learned to ride correctly sooner. I wished I hadn’t spent so many years running around bareback on my horse, and I had fewer years foxhunting, and less time on New Mexico ranches chasing cows in my English saddle…But you know what, two years into my solo professional career, every single one of those things that made this hard in the beginning, is making me more successful in the end.

How I Became An Equine Professional (With Gratitude to Heidi)

You have to understand, being a working student is not like being an assistant trainer, its not like being a client, and it’s not like being a friend. It’s a very particular combination of all of those. For me, Heidi was my mentor, my manager, my instructor, as well as my friend. I’m not going to romanticize it, however, there are parts of being a working student that are incredibly hard.

Featured

A Public Service Announcement From One Of Your YHS Handlers

It’s that time of year again, when the leaves fall from the trees, horses get an extra spring in their step, and some of the best young horses in this country congregate at the Young Horse Show Finals. If you don’t know me, I am Victoria Lustig, and I am one of three people certified by the YHS to run the jump chute at their shows. As someone who is behind the scenes, and has been a competitor, I can tell you we really mean that. In light of that, there are 6 things that I want to mention that everyone can do to help their horse perform its best at the YHS finals.

What I Wish Horse Owners Did Before They Sent Me Their Young Horse

I will be honest, not all horses start from the same starting line. Some horses (like some people) come with baggage, and other horses come will less. Because despite what 10,000 sales ads on social media will tell you, unicorns do not exist, and every horse has something to overcome. However, there are things you can do to help your young horse succeed before they even get to me.

See all articles

The Young Horse Diaries

See all articles

“To be ethical in this industry, you must love. You must recognize that you are able to eat because these animals exist, that you can support your loved ones, and that you can fulfill your own needs, all because they exist. If that doesn’t offer a reason to be kind, gentle, attentive, and most of all caring, then I do not know what does. Paychecks cannot get you out of bed every morning with a smile. You don’t hear thunder in the middle of the night and worry about the horses because you are paid to. What makes you do this job well, what makes you viable in this industry, is your love. Love for these beings who sustain you, who carry you, who give you a place, a purpose, a people.”
— Victoria Lee Lustig