Heart-led horse first professionals: It’s time to Unhobble your brand & stop sounding like everyone else. 

As heart centered horse pros, you want to distinguish yourselves from abusive, harsh, and mindless trainers. But when it comes to communicating your values on your website or in your marketing, how do you ensure that your message truly resonates? How do you avoid sounding like everyone else using vague buzzwords that fail to capture the depth and nuance of your work? Well, that’s exactly what we’re getting into today! 

When we review websites, we see (in the pursuit of this goal) a lot of verbiage surrounding deeper connection, harmony, mutual trust, and bonding. Often, this language is not specific enough. Potential clients see words like “bond,” “connection,” or “partnership,” and it doesn’t mean anything to them. They don’t understand that a true bond requires subtlety. It's skill, it's mindset, it's digging deeper into compassion. 

A great framework for getting more specific about this “bond” is the consideration of compliance versus connection. Is the horse conditioned to do what you ask or does it actually give its consent? Is it willingly participating (maybe even excited to do so) or is it so conditioned that you wouldn't even notice the difference?

Giving a horse a voice is an incredibly scary thing… Because they can say no. That’s where real trust is established.

Demystifying the language on your website also calls for a discussion of values versus goals. Your potential clients have values, and they want to align them with their goals of riding and horsemanship. What they need from you is a structure to take them there. As horse lovers, we have a rational mind and a value-driven mindset. We want to pursue our goals in a way that feels aligned with our hearts, but we also want to take action. The recent events of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games have highlighted the culture of abuse, empowering heart-centered, ethical horse people to step up, stand out, and share their voices in the pursuit of these goals.

You can say all of those buzzwords, like “bond” or “harmony,” to an advanced rider and it's going to mean something 100 percent different than it will to somebody who just purchased their first horse, is an adult amateur and just wants to have that magical Black Stallion moment with their horse, even though they and their horse are not anywhere near ready for that. 

What is that Black Stallion moment going to look like? In general, that’s a huge goal. That's not a small feat. These goals exist on a spectrum. Say you buy or rescue a horse that has a lot of trauma. When it sees you, it gets aggressive. Or you might have a horse that looks at you and goes: take it or leave it. Or one that, when you put the halter on, turns into a little machine because that's what they're conditioned to do. So, you have a spectrum of issues from a super nervous horse to a dangerous horse to a reluctant horse to a herd mentality, great-worker horse. The process of building trust with each of these horses will look entirely different from rider to rider. Thus, promising a “bond” is simply too general.

First, we have to establish safety. Without safety, is our main goal really to have the deepest connection possible with our horse? No. At that point, it requires a different kind of leadership. 

You have to have a safe, connected partnership with the skills that are appropriate to your level. It's up to the trainers and educators to speak to their people and identify exactly what those issues are so that they can meet their goal of that connection with safety for all the parties involved. That’s a true partnership. 

Anybody who has a good marriage knows sometimes you say, “Look, I just need you to do what I'm asking right now so that we can get through this moment and enjoy it.” Sort of like traveling with somebody: “You know what? This part is not fun. I need you to come with me. We're going to get through it, and then we're going to have a great time.”

How the hell are you going to bond when you're not even feeling safe? 

Thus, you must identify: Who is your primary audience? Is it an audience that falls into fear very quickly and doesn't have the tools to first, bring back the safety so that the bond is possible? Or is it more experienced riders who don't need to ask anybody how to keep themselves safe on the trail - who get force-free compliance, because they know the psychology of the horse? That client wonders: What's beyond compliance? We want to know that when we come to your website: Are you speaking to experienced riders or those who don’t have the toolbox of safety creation?

How do we define this feeling of “harmony” that heart-led horse-first riders or horse owner seek? It's not necessarily that Disney fairytale moment where you're traveling through the woods on your horse and all of the birds come twittering down, the deer crosses your path and stands there and gazes at you. It's different for every single rider. It’s different for every single horse. A Western trail rider might be looking for that moment. But a dressage rider might be looking for that moment where the horse is so in tune that they just think a thought and execute a movement and both horse and rider find joy in that artistic expression. How do we know what that feeling is? Harmony could also be such a finely tuned horse that it does (almost) comply with our thoughts. That's great. But, how do we know that it's enjoying itself? 

These are the things that need to be addressed specifically on your website that don’t get covered by using those buzzwords. The biggest favor we can do for someone is to provide them with the incredible service we offer with expertise and ease. Knowing the value of your business and speaking to it specifically and from the heart can mean all the difference between coming across as inauthentic and sales-y vs. value-driven and trustworthy. 

With HorseBizAutomated's Unhobbled Business Foundation Course, you get an experience tailored specifically for horse-first professionals. One that addresses the unique challenges of the industry with practical, actionable strategies that resonate with your core values. Ready to make your brand as specific and unique as the service you provide? Get Unhobbled today.