Hey Reader,

Sometimes, I'll notice someone say, “that's not safe,” or, “that’s so dangerous,” when what they really mean is, “that's not how I prefer to do it,” or “I didn’t know you could do it that way,” or sometimes, “my horse and I don't have the skills necessary for that to work for us.”

In driving horses, there are very few “alwayses and nevers”. Things are rarely black and white. There are almost always many different paths to the same outcome, and many different possible “right” ways. It’s important to acknowledge that unfamiliar and different are not the same as unsafe.

When you’re first learning, your coach or mentor will probably tell you to do things a certain way. Not because that’s the only way, but because we have to start somewhere.

As someone who teaches a lot of beginner drivers, my job is to keep you safe while you learn. I don’t teach every student exactly the same. I assess your strengths and your challenges, your horse’s temperament and experience, and the facilities and equipment you’re working with, to give you what I feel will be the best way for you to do things, at least for now.

It takes time and experience to learn to understand the finer nuances and develop your own good judgement. Even when the truth is, more often than not, “it depends,” consider how difficult it would be to learn if no one ever gave you a clear answer.

So, we have to keep things simple while you’re first learning, until you have developed your skills and gained enough experience to be able to understand why “it depends.”

Beginners need guardrails. The trouble is, sometimes those rules you were first taught can calcify into dogma over time. When that happens, “that’s not how I was taught” starts to sound—and feel—a lot like “that’s wrong,” or “that’s not safe.” The problem is, they’re not the same thing.

So how do we actually tell the difference?

If something is truly unsafe, you should be able to describe exactly what could go wrong, the conditions that make it (more) likely, what the consequences would be, and why the current precautions are inadequate.

It’ll sound like an if/then statement. If x happens, because of conditions a, b, and c, then y is likely to be the result.

For example: If the driver were to dismount the carriage with passengers still aboard, and something unexpected causes the horse to spook, the horse could take off and it would be very difficult for the driver on the ground to get the horse back under control in time to prevent an accident. The driver risks getting run over by the carriage in their efforts to slow the horse from this awkward position. The passengers and horse are at risk of serious injury should the carriage overturn or collide with a solid object. From the box seat, the driver is well-equipped to support the horse and manage such a situation to prevent it from escalating, but from the ground, especially without the reins in hand, there is very little the driver can do. The consequences are severe, and therefore the risk is too high to be considered a safe practice.

If the likelihood is high (i.e. this is a horse who has a hard time standing still), then it should be obvious that this is an unreasonable risk. If the likelihood of things going sideways is low (i.e. this is a highly experienced horse who can be trusted to stand for a long time), then it’s easier to dismiss the risk… and this is where we get into trouble. If the consequences are substantial, then even at a low likelihood, it’s still not worth the risk.

Let's use my own recent post as another example. A couple weeks ago, I shared a photo of myself mounting the carriage with my horse tied to the trailer. Several people commented that this wasn't safe, though none of them gave an explanation.

So let's apply the test. What could go wrong? The horse could spook while tied, be unable to flee, pull back, rear, and risk getting tangled in the rope or the harness, or cause the trailer to shift if it weren't secured properly. Those are real failure modes, and they're worth taking seriously.

Now, what are the conditions that make them more likely? A horse who isn't reliable in standing tied. A tie point that's too low, too long, or too easily broken. A horse who is already nervous or unsettled before hitching begins. A trailer that isn't hooked to the truck.

And what precautions address those conditions? The horse is well-practiced at standing tied, hard-tied at the correct height and length, to a trailer that is hooked to the truck. He is calm and relaxed before hitching begins. If he were not, we simply wouldn't hitch in that moment.

When you walk through it that way, the risk doesn't disappear—it never does entirely—but it becomes something you can actually evaluate. The failure modes are real but addressed. The conditions that would make them likely aren't present. That's a very different conversation than simply, “that's not safe.”

When we’re working with horses, we can never eliminate all risk, entirely. We can and should do what we can to mitigate the risk as much as possible—and it’s your responsibility to determine what that looks like for you, your horse, and your environment.

But remember, there are always other approaches you haven’t seen before, and ideas you’ve never considered. Unfamiliar doesn’t necessarily mean wrong or dangerous.

So the next time you see something that makes you think “yikes, that’s not safe,” I’d invite you to sit with it for a minute before you say anything. Consider, what could actually go wrong, here? You might ask yourself, what am I afraid of?

If you can’t run the if/then assessment clearly, then I encourage you to get curious. Ask thoughtful, earnest questions.

“Why are you doing it like this?”
“What skills and education does your horse have in order for this to work well?”

And likewise, if someone tells you that something you’re doing is unsafe, you can ask the same questions. Stay open—they may have identified a real risk you hadn't considered. If so, they should be able to walk you through it clearly. And if they can, that's an invaluable gift.

None of us has seen everything, and none of us is beyond learning. We come to this with different horses, in different environments, and different backgrounds. The more we can learn from each other, the better for everyone.

“I’m not familiar with that” and “that’s not safe” are very different statements, and conflating the two doesn’t serve anyone. A truly safety-conscious community isn't one where everyone does things the same way. It's one where we ask good questions, think critically, and hold each other to a real standard of reasoning—not just a standard of familiarity.

Safe driving,
Christine