Don't Judge... Educate.

Earlier this year, we had two horses surrendered to the rescue who needed extensive hoof rehab. It was a unique situation that brought out a lot of emotions amongst our rescue team. Both horses had obviously not had their hooves done in quite some time. One of them, Lilo, was in so much pain she laid down constantly and could barely walk. The other, Nani, had such a severe case of DSLD (Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis) that her hind fetlocks literally touched the ground and she had to be euthanized.

The catch? Their previous owner was heartbroken. She was crying and had expressed that she felt as if she had failed them. Most people's initial reaction would have been to agree with her. Judge her for the condition of her horses. However - it was clear that she did the best she could with the knowledge she had. In the end, she accepted defeat and did right by the animal by surrendering them to an organization who knew how to help. She didn't necessarily fail them.

This situation is a good reminder that we need to judge less, and spend more time educating and trying to understand. When working in horse rescue, it can be super easy to let emotion get the best of you.

"How could they do this?'

"They should have known better.”

"People are so cruel."

And yes. We live in a very dark, disturbing world. There are situations where an animal is genuinely suffering because someone made a choice they should have known was wrong. But here's the problem. How can we expect people to know better if nobody ever teaches them how to do better?

At Wilde Child, we believe education is one of the most important forms of animal welfare. Saving one horse is important. But what's even more powerful is teaching someone how to prevent the next horse from needing rescue.

Not everyone starts with the same knowledge. Not every horse owner grew up around horses. Not everyone had a mentor. Not everyone had access to a trainer. And not everyone knows what a healthy body condition looks like, how much forage a horse needs, how often feet should be maintained, how to recognize pain, or what changes in behavior can mean. While I am a firm believer that extensive research should be performed prior to purchasing a horse - you can't always trust the information out there, either.

When I was younger, I worked at a trail riding facility. We took horses out on rides in 120 degree heat. Their hooves were overgrown. The saddles didn't fit. I was twelve years old helping lead trail rides on horses who desperately needed medical attention. But the "professional" in the equation made up excuses and explained that everything was okay. And I believed her. Some people have been misled, or were taught things by "professionals" that were not true. I thought what I was doing was normal. It took somebody showing me the truth to understand that what I had been taught was inhumane.

People don't always realize there is a better way until someone shows them. That doesn't make them bad people. It makes them uneducated in that particular area.

Ignorance and neglect are not always the same thing. Someone can make a poor decision without intentionally wanting to harm their animal. A horse owner may genuinely believe they're doing the right thing. They may not recognize that their horse is overweight or that a particular feeding practice is dangerous. They may not understand how serious an untreated hoof problem can become or recognize the early signs of pain or illness. They may simply have never been taught.

If we immediately attack that person, what happens? They become embarrassed. They become defensive. They stop asking questions. And most importantly - the horse doesn't benefit.

Imagine someone posts a picture of their horse online asking:

“Is my horse too thin?”

They get 50 comments calling them abusive. Do you think they're more likely to ask for help next time? Probably not. They're more likely to delete the post, and will probably continue doing exactly what they're doing because nobody actually explained how to improve the situation. You know who suffers in the end? The horse.

Now imagine a different response:

“Your horse does look underweight. Here's what I would be concerned about, here's what I'd have evaluated by a veterinarian, and here's what you can discuss with your equine nutrition professional.”

Same problem. Completely different outcome. One response creates shame. The other creates an opportunity to learn. Only one of them actually helps the horse.

Keep in mind, education doesn't mean excusing harm and this is an important distinction to address. Choosing education over judgment does not mean we believe neglect should be ignored. It doesn't mean every situation can be explained away by saying, “They didn't know.” And it certainly doesn't mean animals should remain in unsafe situations while we patiently educate someone.

Sometimes intervention is necessary and an animal needs to be removed from a dangerous environment. Actions have consequences. But even when intervention is necessary, education still matters. Because if we only remove the animal without addressing the underlying lack of knowledge, another animal may eventually end up in the same situation.

We encountered a situation a while back where an individual had multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect on her record. People had tried to educate her with no success, and after becoming a repeat offender the judge had told her she was never allowed to own an animal again. She didn't like this, so moved to a different area and got more animals. What happened next? Well we ended up with two of the worst neglect cases I have ever seen, and both horses had to be euthanized. This was a situation where no amount of educating could help the owner, and justice needed to be served.

We all have a "Before We Knew Better" stage. Think about the horse person you were when you first started. You probably didn't know everything you know now. Most of us don't. So we learn. We make mistakes. We discover that something we were taught wasn't correct. We meet someone who approaches horses differently. We read something that changes our perspective. We have an experience that teaches us something we couldn't have learned from a book.

That's horsemanship. It's a lifelong process.

And if we're honest with ourselves, there are probably things we do today that our future selves will look back on and think:

“I can't believe I used to do that.”

That's not necessarily failure. That's growth. There's a phrase we often hear:

“If you know better, do better.”

We agree with this phrase. But there's a step missing. You can't do better until you know better. That's why education matters so much.

If we want fewer neglected horses, we need to teach people how to recognize neglect. If we want healthier horses, we need to teach owners about nutrition, dentistry, hoof care, veterinary care, and appropriate management. If we want safer horses, we need to teach people how horses communicate and how to recognize when something is wrong. If we want fewer horses entering rescues on their death beds, we need to educate people before they reach the point of crisis.

Rescue shouldn't only be about what happens after something goes wrong. It should also be about preventing things from going wrong in the first place.

The next time you see someone doing something differently than you would, pause before commenting. Ask yourself:

Is this person intentionally harming their horse?

Or:

Do they simply not know what they don't know?

If they're willing to listen, teach them. Explain. Share resources. Point them toward qualified professionals. And if you don't know the answer yourself, say so. There's nothing wrong with saying:

“I don't know, but let's find out.”

That's education too. Nobody becomes an expert overnight and nobody benefits from being made afraid to ask questions. I train horses for a living and run a rescue - but I will be the first to admit I don't know everything and I learn something new every day.

At Wilde Child Equine Rescue, we believe that every horse deserves proper care - but we also believe that people deserve the opportunity to learn how to provide it. So before you judge someone for what they don't know, consider teaching them.

Before you criticize, consider explaining.

Before you assume they don't care, consider that they may simply not understand.

Because we can't know better if we don't learn better. And when we know better? We have a responsibility to do better.

For the horses.

For the people who love them.

And for the horses who haven't needed rescue yet.