You know as well as anyone that today’s society is dramatically different than it was even just a decade ago. Few children grew up on ranches or farms. They don’t get up early to feed the chickens or milk the cows. But they are buying horses and becoming professionals who work with horses

“There are some people becoming veterinarians with no livestock handling experience at all,” Chris Cox, a professional horseman and founder of Chris Cox Horsemanship told attendees at the 2023 International Hoof-Care Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. “There are farriers with very little livestock handling, too. When I talk about livestock handling, it’s not just a horse, but learning how to read horses and their instincts.”

Despite the lack of experience, the industry relies on people without this first-hand knowledge to join the ranks so that it can survive. Putting yourself in a compromising situation because you feel pressured for time or money, or because a horse is misbehaving, can quickly become a situation that jeopardizes your career. And you can’t rely on the handler anticipating and responding to a horse’s reaction that could hurt you.