“When a human is not present, either within the shared physical space between themselves and their horse, or emotionally immature about how they show up for their horse, or they fail to manifest the positivity of outcomes that will mutually benefit the inner, authentic needs of the horse, there is a deficit of understanding, and that relationship is bound to break down. It is imperative a human take the lead, and be the first to reach out, to clarify the question, and as a de facto mentor, guide their horse toward the answer. That way, those critical emotions so necessary to a healthy, balanced collaboration will succeed, and an honest conversation can be had between both horse and human." 

How many times did you have to read that before it made complete sense to you (if it made sense at all)? 

This is what that paragraph is actually intended to mean: “People are often not aware of what their horse is thinking and feeling about both the work and the relationship.”

 I wrote this sentence. The above paragraph is my wife’s version of the same sentence written in corporate speak. I chose to create this piece instead of copying it from a real source to avoid people screaming about their favourite trainer being singled out for criticism. Nevertheless, my wife’s version is pretty close to what is out there for you to find.

It has become unavoidable to notice how common it is to read posts that use unnecessarily complex language to describe simple concepts.

Jargon is part of every industry and aspect of our world. We all use jargon to some extent. But the point of jargon is to communicate with people who use the same jargon. When I was a medical researcher I used abbreviations and language meant to make talking to other people in the same field easier. But using that language with people outside of my field of science created confusion. On the other hand, if I said to my science friends, “the reins should connect through the whole horse via the topline to encourage engagement of the hindquarters”, they’d look at me in confusion and stop listening.

Language is for communication and the language we use should be the most suitable for the audience we are communicating with.

I sometimes read FB posts by a horse trainer or a behaviourist, whose audience is rarely educated in academic behavioural research or physiology or anatomy or from wherever the jargon is derived. I wonder who are these trainers trying to talk to. If they were posting an abstract for a conference or a science journal for colleagues in the same field, I’d be more tolerant and less bothered by their language. However, that’s rarely the case. The very fact that they are publishing on a horse forum or a trainer’s FB page tells me their audience is largely the average horse owner.

As horse professionals, we constantly harp on the need to be crystal clear when working with a horse. Clarity in our communication is the path to both comfort and confidence for a horse. It’s one of the most important aspects of getting along with a horse. Yet, for some experts in the industry that concept seems to have escaped them when communicating with people. Many see the need for clarity with horses, but not so much with people

However, I will say that it is my observation that the move to unnecessary complex and flowery language is fairly new. So it is language they have deliberately chosen to use and taken the time to learn. It’s not a way of communicating they innately know. It’s a conscious choice. I have to wonder why? What does it add to their student’s horsemanship? What benefit does it give horses? What will a rider do differently knowing that, “manifestation comes from being ones authentic self”, or knowing that, “proopiomelanocortin peptides from the anterior pituitary are in play when the sympathetic nervous system switch is triggered”.

 As I said, if I was talking to people familiar with the field and the jargon there would be no problem. But I am confused what is the purpose of such convoluted jargon when talking to your average horse owner. Is it to better educate people or is it to market oneself as being different from other horse professionals? I don’t know the answer. However, I am confused why I am being asked to decipher such a complex and flowery language when a simple and straightforward one does the job just as well or better.