Why Horses Don’t Care About Your Plans

Dennis Cappel
Nov 10
2 min read

Clear Mental Horsemanship with Dennis Cappel

Have you ever been in a hurry running late for a horse show, a sale, or a roping? You’ve got everything packed, the truck’s running, and you just need to catch your horse so you can hit the road.

But suddenly… you can’t catch the horse.

He’s standing out there in the pasture looking right at you, perfectly aware that you’re running behind and he could not care less.

He’s not worried about your schedule. He’s not stressed about your entry time. He’s just being a horse, doing what horses do, reading energy, not calendars.

And you know what? The same thing happens at shows. You work hard to get ready, feel great about your runs at home, and just know this is your weekend. Then you unload at the show grounds, and your horse acts like he’s never seen a saddle before.

Sound familiar?

It happens to all of us sooner or later.

So why is that?

I don’t think there’s any mystery to it. Horses don’t care about our plans because they live by their understanding, not ours. They don’t measure success by ribbons, times, or how fast we get there. They’re simply responding moment by moment to the energy we bring.

That’s where our job as humans comes in.

Our responsibility is to master our own emotions to learn how to present ourselves consistently, no matter what’s going on inside or around us. Because our horses are reading us all the time.

They see when we’re happy, anxious, frustrated, or fearful.

They notice when our confidence wavers or our energy spikes.

They don’t necessarily judge it; they just mirror it.

And that’s what often surprises us.

Because the message we think we’re giving isn’t always the one they’re receiving.

When we’re rushed, stressed, or distracted, our bodies, tone, and timing shift, and our horses pick up on that instantly. They start to act differently, not because they woke up on the wrong side of the stall, but because we did.

The truth is, a horse is a reflection of what’s going on inside of us.

If we can accept that, really accept it, then we gain the ability to shape our future with them. Every moment around a horse is a chance to learn something about ourselves, to refine our inner balance, and to practice steadiness in motion and emotion.

Because when we get clear, they get calm.

And that’s when everything starts to work, horse and human moving as one, no hurry, no conflict, just honest connection.

Mindful Riding,

Dennis Cappel - Master Horseman

www.cappeltrainingandshoeng.com