Dear Horse World

You might know this feeling all too well. You want to trust your feel, keep growing, and do right by your horse, yet something in the culture makes you hesitate. Questioning a method or following your instincts can feel dangerous, like one honest moment could cost you belonging, spark backlash, or even put a target on your back.
In this episode, Sharon Madere, an equine behavior consultant and cult survivor, brings a special combination of lived experience and scientific expertise to help riders reclaim their clarity, confidence, and curiosity. As a lifelong horsewoman, she understands the mechanics of influence, pressure, and obedience in ways most people never articulate. And she applies that perspective directly to the horse world in a way that is both affirming and liberating.
In this conversation, you will learn:

The clear signs of cult-like leadership in horse communities
Why emotionally charged language like disrespect or naughty derails presence and erodes confidence
How to stay grounded, think critically, and avoid manipulation as a student or owner
Practical tips on training, positive reinforcement, and making better choices for you AND your horse  
Why empowerment and curiosity matter more than any "guru"
Sharon also shares practical strategies for safer, clearer horsemanship, from building boundaries in a herd to teaching effective trailer loading. It is a conversation that blends science, psychology, and lived wisdom into something every rider can immediately apply.
Resources and Mentions:
Sharon's podcast: Feet of Clay: Confessions of the Cult Sisters
Sharon's Website : EquiLightenment.com
International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC)

Chapters:
00:00 Is the Horse World Acting Like a Cult?
02:10 Sharon's Story: Growing Up in a Religious Cult
08:45 How Cult Psychology Works
15:20 Authority Culture in Horse Training
21:30 The Danger of "Disrespect" in Horsemanship
28:40 When Riders Stop Trusting Their Intuition
35:15 Science vs Dogma in Equine Behavior
43:00 Reclaiming Critical Thinking in the Horse World
50:00 What Needs to Change
This episode is sponsored by YETI
Made for early mornings in the barn and long days in the saddle. Whether you're hauling feed, chasing daylight on the trail, or loading up for a weekend on the road, YETI coolers and drinkware are built to handle it.
No shortcuts. No compromise.
Just gear that works as hard as you do.
Explore more at YETI.com | @YETI | facebook.com/YETI

In Part 2 with Dr. Dennis Brooks, we step fully into the world as horses see it. This episode unpacks the five emerging immune mediated eye diseases he is treating around the world, why one of them is more alarming than moon blindness, and how tiny changes in the cornea can trigger sudden behavior shifts.
We explore how horses process color, motion, and depth, why their optic nerves move information faster than ours, and how they can perform at an elite level with one eye or even with no vision. We also bridge ophthalmology with neuroscience to understand how the equine brain reads emotion, remembers experiences, and navigates the world with extraordinary sensitivity.
In this episode, you will learn:
• The five types of immune mediated keratitis and the one specialists worry most about
• How to spot early signs of cloudiness, floaters, or subtle vision changes
• What colors horses truly see and how this affects training and jump design
• Why horses detect motion in low light far better than humans
• How elite horses perform with limited or no vision
• How the equine brain processes emotion, memory, and spatial cues
• When sudden behavior changes may originate in the eye and what to do next
Connect with Dr. Dennis Brooks : 
• Facebook: Dr. Dennis Brooks, Equine Ophthalmologist
Book they would read to the Horse World - Veterinary and Comparative Ophthalmology, published in 1914 by Eugene Nicolas 
Episode sponsored by:
Total Feeds
Our mission to provide quality nutrition to people and animals puts us in contact with all manner of interesting folks. Whether you're interested in our animal feed, or the people involved in the animal industry: you'll find it at Total Feeds!
Check out our line of Quality Animal Feeds here: https://totalfeeds.com
YETI
Made for early mornings in the barn and long days in the saddle. Whether you're hauling feed, chasing daylight on the trail, or loading up for a weekend on the road, YETI coolers and drinkware are built to handle it.
No shortcuts. No compromise.
Just gear that works as hard as you do.
Explore more at yeti.com | @yeti | facebook.com/YETI
And for even more expert-led workshops, in-depth courses, and exclusive lectures designed to elevate your riding and horsemanship, visit NoelleFloydPlus.com and use code 'DHW' for 15% off annual memberships!
NF+ brings you direct access to top equestrian professionals, training insights, and a passionate community of riders dedicated to learning and improving.
And you can follow us on instagram too!
Click here 👉 www.instagram.com/dearhorseworld

When you meet Dr. Dennis Brooks, you understand why horse people around the world talk about him with a kind of reverence. He is one of the most influential equine ophthalmologists of our time, the OG of horse eye care, yet what makes him unforgettable is not just the medicine. It is the heart behind it.
In this episode, Dennis takes us inside the world of horse eyes with the clarity of a teacher, the soul of a storyteller, and the honesty of someone who has spent a lifetime caring deeply for horses and the people who love them.
In this episode, you'll hear:
Why Dennis became the original pioneer of modern equine ophthalmology
How breakthrough surgeries changed what is possible for horses with severe eye disease
Why Appaloosas are genetically more vulnerable to uveitis
The simple eyelash position test that instantly tells you if a horse is in eye pain
How the immune system and the eye communicate and why that matters
What immune mediated keratitis is and the 5 emerging types Dennis is seeing worldwide
Why one of those new diseases is more frightening than moon blindness
What every horse owner should know to protect their horse's vision
This episode blends science with story, medicine with emotion, and legacy with practical takeaways. It is a rare chance to learn from the man who shaped an entire field while reminding us that the best medicine always begins with human connection.
This episode is brought to you by Total Feeds
Our mission to provide quality nutrition to people and animals puts us in contact with all manner of interesting folks. Whether you're interested in our animal feed, or the people involved in the animal industry: you'll find it at Total Feeds!
Check out our line of Quality Animal Feeds here: https://totalfeeds.com
And for even more expert-led workshops, in-depth courses, and exclusive lectures designed to elevate your riding and horsemanship, visit NoelleFloydPlus.com and use code 'DHW' for 15% off annual memberships!
NF+ brings you direct access to top equestrian professionals, training insights, and a passionate community of riders dedicated to learning and improving.
And you can follow us on instagram too!
Click here 👉 www.instagram.com/dearhorseworld

Part 2 continues the conversation by moving into the moments that test riders and trainers alike. This episode focuses on what happens when something doesn't feel right, and the courage it can take to pause, question, or choose a different path in the middle of a lesson.
Karen Rohlf is an FEI Grand Prix dressage rider, USDF Gold Medalist, internationally respected clinician, and the founder of Dressage Naturally. In this part of the conversation, Karen explores how easily context gets overlooked in training, and why protecting the relationship must come before any single exercise or result.
Karen and Noelle talk about situations many riders recognize immediately: being asked to push forward when a horse is clearly uncomfortable, feeling pressure to comply even when instincts say otherwise, and how quickly intuition can be silenced.
In this episode, you'll hear:
Why some "training problems" are actually context problems
How fear and tension are often mislabeled
How to be a mindful, courageous student
How trainers can foster confident, curious riders
Why no result is worth sacrificing the relationship


Karen also shares how different horses require different approaches, why consistency does not mean sameness, and how commitment to a decision matters more than the decision itself. 
Part 2 invites riders and trainers to reflect on how trust is built moment by moment, and how much influence educators have in shaping riders who feel safe to think, feel, and advocate for their horses.
Resources & Mentions
Karen Rohlf's Book: Dressage Naturally
https://dressagenaturally.net/book/

Dressage Naturally
https://dressagenaturally.net/

Parelli
https://parelli.com/


The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

Episode Sponsored by:
YETI
Made for early mornings in the barn and long days in the saddle. Whether you're hauling feed, chasing daylight on the trail, or loading up for a weekend on the road, YETI coolers and drinkware are built to handle it.
No shortcuts. No compromise.
Just gear that works as hard as you do.
Explore more at yeti.com | @yeti | facebook.com/YETI
Amazon Disclosure: Third-party books and products denoted on this page and website may be hyperlinked to the Amazon affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Have you ever questioned whether the way you've been taught to train truly fits the horse in front of you? Most people don't. And when they do, they're often reprimanded for it, which is usually enough to make them stop asking.
We repeat the same exercises and routines because that's how we were taught, rarely questioning the system even when our horses do. This conversation challenges that pattern and asks a harder question: what happens when the system stops working for the horse?
Karen Rohlf is an FEI Grand Prix dressage rider, USDF Gold Medalist, internationally respected clinician, and the founder of Dressage Naturally. Her career spans the highest levels of the sport, but the foundation of her work traces back to her first horse. As a child, Karen watched that horse be sold and change in ways that frightened her. Same horse. Same environment. Completely different outcome under different hands. That moment led her to make a promise to herself and to every horse she would ride, a promise that still guides her work today.
In Part 1, Karen shares stories she rarely tells publicly. She explains why she stepped away from a conventional training model most professionals never question. She tells the story of a horse who flinched simply for touching something in the barn aisle, and what changed when she responded differently than she had been taught. These moments show how curiosity and confidence can return to horses who have shut down, and why what we call tension is often something we haven't learned to read.
During the conversation, lightning strikes just as Karen names three essential needs of horses, reinforcing a central theme of the episode: the system is often the problem, not the horse.
In this episode, you will hear:
The childhood experience that shaped Karen's approach to horses
Why curiosity is often suppressed and what happens when it returns
How to distinguish between physical, mental, and emotional training challenges
Why giving horses real choice builds confidence rather than resistance
Why no two horses should ever be trained the same way
How tension often disguises itself as dullness or resistance
In this episode, you will learn how to recognize horses as individuals and partners, and how to ground your training in responsibility and trust.
Resources & Mentions:
Karen Rohlf's Book: Dressage Naturally
https://dressagenaturally.net/book/
Dressage Naturally
https://dressagenaturally.net/
Episode Sponsored by:
YETI
Made for early mornings in the barn and long days in the saddle. Whether you're hauling feed, chasing daylight on the trail, or loading up for a weekend on the road, YETI coolers and drinkware are built to handle it.
No shortcuts.
No compromise. 
Just gear that works as hard as you do. Explore more at yeti.com.
📱 @yeti
📱 facebook.com/YETI