--- title: “I Don’t Know” Might Be the Best Answer Your Bodyworker Gives You description: Discover why “I don't know” can be a sign of expertise and how critical thinking, professional boundaries, and collaboration lead to better care. image: https://equine-kneads.com/hubfs/used%20(2).png --- [![Equine Kneads Website Images - Med Rectangle-21](https://equine-kneads.com/hubfs/Equine%20Kneads%20Website%20Images%20-%20Med%20Rectangle-21.png)](https://equine-kneads.com) - [ABOUT](https://equine-kneads.com/about) - [PROGRAMS](https://equine-kneads.com/programs) - [Equine Massage Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-massage-certificate) - [Equine Cryotherapy Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-cryotherapy-certificate) - [Equine Cupping Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-cupping-certificate) - [Equine Anatomy & Physiology Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-anatomy-physiology-certificate) - [MENTORSHIP](https://equine-kneads.com/business-mentorship) - RESOURCES - [Owner & Practitioner Resources](https://equine-kneads.com/owner-practitioner-resources) - [Student Resources & Policies](https://equine-kneads.com/student-resources-policies) - [Blog: Inside Equine Bodywork](https://equine-kneads.com/blog) - [SERVICES](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-massage-and-bodywork-services) [CONTACT](https://equine-kneads.com/contact) [APPLY TODAY](https://equine-kneads.com/apply) # “I Don’t Know” Might Be the Best Answer Your Bodyworker Gives You Discover why “I don't know” can be a sign of expertise and how critical thinking, professional boundaries, and collaboration lead to better care. [Christina Naas](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/author/christina-naas) Nov 7, 2026 --- There is an interesting expectation developing in equine bodywork. The good bodyworker is supposed to know; they are supposed to have the answer. You show them how your horse stands, and they should know why. You tell them your horse struggles to bend to the left, and they should know which muscle is responsible. They notice an asymmetry, and they should be able to explain exactly what is causing it. And, preferably, they should be able to fix it. After all, you just saw someone on social media who explained why a horse was moving a certain way in a thirty-second video. They identified the problem, named the muscle, demonstrated a technique, and showed the horse moving differently afterward. So shouldn't your bodyworker be able to do the same thing? Not necessarily. In fact, one of the things I have come to respect most in experienced professionals is their willingness to say, “I don't know.” This answer is not because they lack knowledge, but because they understand the difference between what they can observe, what they can reasonably conclude, and what they still need to figure out. That distinction matters more than we sometimes realize, owner or professional. ## Expertise Isn't Knowing Everything There is no practitioner who knows everything about the horse. Not your bodyworker, not your veterinarian, not your farrier, not your saddle fitter, not your trainer, no one. And that is okay. Even when professionals understand the anatomy involved in a particular movement, that doesn't automatically tell us why an individual horse is moving that way. Let's take something seemingly simple: “My horse doesn't bend well to the left.” As a bodyworker, I can tell you which muscles contribute to that movement. I can observe the horse standing and moving, assess soft tissue through palpation, and look for patterns that might help me understand what I am seeing. I can develop hypotheses based on those findings, but I cannot automatically tell you the cause. There may be soft-tissue involvement; there may be joint-related limitations, pain, hoof mechanics, saddle fit, conformation, strength, coordination, training, or rider influence contributing to what we are seeing. In short, there may be several factors interacting with one another. Sometimes, the information I have during a bodywork session simply isn't enough to distinguish between those possibilities. Understanding anatomy as a bodyworker gives us a framework for asking better questions, and understanding biomechanics helps us make connections between structure, load, and movement. Then, palpation gives us information about the tissues we are assessing. And yes, those are incredibly valuable skills as a bodyworker, but none of them gives us permission to turn an observation into a diagnosis or present a hypothesis as an established fact. The goal isn't to have an immediate explanation for everything we see. It is to understand what we are seeing well enough to determine what information we need next to support your horse. ## Confidence Isn't the Same as Competence Certainty sounds knowledgeable. “This is what's happening.” “This muscle is causing the problem.” “Your horse is compensating because of this.” “This technique will correct it.” Those statements are compelling and often attractive for a client or owner. They are also easy to turn into social media content because they offer something people naturally want: a clear explanation and a solution. Now compare that with: “I'm seeing a few things that could contribute to this, but I don't have enough information yet to tell you why it's happening.” Which practitioner sounds more confident? Probably the first. But confidence alone doesn't tell us who is doing the better thinking and ultimatley, who is providing better care for the horse. The practitioner who gives you an immediate answer may end up being correct, but they also may be making an inaccurate assumption based on a familiar pattern without considering the other possibilities. Meanwhile, the practitioner who takes time to observe, asks questions, and acknowledges uncertainty may have a much better understanding of what the situation actually requires. More often than not, the more we learn about the equine body, the less comfortable we become making absolute statements about it. That isn't a sign of a lack of confidence or competence. In fact, it is quite the opposite; it can be a sign that we understand just how much context matters. The longer we work with horses, the more individual they become. We start recognizing that two horses can present with similar movement patterns for very different reasons. We learn that a finding in one area doesn't automatically explain what is happening somewhere else. We begin to understand how easily an apparently straightforward situation can become more complicated once we start asking the right questions. Experience doesn't mean we always know the answer. Experience means we have learned how careful we need to be before giving one. ## Recognizing a Pattern Isn't the Same as Knowing Its Cause This brings us back to compensation, which we discussed in [Compensation Isn't the Problem: It's the Body Solving One](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/compensation-isnt-the-problem-its-the-body-solving-one). A bodyworker may recognize a compensatory pattern without knowing what created it, and that is an important distinction. We may see a horse standing unevenly, struggling with a particular movement, or developing asymmetrical musculature. We recognize that something is different, and we begin considering what might explain it, but identifying a pattern is only the beginning. Remember, compensation may be the body's way of maintaining function when something else is challenging it. The horse may be adapting to discomfort, a limitation, instability, a change in workload, or any number of other factors. So the question isn't simply, “How do I eliminate this compensation?” It is, “What might the horse's body be responding to, and what information would help me understand how to address it as a whole for the long term?” And bodywork may not be able to answer that question alone. If pain may be involved, we need veterinary input. If hoof mechanics appear relevant, the farrier may have valuable information. If equipment could be influencing movement, saddle fit deserves consideration. If the pattern changes under saddle, training and rider influence may need to be part of the conversation. Are you sensing the theme here? Recognizing a pattern doesn't automatically tell us which of those factors is responsible. It certainly doesn't mean we should select the explanation that best fits the technique we want to use. Our job as an effective bodyworker isn't to make every observation fit a familiar explanation. It is to remain curious enough to consider whether our initial interpretation actually makes sense and adjust accordingly. ## “That's Outside My Scope” Is a Good Answer Your bodyworker should have professional boundaries. There should be findings that prompt a referral to a veterinarian, and there should be situations in which a session needs to stop. A professional bodyworker should come across questions that require input from another professional. And there will be things a practitioner simply hasn't encountered before. I'd much rather hear, “I'm not familiar enough with that to give you a responsible answer,” than hear an explanation created because someone feels pressured to sound knowledgeable. As equine bodyworkers, we need to be able to distinguish between what we can assess within our professional scope and what requires an evaluation from another professional. We can observe movement, assess soft tissue, document findings, and communicate changes we notice. We can recognize patterns that warrant further investigation. We can share our observations with the horse's care team and help owners understand what we are seeing. But we are not veterinarians, and recognizing a potential problem is not the same as diagnosing it. Staying within our scope doesn't make our role less valuable. It allows us to contribute appropriately without pretending to have answers that require a different kind of expertise. Professionalism isn't demonstrated by never reaching the limits of your knowledge. It's demonstrated by what you do when you reach them. ## Referring Doesn't Mean Failing Sometimes, the most valuable thing I can do during a bodywork session isn't another technique. It's saying, “I'd like your veterinarian to evaluate this before we proceed.” Or, “Let's talk with your farrier about what we're seeing.” Or, “I'd like to know what your saddle fitter observes.” Or even, “Let's hold off on working in this area until we have more information.” Those aren't failures. They are decisions made with the horse's best interests in mind. One of the biggest misconceptions about professional bodywork is that we should always be able to do something during every session. We have been hired to help the horse, so we feel an obligation to produce an outcome. But doing more isn't automatically doing better. If the information we have raises questions about whether bodywork is appropriate, applying more techniques isn't necessarily the answer. Sometimes, the responsible decision is to stop, document what we have found, and refer the horse for further evaluation. The horse doesn't benefit from us proving how much we know. The horse benefits when we make decisions that support appropriate care. ## More Modalities Don't Make Someone More Qualified There is always another certification, modality, tool, release technique, or system to learn, and continuing education is important. Learning new approaches can expand our understanding and give us additional options when working with horses, but having the largest toolbox doesn't necessarily make someone the best at what they do. I want a bodyworker who understands anatomy and biomechanics. Someone who has developed their palpation skills and knows how to observe a horse before beginning treatment. Someone who can connect what they feel with what they see, consider different explanations, and adapt their approach to the individual horse. I want someone who understands contraindications, recognizes when a technique isn't appropriate, and doesn't feel compelled to use every modality they have learned during every session, and I want someone who knows when the answer isn't another technique. Learning how to perform a technique is only one part of becoming a competent practitioner. Knowing when to use it, when not to use it, what to monitor, and when to seek additional information requires a different set of skills. That is where education needs to go beyond memorizing anatomy and collecting certifications. We need to develop the ability to think through a situation, recognize the limitations of our findings, and make responsible decisions when the answer isn't immediately obvious. Give me a practitioner who can do that and is comfortable saying, “This isn't mine to solve alone.” That's someone I can and want to work with. [Those are the bodyworkers I seek to train.](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/the-fastest-path-isnt-always-the-best-path) ## Sometimes We Don't Get the Result We Wanted Bodywork doesn't guarantee a particular outcome. Sometimes a horse responds beautifully. Sometimes the changes are subtle; sometimes we don't see the change we expected, and sometimes the horse tells us that our initial interpretation may not have been correct. When that happens, a good practitioner doesn't necessarily reach deeper into the toolbox and start throwing more techniques at the horse. We reassess. Did the findings match our original hypothesis? Did the horse respond as expected? Is the change we observed meaningful? Are we addressing something that is actually contributing to the movement pattern, or are we working with tissue that is responding to something else? Maybe our hypothesis was wrong. Maybe the tissue we are treating isn't driving what we are seeing. Maybe the horse needs a different kind of intervention. Maybe we need more information before we can make a responsible decision about what to do next. Those are all possibilities worth considering. There is a temptation to interpret every unsuccessful session as a reason to try harder, use another modality, or find a more sophisticated technique. But sometimes the most useful response is to reconsider the question we were trying to answer in the first place. Changing your approach when the information changes isn't incompetence. It's reasoning. The ability to reassess rather than defend an initial conclusion is an important part of professional growth. ## Maybe We Need to Redefine What Expertise Looks Like Social media unfortunately rewards certainty, but equine bodies require context. Social media rewards dramatic results, but equine bodies require intentional observation over time. Social media rewards simple explanations, but equine bodies are complicated and unique.   That doesn't mean we should dismiss everything we learn through social media. There is genuinely useful information being shared, and accessible education can help owners become more informed advocates for their horses. But a short video cannot provide all the information needed to understand an individual horse. A familiar movement pattern doesn't automatically establish its cause, and an impressive before-and-after comparison doesn't tell us everything about what happened between those two moments, as we discussed in [Observation is Not Diagnosis](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/observation-is-not-diagnosis). Unfortunately, the person with the quickest answer and the most confidence can easily appear to be the expert. But good practitioners don't demonstrate their knowledge by having an explanation for everything. They demonstrate it through the questions they ask, the things they notice, the connections they consider, the limitations they recognize, and the decisions they make. And, sometimes, they demonstrate it through the things they deliberately choose not to do. Personally, that is what I want more of in equine bodywork. Not practitioners who are afraid to answer questions, but practitioners who understand the difference between an informed answer and an assumption. Not practitioners who stop learning because they have reached a certain level of experience, but practitioners who continue learning because they recognize how much there is still to understand. And not practitioners who feel they must solve every problem themselves, but practitioners who understand how their work fits into the larger picture of caring for a horse. No single professional has every answer, and no single modality can address every situation. Our horse deserves a team of people who understand their individual roles, communicate with one another, and recognize when another perspective is needed. ## So, What Should You Expect From Your Bodyworker? If your bodyworker occasionally says, “I don't know,” I wouldn't automatically assume you need a better bodyworker. I'd pay attention to what happens next. Do they explain what they observed? Can they tell you what they are considering and what they still need to understand? Do they recognize when something falls outside their scope? Are they willing to refer you to another professional when appropriate? Are they comfortable reassessing when the horse doesn't respond as expected? And are they willing to tell you when they don't believe bodywork is the appropriate next step? Those are important questions. Because “I don't know” doesn't necessarily mean “I don't understand.” Sometimes, it means, “I understand enough to know that the information I have doesn't justify a definitive answer yet.” Sometimes, it means, “I have identified something worth investigating, but I need another professional's expertise to help determine what it means.” And sometimes, it means, “My original interpretation may have been wrong, and I need to reconsider based on what I'm now seeing.” Those are very different things from simply not knowing what to do. **Good bodywork isn't about having an answer for everything. It's about knowing how to think through what we observe, how to recognize the limits of our knowledge, and how to make decisions that serve the horse rather than our own need to be right.** And as bodyworkers, if we want to raise the standard of equine bodywork, that is a skill we need to teach, practice, and value just as much as any hands-on technique. Because the goal isn't to work with practitioners who never say, “I don't know”; it's to hire practitioners who know what to do next. ## Similar posts ### [Your Horse is Allowed to Be Imperfect](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/your-horse-is-allowed-to-be-imperfect) Christina Naas Oct 15, 2026 Bodywork Education ### [Your Horse Usually Tells You Before Something Goes Wrong](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/your-horse-usually-tells-you-before-something-goes-wrong) Christina Naas Sep 12, 2026 ### [Why Some Things Deserve More Than a Social Media Post](https://equine-kneads.com/blog/posting-educational-content-on-social-media) Christina Naas Nov 7, 2026 ### Stay Connected with Equine Kneads Whether you're a horse owner or bodywork professional, get the latest tips, insights, and resources for equine bodywork delivered straight to your inbox. **Join our email list today and start receiving:** - Exclusive educational content and practical tips - Updates on courses, workshops, and events - Resources to help you grow your skills and practice - Ways to support the health and performance of the horses you love.   [![STAY CONNECTED & JOIN THE COMMUNITY](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/48551514/interactive-390335592143.png)](https://equine-kneads.com/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLxW5ntmoMtTgVTvoMgUKBXrvOu5pb999dMgf8K3cW9YqHP3k4S%2B3lyLuW%2Fo7marRW5iWj0vrhZtGZi6YKWzuc9MTwqr1eNEXop1vcIRVzS6DAxyOPAdnSZR9EkgR0NosvXnJQwkPwMTlGqKzK01iJjB1V7IuisTh16GgmDJ5AuvhHUt4sK7EMF4wWlkhNLl%2Bqqi3iyKMbSz8W0vgoz6lNB8QSYJos6ZO6AQv%2BnTFVv%2Fi4%3D&webInteractiveContentId=390335592143&portalId=48551514) [![Equine Kneads Logo](https://equine-kneads.com/hubfs/Equine%20Kneads%20Website%20Images%20-%20Square-4.png)](https://equine-kneads.com) [admin@equine-kneads.com](mailto:admin@equine-kneads.com)  Administrative Offices: 1819 90th Ave.Hammond, WI 54015 ### Information - [Home](https://equine-kneads.com) - [About](https://equine-kneads.com/about) - [Our Programs](https://equine-kneads.com/programs) - [Request More Information](https://equine-kneads.com/request-information) - [Apply Today](https://equine-kneads.com/apply) - [Enrollment Agreement](https://equine-kneads.com/enrollment-agreement) - [Sign Up For Our Newsletter](https://swml6.share-na2.hsforms.com/2lYhH9m51QBGzirePGacRYQ) - [Contact](https://equine-kneads.com/contact) - [Submit Payment](https://equine-kneads.com/submit-payment) - [Shop Equine Kneads Apparel](https://equine-kneads.com/apparel) - [Student Dashboard](https://equinekneads-school.teachable.com) ### Programs - [Equine Massage Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-massage-certificate) - [Equine Cryotherapy Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-cryotherapy-certificate) - [Equine Cupping Intensive](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-cupping-certificate) - [Equine Anatomy & Physiology Certificate](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-anatomy-physiology-certificate) - [Owners Workshop](https://equine-kneads.com/owners-workshop) - [Business Mentorship](https://equine-kneads.com/business-mentorship) ### Resources - [Owner & Practitioner Resources](https://equine-kneads.com/owner-practitioner-resources) - [Student Resources & Policies](https://equine-kneads.com/student-resources-policies) - [Blog: Inside Equine Bodywork](https://equine-kneads.com/blog) ### Services - [Equine Massage & Bodywork Services](https://equine-kneads.com/equine-massage-and-bodywork-services) - [Schedule Equine Massage & Bodywork Services](https://equine-kneads.com/bodywork-service-inquiry) - [New Client Intake Form](https://equine-kneads.com/new-client-intake) - [Cancellation Policy](https://equine-kneads.com/cancellation-policy) © 2025 Equine Kneads all rights reserved.  [Privacy Policy](https://equine-kneads.com/privacy-policy).  [Terms and Conditions](https://equine-kneads.com/terms-and-conditions).  Website by [Sweet Iron Marketing.](https://www.sweetironco.com)   *Equine Kneads Academy currently delivers didactic instruction online.*   *All in-person practicum experiences are conducted **outside the State of Wisconsin** at approved locations.* *Equine Kneads Academy does not enroll or educate Wisconsin residents at this time. 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