You work hard for your business.
Let’s make sure it’s working for you too.
Most people who start equine businesses do it because they love horses — the work, the animals, the community. What they didn't sign up for is the back office: the systems, processes, and people practices that come with having a team.
And yet, that's exactly the part that can quietly hold a business back or unravel it. A staffing gap nobody planned for. A process that only works because one person remembers all the steps. A pay or policy issue that turns into a bigger problem down the road. These aren't hypothetical risks — they're the kinds of things that eat margin, burn out good people, and get in the way of the business you actually set out to build.
Right Lead Equine exists to fix what's getting in the way — and get your business on the right lead.
If putting the right systems in place saves just one equine business owner from that outcome, every bit of this work is worth it.
“I saw that the business side of running an equine operation — the systems, processes, and people practices — is largely missing in this industry, and that gap holds good businesses back. People start equine businesses because they love the work. No one starts one because they love running the back office. With my HR expertise and my own background in the horse industry, I felt I could bridge that gap. If I can help even one equine business run the way its owner always envisioned, it will all be worth it."
— Heather Thoele, Founder
Meet Heather
Heather Thoele is the founder of Right Lead Equine and brings a unique combination of credentials: over 20 years of corporate HR experience and 30 years as a horse person.
On the HR side, Heather holds PHR, SPHR, and SHRM-SCP credentials; some of the most respected certifications in the HR field. Her career has spanned manufacturing, staffing, adult disability services, and third-party logistics. She has been the first HR hire at multiple organizations, building processes, procedures, and people systems from scratch. She has also guided companies through major transitions. She has served as a true HR department of one, which means she knows how to do meaningful, practical work that benefits the entire organization, without a large team or unlimited resources. That experience translates directly to the equine businesses she serves.
As for the horse side, Heather has been a horse owner, a PATH International Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI) with River Valley Riders, and a former Special Olympics Equestrian coach. She has been part of the equine community in Minnesota for over three decades; not as an outsider looking in, but as someone who has mucked stalls, managed lesson programs, navigated the realities of barn life, and understood the deep personal investment that goes into building an equine operation.
She is an active board member of North Star SHRM and keeps current memberships with SHRM, TCSHRM, and MRA to keep her practice connected to the latest developments in HR law, compliance, and best practices so that her clients don't have to track it themselves.
Who Right Lead Equine serves
Right Lead Equine works with equine and equine-adjacent businesses including but not limited to boarding facilities, lesson programs, therapeutic riding centers, equine veterinary practices, and equipment manufacturers. Whether you're a small operation trying to get organized or a growing facility that needs real HR infrastructure, the work is tailored to where you are and what you actually need.
Services include full service HR support, operations process development, staff training, and facilitation.
Ready to talk?
A discovery call is a no-pressure conversation about where your business is, what's keeping you up at night, and whether Right Lead Equine is a good fit.
Reach out below to get started.