Artist Statement

Artist Statement – Brett Badgett

Equus Docet — “The Horse Teaches”

My art is born of a lifelong dialogue with the horse. From my family’s roots in Montana’s horse industry since the late 1800s to my years as a professional horseman and Equine Studies professor, the horse has been both subject and teacher. The phrase Equus Docet—“The Horse Teaches”—is the philosophy that guides my work.

The horse teaches presence, patience, and feel; it reveals truth to those still enough to listen. In my studio, that lesson continues through oil and clay. Each piece becomes a study in observation—an effort to translate the unspoken connection between human, animal, and landscape.

My wife’s insights into biology, my academic background, and my Montana heritage all deepen this exploration of interdependence and resilience. Horses, wildlife, and open country are not motifs but partners in a shared story about humility and belonging within the natural world.

Equus Docet echoes an old lineage—from Xenophon to the Dorrance brothers—where learning begins with respect. My work extends that tradition, offering moments of quiet recognition:

The horse teaches. I observe.