In dealing with horses, who are so in tune with themselves and better in tune with us than we are of ourselves, the traditional philosophy is to "break" them. Break them into submission.
Correct them for their missteps. Dominate them.
But why? Where does this come from?
And who thinks they can dominate a 1,000 lb. animal anyway?
Is this the best way? Is this the only way?
We humans have a bad tendency of thinking so highly of ourselves that we believe every other creature is beneath us. Subconsciously or otherwise.
I wholeheartedly believe that horses make me a better human.
They ground me. Center me. Bring me back to the now. This very present moment.
They teach me life lessons.
Fuzzy Indie:
That 6th sense or pit in your stomach when something just doesn't feel right. I think that happens a lot in the horse world. It happens to me.
"Make her do it," "Don't let her get away with that." "She's being so bad."
I've said it myself.
Common statements that are repeated continuously by many horse trainers. In the back of my mind I would wonder, "why? why should she trust me if I'm forcing her or scaring her?"
Horses, as with other animals but unlike humans, don't do things to spite others. She's not being bad. They don't purposely resist just to piss you off. They either have pain, fear of pain, or they don't understand. That's really it.
I am thankful to be finding, in person and online, like minded horse people who can teach me their ways. I have so much to learn and that will never end. It seems a bit overwhelming but it's important to remember great things consist of a lot of little steps. I have a hard time remembering that.
My goal with my horses is to find the happy balance between safe boundaries and an open dialogue of communication leading to learning, on both sides. Consistently. Positively.
Ah I miss summer...
I seem to get so caught up in the fact that I don't know everything yet and the journey seems overwhelming to take my horse(s) from where we are now to where I want us to be.
So sometimes, I don't do anything.
But still, time passes.
Then I try to remember, again, little steps are all that we need.
It's a constant pursuit, both an art and a skill set, that requires time, patience, and practice. Ah.
Ah. Yes.
Time, patience, and practice. Little steps.
So unhuman-like these days.
The chubby, fuzzy BFFs: Indie and Bonita
I need to remember. I'm just a human. So are you.
Let's not beat ourselves up.
And try to let your animals teach you a lesson today.
