Many of us grew up loving, and owning horses since our youth. Some of us came into the wonderful world of horses later in our lives. We love our horses. We spend as much time as we can with our horses. Some of us belong to organizations to support the horse industry. BUT, are you an Ambassador for the horse.
So much of the open land that we rode on as children is disappearing. Horses are being pushed out of places they have been for 100’s of years. People want to move to the country, but once they get there, they change it to look like where they have just moved from. They want paved roads. The horses and the cows smell, so let’s get zoning changed so that they can’t be here anymore. Take down the trees, we don’t want to rake leaves. Seriously??????
How many times have you just ridden by people and not even looked at them, let alone stopped and spoken to them. Yes there are a lot of wacko’s out there, and you must be careful who you chose to speak to, but you can always smile and say hello.
In my morning reading I came across a woman who was raised on a ranch in Utah. Every year they would bring one of their bulls to the fair, children flocked to see him and sit on him. Yes she was promoting her ranch at the fair, but she was also letting children experience the closeness of one of God’s creations. She was showing and sharing her love of her animal with children who had never been that close to a large animal before.
Most horse people I know are not church goers. Although, more are now since someone came up with the idea of Cowboy Church. You get a Bible Lesson and a horse related experience all at the same time. When I was a kid I never thought of bringing my horse to church, in the house yes. Yet I believe that horse people are more spiritual than people outside of our loop. We have more connection with nature and creation because we can actually touch it, feel it, smell it, and get love back in return. We love spending our days wandering through woods and fields. We notice the comings and goings of other creatures. We watch the birds of the air. We see the little water critters scurry when our horses feet hit the stream. We stop, look, and listen to the sounds of life beyond who we are.
Yes, large organizations promote our industry. Even backyard groups are trying to keep horses where they have always been in the past. But it is up to us, as individuals, to be Ambassadors of the horse to people we meet around us. Together we can fight the tide of building that is taking away our open space, but individually we can change the mind of our neighbors about what a horse really is. If you have a quiet horse, be the one to stop and let a child or an adult pet him/her. Let people know they are not big scary animals, but just large lap dogs. If more non-horse people were allowed to touch, pet, and ask questions, we would not look so much like aliens. It would open up the lines of communication.
We may not be Ambassadors of great nations all over the world, but we can be Ambassadors of ours.