Another one of those “Oldie But Goodie” songs.
It’s something that we all want, but don’t always give or get.
You may say that you try to get respect from your horse, sometimes you do, and sometimes you don’t. That problem goes back to you not being consistent in what, and how you ask. If you let him get away with something sometimes, he’s not going to know if it’s acceptable today or not. “CONSISTENT.”
But that’s not where I’m going with this.
Yes you want respect from your horse, but your horse wants respect from you also.
Abuse, under any circumstance, is still abuse.
Most of the people who would even think about reading this post, are caring, loving horse people. The ones who need to be more respectful of their horse are too involved in themselves to care if the horse is being respected. Their horse is just another piece of equipment and a means to their goal. You can usually see the difference in the horses attitude and performance.
A horse that has respect and trust for his rider is one that has been carefully taught that their person, loves them and will keep them safe. I was going to say that Trust is the key word here, but unless it’s incorporated with Safe it doesn’t work. You tell your horse that doing something is perfectly safe and then he gets scared or hurt, is he going to believe you the next time? I don’t think so. Remember a horse is a fight or flight animal, and flight is their first choice. Their person is the lead mare who makes sure their needs are met, will warn them when there is a danger, and support them through any difficult situation. You must first believe in yourself before asking your horse to believe in you. If you are not strong and confident, your horse will have a hard time believing that the horse eating boogeyman behind that bush isn’t going to get him.
The horse that believes in his rider will go above and beyond what his rider asks. They will put their life on the line for someone they trust and respect. I’ve been blessed many times over with horses that would do anything for me. They weren’t my horses and I wasn’t their rider, we were a team. I know I’ve written about this before, but if you’ve ever experienced it, nothing can describe it. We thought as one, we moved as one.
My one horse, Desert, I raised from a baby. He wasn’t my horse, he was an extension of my soul. He knew what I wanted before I even asked, and I knew him as if he were me. It’s kind of how they describe the interaction between twins, no words needed. He would do things for me that were really impossible for him, no questions asked. He was wonderful to use for lessons. He would tell on the children when they weren’t doing something right. He was also a prankster and a comedian. He always made me smile. It broke my heart the day he died, but he can still make me smile when I think of him. As a baby (I had way too much time on my hands waiting for him to grow up) I used to tie my jacket over his head and then lead him through a maze of obstacles. When it came time for me to ride him over a bridge that was washed out, two planks wide with a 20 foot drop, he did it without batting an eye, several times I might add for that fox had a sense of humor.
You can’t muscle them into doing things like this, they have to trust. It has to come from their hearts or they won’t be safe doing what you are asking. If a horse loves you and trusts you he will go beyond all your expectations. If the horse does something because he’s afraid of the consequences he will not do it well or safe. I know I say this a lot.
Do you have this kind of relationship with your horse? Why not?
Make the effort, you will never regret it – ever.
Bravo!
Well worded
Honnee and Desert really were our soul mates
I really appreciate what you wrote! It is so wonderful to read about people who really care. Genuine thinking from the heart center folks. You said it all when you said “We think as one”. You are joined at the heart, bonded as true friends. We respect our friends, & friends are family we choose. Just as a herd is a family. Im sure that if we humans think of our animals as our extended family, surely our horses do too! We know they feel Love & emotions like we do. And sometimes they read us, better than we read them. Language gap. So this is why it is so important to be connected at the heart level. Trust & truth go hand in hand to build a good relationship. Just because we Love someone, doesn’t always mean we can live side by side with them. Our actions are our truth, & trust builds from that. I think animals are much more honest than humans. And they expect honesty from us. I think of honesty as honor. And I believe animals know this too. Being consistent is a form of honesty. Because you can’t be of one mind set one day & another the next. They need to trust we are level headed, just like we do them. Animals have respect for decent behavior as much as the next human. Many times we get caught up in the politics of sport. We may ask our horses for something that is dangerous in the name of winning. They know this when trying to win a mate or right to lead the herd. I wonder how many times they discuss our odd behavior at dinner time? Because we compete for the fun of it. They may at times deem us “crazy”.
My special pony is from Lassen Valley, he was captured at 4months with his mother. Then seperated at 5 months & shipped all over the country for 2 more months, till I adopted him through the BLM wild horse adoption program. Not only did he know instictively I was a predator, because my eyes are in the front of my face. He had it proved to him by being rounded up & treated with no respect. Injured & afraid out of his mind is how I found him. Had my work cut out for me. And I had never been around horses much & had no clue what I was doing. Just read a few books. Watched alot of nature & animals documentaries. And had been born with a Love for large animals. Had a real simple pamphlet on training mustangs by a lady who worked with them specifically. She was genius. Simple is genius. She kept it simple & worked on the fight or flight first. A series of lessons all about exposure to new enviorment, obsticals & “buggers”. All the while being as pleasant & calm as possible. The first excersise is just getting to touch them, lol! They would “bug eye” & shiver! Poor thangs! My boy was a little more so than most. Took him escaping from his paddock into the stallion lot to “win” his trust. After I saved him from certain death, he trusted me. He probably thought I saved him from the “pens” too. Once he was able to be let out of the pen I had him in. It must have seemed like war & slavery for him in the beginning. I saw this & my heart breaks for all those magestic, wild creatures penned up. The look of apathy in their eyes. A once proud beast, now low & broken. Winning a mustang’s trust is a miracle, plain & simple. Yet it was simple to establish. Just a series of unusual events that seemed scary, but turned out to be pleasurable. And establishing good “heart”, connection. Because when we act from the heart, there is truth, but the mind will lie to you. The mind is only as good as it’s programming, just like a computer. Without the correct “app” or tools, it’s useless. The heart connects us to all things, no program required. We can act from Love or fear, when acting from the heart. Fears only purpose is self preservation & Love handles the rest. It is such a simple concept. Yet human life complicates it in ways we may have never imagined. We as animal Lovers know this, because our animals taught us! Hahahaha! And we think we’re the teachers! I feel so blessed to have neen taught by a master (my horse). And to find people of the same heart & mind! Carry on your inner beauty! And be Blessed & Brilliant! Sherry Ventress