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WHAT CAN YOUR HORSE DO FOR YOU?
by Nancy M Smith
Do
you ever wonder what it is about
horses that we love so much?
Why are we willing to make
physical, emotional and
financial sacrifices to keep
horses in the forefront of our
daily lives? What allure does
the horse have that makes you
willing to rise at daybreak
seven days a week to feed him
and brave the cold winter
evenings to ride him? The
activity of riding is
understandably fun, good
exercise and exhilarating all at
once. But I would like to
address the understated reasons
that horses are so beneficial to
our growth and development both
emotionally and spiritually.
If you visit a bookstore,
you can find shelf after shelf
of “self help” books that are
meant to help you become a
better person. After reading one
of these books, it occurred to
me that having horses in my life
has given me the opportunity to
grow in all of the areas
mentioned in the book. Here
follows some character traits
that we all would do well to
improve upon and how the horse
helps us to accomplish that in a
way that is so understated, that
many times we don't even
recognize him as our teacher:
PATIENCE- Being around
horses requires infinite amounts
of patience. It is like having
a child that is perpetually 2
years old. He can never quite
fend for himself, always
depending on you for his every
need. Trying to communicate
effectively when neither of you
speaks the same language is a
challenge. You are accustomed
to communicating verbally and he
lives by watching the body
language of his peers. It is
nothing short of a miracle that
he can learn to decipher the
language of the legs and hands
of the rider and translate that
into a beautiful dressage
movement.
HUMILITY- How many times
have you heard there is nothing
like a horse to make you
humble? Just when you think you
have mastered the half-halt, two
strides later the horse acts
like he has never heard it
before. The horse reminds us
that we are not always right and
that there is no place for ego
when it comes to being a good
rider. We must always remember
that the horse has a choice of
whether or not to cooperate and
it shouldn’t be taken for
granted that he puts his gentle
spirit in our hands.
EMPATHY- the
Merriam-Webster dictionary
defines empathy as the action of
understanding, being aware of,
being sensitive to, and
vicariously experiencing the
feelings, thoughts, and
experiences of another. Many
times it is difficult to
remember that our agenda is not
necessarily the same as our
horse’s and no matter how much
we try, the horse always pushes
the pencil last. The great
rider is able to avoid serving
his own interest at the expense
of the horses thoughts and
feelings.
FORGIVENESS- when you are
at odds with your horse over
something, you must make a
correction and move on instead
of dwelling on the mistake. If
you had a rough ride the day
before, you can’t bring a grudge
to the next ride. If your horse
doesn’t live up to your
expectations at the show, you
can be disappointed, but you
have to be strong enough
emotionally to move on and start
the training again with a fresh
positive attitude.
EXCELLENCE-The way you do
anything is the way you do
everything, and riding is no
exception. You have to
discipline yourself to give 100%
of your best effort each time
you ride your horse. The success
of your horse will be
proportionately related to the
amount of effort that you put in
to his training.
POSSIBILITIES- each time
we ride our horse, we should
imagine what all of the
possibilities are for his
success today and in the future.
Thomas Edison once said” If we
did all the things we were
capable of doing, we would
astound ourselves”.
Our horses are capable of
teaching us these qualities
without ever uttering a word.
How fortunate we are to be able
to spend time with an animal
that embodies all of these
qualities with such dignity and
grace.
April 2006 |
