Horses Are Still Horses

No matter what romanticism is popularized, horses are still horses.

I recall a time helping a woman after a clinic load her horse. She hadn't hauled him off the property in some time due to some health issues, and he was nervous after a scenery change, being stalled, and a lot of things happening in a very short time.

My student was crying, very upset her horse would not load. I assured her we would keep it as low stress as possible and help her get him home - but the words she said still stick to me today - "I just hoped our relationship would have been good enough that he would load."

If we look at it logically, it's clear why the horse was stressed. Sometimes circumstance just is what it is : she had health issues and was unable to prepare for this weekend more than she did. She wanted help and so she came to a clinic. He was out of practice and so was she, and his comfort zone was very stretched that weekend. He needed support, and so did she -

There didn't need to be shame involved over failing at a relationship. It could have just been a data point - what do I need help with? What can I do going forward?

For so many people, the idea of relationship cripples them from developing skills, from working through hard moments, and from seeing reality: sometimes horses spook at stuff, struggle, have lameness, hate being in the wind, and so on.

Ideally, the relationship you develop throughout your stewardship carries you through a lot: but life is still life, and horses are still prey animals subject to all the struggles of a prey animal in a human world.

The relationship with our horses is very important - but it isn't some ethereal and romantic notion that drops from the sky, or is created by just hanging around them and gazing at them adoringly. It comes from attending to their needs: emotional and physical balance - skills and education so they know how to get through these tough times.

And when, not if, these tough times happen, our relationship is deepened by how we respond. Do we crumble because our relationship "failed" by them being horses, or do we rise up to the occasion and support?