Always in a Rush

Why are humans always in such a rush?

They only have half of their attention on us and they expect us to learn and do things sometimes far more quickly than we are prepared to.

We horses live from moment to moment, our only concern being our survival right here and now.  We are not worried about tomorrow.  We are only concerned with what is in our immediate environment because we may need to run to safety at any given moment.

When we are babies we have a very short attention span, very much like a human child.  Why do people expect us to be able to stand tied for hours on end when we are a year old or two years old and then when we hurt ourselves or start to panic, we are disciplined for it.

Our minds are still developing and sometimes we are in a very fragile state when we are young.  People expect us to be able to carry a rider when we are still growing and expect us to have the physical strength and mental stamina of an adult horse.

My lady believes in taking her time with young horses.  She has expectations of us but depending on our age, she tries not to overload us with too much mentally or physically.  She feels that when we are young,  we learn the most from other horses.  We learn our place in the pecking order and we learn appropriate behavior from the grown ups in the herd.

We watch the adult horses being ridden and if we are allowed to be around them and observe, it is far less frightening for us when we are put into real training.

My friend Story is 3 years old.  She is a pretty but very bossy girl.  She even bosses me around and I am much older than her.

She had many homes before she came to live with us just over a year ago.  My lady is also her lady.  She didn't like to be caught.  In fact, she didn't want anything to do with people or other horses.  People kept on buying and selling her for different reasons and because of that she didn't want to bond with or trust anyone.

My lady spent many hours trying to catch her.  In the rain and mud--didn't matter.  My lady can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be and wasn't going to give up on her.  Story got sick and needed help.  She had a bad tummy ache and had to go to the vet clinic.  After that day she reluctantly let people touch her.  My lady spent many hours with her in the barn, getting to know her.

Some people felt that my lady was a miracle worker with Story but my lady knew better.

She knew that all Story needed was time.  Time to realize that nobody was getting rid of her.  That she belonged somewhere.  She slowly began to trust my lady and looked to her for leadership.  My lady realized just how smart and sensitive she is but has just allowed her to be in with other horses and grow up a bit.  She brings her in now and again and grooms her and does some groundwork and now Story waits at the fence hoping to be brought in.

This little horse now belongs and all because my lady and her friends decided to give her a chance.  She is loved and she has a home and someday soon will have a job to do.

Just like the chance that my lady gave me even though I have physical challenges.  We all have so much to offer but people have to slow down and give us time.  There is no race here and the rewards of you taking time with us is that we trust you and look to you for leadership.  The partnership that we build together will be one based on respect and trust and not fear.