…that beliefs are a choice.
I choose to believe that horses are smart, hardworking, willing creatures. I choose to see horses as confused, uncomfortable, hurting, scared or uneducated rather than lazy, disrespectful, evasive or stupid. I believe horses are sentient beings who can feel pain, have memories and form relationships.
I believe that as herd animals who understand and thrive in a structured social herd environment, horses look for and find peace in confident, quietly assertive leaders. Horses may not be so concerned about liking their leader as they are about the stability and good judgment of their leader.
I believe that many of us horsemen are pursuing a similar goal; to have a satisfying relationship with a good, solid, safe horse who consistently and successfully performs his job, whatever that job is.
I believe there is more than one “road to Rome”. The ways I present and practice are not the only valuable or valid ways of working with horses. They’re just the ways I’m familiar with and that have worked to some extent for me and other horsemen I know.
I believe that it’s about the horse. It’s about what he needs, how he might see his world and how he communicates. I don’t know that we could ever walk a mile in his shoes, really. The divide between the species is too great. But the work we do must center on the horse, and when we’ve truly achieved that, our presence adds to his, not his to ours.
I believe in pragmatism. If our horses have a job, they need to understand what their job description, job requirements and job benefits are. Certain individual horses may or may not be suited for certain job situations. This is reality and responsibility. I believe a horse can appreciate and understand an honest days’ work.
I believe in independent thought. Sometimes we can get in the position where we’ve subscribed to some sort of dogma and maybe lost some of our independent thought. Dogma can be discipline-specific (dressage dogma, jumping dogma, western pleasure dogma, natural horsemanship dogma, etc), breed-specific (gaited horse dogma, pony dogma, Thoroughbred dogma, etc), gender specific (gelding, stallion, mare), for instance. Each horse and person we meet is an individual. As horsemen, we need to understand why we do what we do, rather than blindly following dogma. We need to ask questions, experiment and make stuff up. Dogma needs to be examined, questioned and tested. The horses will tell the truth.
I believe that we can only do our own work. What I mean by that is, for instance, that Ray Hunt’s work was only Ray’s work when he was doing it. Only Ray could do Ray’s work. The moment Ray’s work passes through someone else’s hands or mind, it becomes their work. So each of us must do our own work.
I believe that there are three elements to address in the horse and in the person: the body, the mind/intellect and the spirit/emotions. If we work to address all three elements, consistent learning and a quiet, stable frame of mind can result. It is important that the horse’s body and mind are doing the same thing at the same time if possible. If we can work with the inside of the horse (his mind and spirit) the outside (body) of the horse will come along. If he’s okay inside he’ll be okay outside.
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