I can remember growing up as a horse fanatic without a horse. I put together a grouping of buddies who were all enthusiastic on horses, and we'd live out our dreams that involved life with horses. We were hooked on books like Black Beauty and The Black Stallion and My Pal Flicka, Mr. Ed and other TV shows. We were also deep into the once per week westerns, like those featuring Roy Rogers. In practically everything we saw and read, horses were exemplary in their behavior. They were kind, alert, deeply attached to their owners and prepared to leap into an active volcano if their owners asked it of them. Saving their owner's lives was one of their regular pastimes.
Our childhood idols never stepped on people's toes or bumped into them, nor did they ever bite or kick. They never moved a muscle while they were being mounted, and they never bolted. They didn't buck or rear. They could run all day without food, perhaps with a little water. They never made impromptu stops to eat while on the trail. All their efforts infrequently raised even a sweat on them.
For most folks, the fiction was shattered rather rudely. I got my bubble burst at my very first run-in with a live pony. I made the blunder most dreamers make: I confused fiction for fact. Luckily , I didn't share the experience of several of my horse-loving fellow dreamers, who bought horses that appeared to match the horses of their dreams without concentrating on practical realities.
These dreams can become nightmares when the bubble bursts. I know of folks that got turned off horses for ever because their dreams were shattered. So many folks cannot see the realities of horses and their natures. Horses can't be treated like puppies or kittens, nor should they be compared with children. Horses are horses: a species that holds its own unique place in the animal kingdom, no less than man does. They are exciting creatures of God, and we will be happiest with them when we accept them for just what they are without making any efforts to change them.
Don't know if you've heard the story of the person who went and acquired a pregnant mare so his little daughter could have a tiny foal of her own to grow up with. It was actually the man who spent more time with the colt when it was born: he liked to play with his new toy. He raised the colt's front feet onto his shoulders and then would 'dance' with it. The fun started wearing out as the colt grew bigger and bigger, and one day, when it had hit 700 pounds, the man made a mistake, got a deep gash in his head and was knocked out. When he came to, he was in a tearing hurry to get shot of the mare and her colt, and he sold them for rather less than what he paid, and far less than what they ought to have fetched. The man paid the penalty for his failure to distinguish between a colt and a dog.
Lots of individuals make the mistake of assuming horses think like humans do. For countless centuries, horses have been prey animals. Predators hunt on prey animals, whose survival is dependent upon outrunning the hunters. If there is no room or time for running, the prey stands and fights, like horses do. Comfy stables, lots of food when required and the near lack of predators don't make a dent on centuries of long-established instinct. Horses still are prone to reacting with their instincts, and the first thing a human being has to do to gain a horse's trust is to persuade it that he or she is no predator.
Our childhood idols never stepped on people's toes or bumped into them, nor did they ever bite or kick. They never moved a muscle while they were being mounted, and they never bolted. They didn't buck or rear. They could run all day without food, perhaps with a little water. They never made impromptu stops to eat while on the trail. All their efforts infrequently raised even a sweat on them.
For most folks, the fiction was shattered rather rudely. I got my bubble burst at my very first run-in with a live pony. I made the blunder most dreamers make: I confused fiction for fact. Luckily , I didn't share the experience of several of my horse-loving fellow dreamers, who bought horses that appeared to match the horses of their dreams without concentrating on practical realities.
These dreams can become nightmares when the bubble bursts. I know of folks that got turned off horses for ever because their dreams were shattered. So many folks cannot see the realities of horses and their natures. Horses can't be treated like puppies or kittens, nor should they be compared with children. Horses are horses: a species that holds its own unique place in the animal kingdom, no less than man does. They are exciting creatures of God, and we will be happiest with them when we accept them for just what they are without making any efforts to change them.
Don't know if you've heard the story of the person who went and acquired a pregnant mare so his little daughter could have a tiny foal of her own to grow up with. It was actually the man who spent more time with the colt when it was born: he liked to play with his new toy. He raised the colt's front feet onto his shoulders and then would 'dance' with it. The fun started wearing out as the colt grew bigger and bigger, and one day, when it had hit 700 pounds, the man made a mistake, got a deep gash in his head and was knocked out. When he came to, he was in a tearing hurry to get shot of the mare and her colt, and he sold them for rather less than what he paid, and far less than what they ought to have fetched. The man paid the penalty for his failure to distinguish between a colt and a dog.
Lots of individuals make the mistake of assuming horses think like humans do. For countless centuries, horses have been prey animals. Predators hunt on prey animals, whose survival is dependent upon outrunning the hunters. If there is no room or time for running, the prey stands and fights, like horses do. Comfy stables, lots of food when required and the near lack of predators don't make a dent on centuries of long-established instinct. Horses still are prone to reacting with their instincts, and the first thing a human being has to do to gain a horse's trust is to persuade it that he or she is no predator.
About the Author:
Horses are Heather Toms
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers http://horsehorses.net/
passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of
articles with other horse lovers http://horsehorses.net/
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