I have to admit, I’ve been hoodwinked by the best of them.
CONTINUED >>
I’m talking about my horse. Slowly, quietly, craftily, he lulls my expectations down lower and lower each day. What he did yesterday, he makes me work a little harder for today. My horse, Valiant, is a true master at it. I don’t know how it happens so easily. But it happens, until one day you say, “Hey, now. Wait a minute. I know you know how to do this!”
Don’t feel bad if this has happened to you. Having your expectations lowered happens to everyone. What can you do besides walk up the road and kick rocks? Early on with a new horse, it is a good caution to have. You’re getting to know your horse, and they’re getting to know you. But here’s the difference. Many people have low expectations in their horsey partnership for fear of pushing their horse too far physically. You know the argument, “He’s not ready.” Or, they fear asking more from their horse because Thunder might get upset. “He blinked; I don’t think he likes this!” All very valid points, but as the years tick by, we begin to see their horses have actually trained them. They’ve been hoodwinked. There is no progression. Their horses have trained them. Does this link horses mentally to cats?
As I ride across the arena, I can tell the new draft-cross lady mare I’m riding is looking up at me from below. No one had ever lifted her shoulders before, and she had always politely declined those kinds of riding requests. Instead, she has always obliged her rider with a nice, clean lean on the reins. In spite of that, with a very strong, and a very, very active leg, I urge her forward. Her big, stiff, lumbering stride is under motion, and we reach our destination at the letter H, where she’s happy to stop. Heavy on the forehand is a maneuver she takes pride in! I could almost hear her mutter now: “Well, bless yer heart, Cowboy, but aren’t you hangin’ on like a loose tooth?”