Get Your Emotions Out of It!

I had one of those AH HA moments recently. Read an article by one of the popular trainers and his words clicked with me. Get the emotions out of your horse training. I realized for the longest time that's been one of my problems. Emotions getting in the way because they're MY horses.

When I worked at a riding stable and was training those horses, well, keeping their abilities up for our young program riders, I was business with them. I didn't feel anything I just did what needed done whether it was working on their starts and stops, getting them use to trail riding vs. arena riding, stand while tying, all the little things that needed attention. I knew the horses had to be rideable, leadable, mountable, accessible to the children we were servicing. The horses had jobs to do and I had to make sure they were ready. 

At home it's been a different story, and I think I just figured it out when I read the words of the trainer. When it comes to my two horses I've worried too much about what and how they do things. I've worried I'll ruin them in some way. This, I decided has been my problem and my handicap with getting my horse-life fulfilled. I think part of it comes from the very fact that I wanted to own my very own horses for so long, when I finally got them (at age 43) I was star struck in many ways. So now, I've decided that the reason my progress with my two guys has been at a stand still has been due to my emotional involvement.There's a place for emotions with our horses but there's also a place for business. I've been too concerned about right and wrong, which is important to a point, instead of just doing what I did with the school horses. 

My new training philosophy is to get to the same mental place I used with the school horses. I really think I'll make more progress that way. Easier said than done, probably, but those light bulb moments can be cause for turning corners, and I want to go there. Plus, I've come to a time in my horse-life where I'm questioning if it's right for me to have my guys since I haven't taken full advantage of what horse ownership could be. But, that's a post for another day....

 

Draft Horses,Visions of the Past

I attended a draft horse show in Hillsboro, Ohio, a week ago. I've been a fan of draft horses all my life. When I was a kid, my parents and I attended the Ohio State Fair to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. This was back in the 70's when there was no internet, no instant access to photos of these gorgeous animals. I still remember the pounding of the hooves and the jangle of the hardware as the team thundered into the coliseum. An experience forever stamped in my memory.

A few years back I was thrilled to find an annual draft horse show an hour's drive from us. We've been attending for a few years now, but didn't make it last year, I think it was weather, or a family event, can't remember exactly, so it had actually been two years since we'd attended the show. The first years Hubby and I attended I was amazed at the number of draft hitch participants. Marveled that there were still people who drove six-horse hitches and traveled with their draft horses to shows across various states. As I recall, there were eight of the six-horse hitch wagons in the one class. They had to divide the class up into two sections, with the winners vying for first place in the third round. This year, there were three. THREE! I was saddened by the decline though I've thought for a while that the show would dwindle and with the economy so sluggish, I really wasn't surprised by the downturn in entrants. There were also several canceled classes due to no entrants. As I looked around the outdoor arena, there were fewer people in attendance and it was a relatively nice day, though cloudy with a threat of rain. The entrants in the hitch classes, six-hitch,four-hitch and unicorn, were mostly from Ohio, one wagon from Indiana.

Back home I got to thinking, what will happen to the drafts? Obviously, not used in farming, except in Amish communities, of which we have many here in Ohio. Close to my home I often see Amish farmers with their Belgian drafts working their fields. But what of draft breeds in general? I was curious so looked up Spotted Draft horse. They came to mind because of my big Bo, who is actually a big Spotted Saddle Horse. We often wondered if he had some draft in his genes. I also looked up Percheron. What I found was that drafts are now being used to breed with smaller, athletic breeds, and warmbloods, for eventing and dressage horses. At least they have a place in the 21st Century. Still, I wondered about the future of the legendary work horses who were integral in working the American farms of yesteryear. My grandpa trained drafts to do farm work back in the early 1920's when some Ohio farms still hadn't transferred to tractors yet. I often wish I'd had a chance to talk with Grandpa about his horse training years, but he died before I was five. All I have are pictures and stories my mom has told me. Probably also the fate of the drafts in the future.

I'll always get a chill when I see a draft horse standing in a field, or working an Amish farm, and especially when I have the opportunity to see them roll in their wagon hitches,as long as the opportunity remains, reminding me of a less hurried time in American life.