I sometimes explain to students that the simple difference between me as their teacher and them as the student is that I have spent a few more thousand hours working a few more thousand horses and making a few more thousand mistakes.
We all have the same alpha helix DNA made up of the same four base pairs. The arrangement of the base pairs may vary slightly from person to person but we are all essentially the same when broken down into our elements.
We should believe what we believe because we have been reasoned into it and not just accepted somebody else’s truth. Being reasoned into belief of our principles means we can be reasoned out of them when we discover they are wrong or some better ideas surface.
In essence, the emotional anxiety at the beginning determined the horse’s thoughts to run, pull away, call out, try going the other way, etc. It is only by changing the emotions that the horse was able to listen and follow a feel.
I get pleasure and I make a living working with horses and horse people, but my aim is not to use horses as a means towards self-improvement. If I need fixing, I have the help of a wonderful wife and wonderful friends for that.
