To Save or Not To Save?
That is the question. What is the reason you want to save a horse? Is it to make a quick buck (no pun intended) or is it because you genuinely want to save this horse, boots ‘n all?
For me the question takes a lot of thought but when I commit then I commit for good.. or bad, and I think the same should go for the decision to purchase a horse!We have saved several horses for various reasons. Two of these are standardbreds (pictured) straight off the track. These horses certainly came to us with ‘baggage’ but that is something that you take into consideration when you decide to take these horses on, part of the rehabilitation that you commit to is helping the horse work through his ‘baggage’ and allow him to live a good life. That to me is what rescuing is all about, and again, the same should go for any horse, not matter how you ended up with them.
We also have two pony mares that were off to the doggers, the owners could no longer have them because they were moving interstate. They were in foal at the time so we ended up with four. They were frightened ponies and they had lots of ‘baggage’ but we worked through that. One day they might make a great ponies for our grandkids but if not it doesn’t matter. What I really enjoy is watching them learn to trust the human, to let go of their fears and to want to be around us, that to me is just so rewarding.
I object to the insinuation that buying a horse off the track is only asking for trouble. I have paid a lot of money for three horses in the past 10 years, all very well bred from reputable breeders and let me tell you that those horses, and one was only 22 months, came to me with far more ‘baggage’ both physically and mentally, than the Standardbreds.
I also thought I would breed a horse so that ‘I knew what I was getting’, not so. The gelding I have as a result is very well bred for sure, but he has problems from an accident he had as a foal, something we couldn’t have prevented. So, in my experience, you can’t say that there is a right or a wrong way to acquire a horse, they come into our lives in all sorts or ways for lots of reasons. I also believe that all horses that are handled by humans will have ‘baggage’ in one form or another.
I don’t put the clock on when I am with these horses, I don’t care how long it takes and I don’t keep tabs. What I get back from my equine friends far outweighs the cost of time spent in helping them rid their ‘baggage’. In fact they probably help me far more than I can possibly help them. Nothing gives me more pleasure than knowing I have played a part in giving these horses a good life.
I don’t care for competitions and winning the blue ribbon either, I’ll take a pleasure ride through the bush any day and I bet if my horses could talk they’d agree. All I want in my life is harmony and contentment, and I feel pretty confident that the horse wants that as well.
Whether you breed your own horse, buy a horse from a breeder or save one off the track, you get out what you put in. Time, trust, patience and love are the key to helping a horse and if you don’t have any of those qualities then you are probably better off with a motorbike!
It all comes back to intentions, what is yours with your horse? is it to make money? Is it to win ribbons? Is it to have the best looking horse? or is it to be part of the horses life? For me its the later and its a privilege that they allow me in. My horses are so much a part of my life, even the expensive, well bred ones with all the ‘baggage’. They are my friends, and they are my teachers, all of them. None of them are useless and all of them have taught me something.
If you really want to help your horses, then I suggest you go to a course with someone like Mel Fleming, a fabulous, intuitive horsewoman who has devoted her life to helping make this world a better place for the horse. The knowledge you will gain from Mel will change the way you think about horses… if you are open to it.
We think the horses have all the ‘baggage’ but when you really start to look it becomes obvious that its not about the horse, they don’t carry anywhere near the ‘baggage’ that the human does! Perhaps they carry the ‘baggage’ for the human?
What did Winston Churchill’s really mean in his quote, ‘There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man’?
… and Ray Hunt says: ‘You’re not working on the horse, you’re working on yourself”.
I think these quotes are worth pondering.
Recent Comments