Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Beautiful, Lif!  And so true.  I am working now with a very smart horse, one
who has taught me all the stuff you mention below.  It is wonderful to
discover what he has to teach me.  It's difficult to explain how I have
changed as a result of owning this horse.  He's not a glamorous one, nor the
most perfectly conformed, but his mind makes him beautiful to me.  He learns
his lessons so fast, performs them so well, is so safe and careful on the
trail.....I trust him, but he had to learn to trust me first.  What an
experience!  I also found out yesterday, that after climbing a long steep
trail (2 miles), the easier parts at a trot, the steeper parts at a fast
walk, that his pulse came down from 19 beats (per 15 seconds) to 13 beats in
less than 3 minutes.  I'm excited about this.

Barbara

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lif Strand" <lif@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:49 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] Speaking Arabian


> I believe that horses can be the windows to our own souls. They absorb
what
> we put out, and to some degree reflect back some of that back to
> us.  Different breeds are known for how much they can absorb vs how much
> they reflect back.  Arabians are, in my opinion, one of the most
reflective
> of breeds of horses.
>
> We ride in partnership with our horses.  The quality of the partnership
can
> be observed.  When I watch a person ride - any breed - I know what that
> person is truly like inside, I know what's going on in his/her mind.  In
> particular with Arabians, if a person is in an uproar internally, the
horse
> will be in an uproar externally.  A human at peace and giving in trust can
> develop a relationship with a horse that reflects peace and trust, and the
> horse will be trustworthy.
>
> The horse is not the only one putting into that partnership.  So you don't
> have to "speak Arabian" to have a calm and trustworthy Arabian, you just
> have to remember that if your soul is in an uproar, this most reflective
of
> breeds will reflect that back to the world.  Be calm and trusting and you
> will end up with a calm and trusting horse.  If you can't be calm and
> trusting, if you can't - as CW Anderson I think said - throw your heart
> over the fence first and let the horse follow - then either accept the
> wrecks that may result or ride a less reflective breed, but don't blame a
> breed for your own internal issues.
>
> That said, keep in mind that horses are living beings and have
> memories.  Just as with any relationship between thinking beings, good,
> deep relationships take time to develop.  Horses may be born with calm
> personalities but those personalities must be cherished and cultivated or
> they can be warped and eroded.  So to develop a great, trustworthy horse
> that you'd trust your life with, develop a soul that your horse can trust
> it's soul with.
>
> ________________________________
>     Lif Strand      fasterhorses.com
>             Quemado NM USA
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The very essence of our sport is doing the trail as quickly as practicable,
while keeping one's horse fit to continue.  Taking the clock out of the
equation makes it another sport altogether.  The challenge is how to keep
the sport what it is while honing our skills (both as riders and as those
in control roles) in detecting where "the edge" is for each horse so that
we don't cross it. 
~  Heidi Smith
ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

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