Do I Have Your Attention?

I get asked the question so much that it has begun to make me cringe…..kind of  like biting on tinfoil.

Why do you train horses?

Sometimes the question is phrased another way: Why do you mess with the horses, why do you play with horses, and my personal favorite, why don’t you get a real job?  Sometimes the question is asked by people who are well-intentioned. Far more often it is asked by people who seem to think that my profession is beneath them.

So, once and only once, I am going to answer the question. From now on I will refer those who ask it to this page.

I train horses because in my lifetime I have had exactly one friend who has remained loyal at all times, never judged me because of my inadequacies, and always been there for me when everyone else turned away. That friend is the horse. I have been privileged to have many of these friends, and each one is the same. They are capable of giving love unconditionally, and of receiving love without a myriad of strings attached. If I make a mistake they are quick to forgive me, and do not feel the need to remind me of it six months down the road. A horse is a friend who never calls in sick where friendship is concerned. We say goodbye in the evening and meet again each morning to explore a new day. My friends know they can depend on me to put feed in the tub, without fail. I know I can depend on them to give me the best of themselves every day.

I train horses because, for some of them, I am their last hope. I believe that every horse has worth. Many horses have come to me cast out and downtrodden, written off as useless by owners and other trainers who were unable to understand their peculiarities. I have the ability to see beyond what is visible and glimpse what can be, and for these horses I am the last resort. When no one else is able to see the heart of a champion I make it my business to open that heart to it’s full potential. When everyone else gives up I persist. I do this because I can name horse after horse who, were it not for the presence of one person who believed, would have been on the way to slaughter or left to wither neglected in a pasture.

I train horses so that others who might not have an opportunity to befriend these wonderful beings can do so. In a world where the almighty dollar is King I have kept my rates at a level that makes a well-trained horse available to all. I don’t believe you should have to be rich to have a horse for a friend. After all, the horse isn’t interested in how much money you make. He is interested in you and how you treat him. Because of this approach I have endured hard times. But, I know this. The few things I have were obtained through honest, hard work. I never had to cheat anyone, man or beast, to get them. My horse friends were never exploited for the sheer purpose of making a dollar. I could do things like other people, but I would rather do it my way and sleep with a clear conscience.

Everyone Else Quit...I Believed.

Lastly, I train horses because it is what I was born to do. I cannot change that any more than I can change the color of my skin. I am doing what I love to do, and not many people can say that.  If you cannot accept that about me then, please, go your own way and let me go mine. I do not feel a need to justify what I do for a living. It is a noble, although often thankless, profession.

This is who I am. This is why I do what I do.