I learned that authority, like Nature (and probably because it is Nature), abhors a vacuum. I quickly realised that either I would be in charge, or my pony would be in charge. I became a benevolent dictator at a young age. We were both happy with the arrangement. Joanne Verikios
I learned that horses, just like children, appreciate boundaries established with friendliness, competence, fairness and consistency. A sense of humour goes a long way too! Joanne Verikios
Thomas Stearns Eliot OM (1888 - 1965), was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.
He could have no idea of the forthcoming information deluge that would be precipitated by the internet, and yet his words are prescient: "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" Like Eliot, horses still operate according to pre-internet instincts. They need us to be wise and knowledgeable, not just (well-)informed. Victor Frankl wrote, "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." He wasn't talking about horsemanship, but to me his words ring true for both the horse and the trainer: as horse, as human and as the team they can be together. "The more you learn about yourself FROM a horse,
the better horsewoman you will become FOR a horse." Joanne Verikios SHARE IF YOU CARE |
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