08/14/2025
Give me a break.
Your horse is doing that thing again that just really gets under your skin.
They’re dancing around when their buddy isn’t in sight anymore.
They’re a little apprehensive to cross that creek, that they’ve crossed a dozen times.
They’re still a little nervous about the hose, the flyspray, they take a second to load into the trailer.
We’re frustrated because they still “don’t get it”
And we want better.
We demand they hold still, like a statue.
We expect they leap right into the trailer without a second thought.
We expect perfection.
All the while, many of these issues get better or even disappear if we just accept that they’re not going to be perfect, for now.
Give your horse a break.
Stop expecting perfection.
Stop condemning them for not fitting into your mold at every moment, at new things, at things they haven’t had a chance to even process.
At old things that they are making honest attempts at conquering
We work with dozens of different horses a month, all with various issues.
Often their issues are resolved by rewarding them for their efforts, and not nitpicking at every single thing they do.
Today we were working with a young horse who was getting a bit dancy when he thought he was being left behind.
You know what we do? Let him be in his thoughts. We didn’t shank him, we didn’t get angry, annoyed. We just let him be a young uncertain horse.
We later reminisced about another young horse we have who used to be the same way, actually worse.
He would panic, paw, drip in sweat, and tremble. Whenever he thought he was going to be left behind.
In that exact moment as the new young horse danced. That other horse (same age) stood completely still in confidence.
The repetition of allowing this horse to be in situations where he wasn’t perfect, but was allowed the ability to work through his uncertainty has enabled him to be confident, to stand quietly, and to be still.
We didn’t pester him, over correct him, and try to micromanage his every step.
Horses are allowed to be horses at the end of the day.
If we want them to be the best version of themselves, we have to give them the space to be imperfect for the time being.
That does not mean they are not expected to have standards, guidelines, and expectations.
It just means we must posses the ability to know when they are doing the best with what they have, and rewarding them for the efforts they’ve putting forth.
The more we focus on the good, the less we see of the bad.
The more we get of the good.
