It's interesting how living with horses can teach you so many things. Of course there are random informational things like what kinds of hay are available (or not depending on the year) and more about grains and supplements than I ever dreamed I would need to know. But horses also are pretty darn good at teaching us some overall life lessons as well. Here are some I have learned the last few years.
1. "Prepare for the unexpected and rest assured it will happen when you are least prepared." I have this horrible habit of preparing and thinking about worst case scenarios constantly. But it is always when I least expect it that the worst happens. Example: I'm always worried a young horse will buck me off and I will get hurt. Except that time I was confidently relaxed and not paying attention on a young horse and ended up with a plate in my shoulder.
2. "Practice doesn't always make perfect - practice makes permanent." Sometimes you're practicing the wrong damn thing. If you've never been frustrated, try reteaching a 1200 lb animal something that you screwed up the first time. Ugh. Nothing more frustrating for both the horse and the rider.
3. "Life isn't fair." Anyone who has ridden in a judged class has been there. We have all ridden the perfect rail class only to have the rider whose horse had a bucking fit behind the judge place above us. Life isn't fair, the rider with the most money and the ability to have a full time trainer will probably place above you most of the time. The best horse in your pasture will be the one that comes up lame or sick. The foal that you've been waiting 11 months for can be born stillborn. There are literally thousands of ways horses show us that life isn't fair.
4. "Never say never." Horses love to prove us wrong. Hopefully you have more of the positive versions than the negative. Horse ownership teaches you to never say never. Horse owners know better than to say, "She never bucks", "never been lame a day in her life", "never balks at loading", "never misses a lead", "never falls off". But sometimes we say things like "she'll never win me a buckle" and those darn horses just have to prove us wrong again.
5. "Nothing comes easy." Riding and training horses is hard work, no one can deny that. Well, except those idiots who say "doesn't the horse do all the work". Those people need to come ride with me. But I've come to the realization that this hobby doesn't come easy in a lot of other ways. There are fences to fix, hay to haul, poop to move, grain bags to lug, water to carry, bills to pay, etc.... It isn't just a hobby, it is a full time commitment and it isn't easy.
6. "There is always another day." When dealing with horses, there is literally always a brand new day the next time you get on your horse. Sometimes the difference from one day to the next is so startling that you can't believe it is the same horse. This is a mantra one must repeat to themselves a thousand times when working with a young horse. That and the old "Rome wasn't built in a day". Sometimes it is just better to put them up and try again another day.
7. "Giving up is not an option." Everyone has those days, but every time I have wanted to quit and didn't - my horses have proven that I'm very glad I kept going. If you stop on a bad note, I guarantee you will be sorry the next day. Find that give, that try and then you can stop.
8. "You can fix a mistake, even one you have spent a long time doing." Oh goodness, I've looked back at some of the things we worked our butts off doing when we were starting in showing and thank goodness this is true. I've even had trainers ask me, "what are you going?" Uhh.. probably the wrong thing. Just help me.
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