Eyes of the Horse

I am blessed to be able to work with horses almost everyday and sometimes it seems to become routine and I find myself doing things and not giving much thought to what I am doing, other words operating what has worked in the past. Personally I don’t like to stay in that mode of thinking of operating for very long.  Learning new concepts or new applications of old concepts and becoming more aware of why things happen when they happen becomes the fuel that keeps me pressing on.  The thirst for that fuel is fed by visiting other horseman and farriers and listening to their thoughts and watching them work with their animals.  One interesting thing I have noticed over the years is that people are honored to share their knowledge and it is a winning situation for both parties.  The one sharing the knowledge and the one receiving it. 

Last week I got to spend couple days with an old friend and partner in the horse shoeing world, Mike Walsh.  We spent most of our time together talking about balancing feet and shoeing horses in ways the help better their lives.  But in the afternoon Mike was going to put a ride on a horse that he was starting to work with.  This particular mare was a nice looking mare that appeared to have a quiet demeanor but as Mike began to work with her, he pointed out something to me that caused me to reflect on other horses that I had worked with in the past and I found it interesting because it opened a door of understanding for me that allowed me to apply the concept in other situations both human and horse.  Mike said “this mare is an artist at drawing you in to her world”.  She had a quiet expression on her face and she gave the appearance of being relaxed. A horse like this will draw you in if you let them and once your inside their world that demeanor and attitude changes almost as if to say “ your in my world now, you will do as I say.” Especially if you go ahead and saddle them and actually get on their backs. You see recognizing that attitude and posture is the key to dealing with it.  It is a quiet form of disrespect for everyone and everything around it.  Who knows why its there exactly. The fact remains it is there. 

I believe the same thing happens to people . Have you ever noticed how pleasant it is to be around little children for the most part, there is something inviting about their innocence and their eagerness to explore and learn new things. They smile and laugh and play with ease. This posture and attitude seems to increase through the teen age years, the fresh ideas of young adults the expression on their face when talking to them, they are eager to learn. Yes, their playfulness is inviting to everyone around. But as life goes on and the world starts to step on the dreams they once had as relationships with people in their lives fail. That brightness in their eyes start to dim their expression on their face becomes more sober and that soberness increases all too often through the 20’s into the 30’s and by the time they hit the 40’s and 50’s and if their not real careful they will find themselves just like that horse we were talking about earlier with a almost blank expression on their face but beneath the surface they have become unwilling to move their feet.  They have become resistant to new concepts, they have become over cautious of new relationships with people, and you see this is what the world does to us.  It lures us in with its false promises and once we enter in, it often times has its way with us. 

When you get on a horse that is in that state of mind your in danger of getting hurt. When you are around people in that state of mind your in danger of getting hurt.  You see both individuals are relaying on their own self effort, their own self preservation, as they have bought the lie that it is based on their own abilities alone to survive. The fact is we all need a Savior. When our dependence is upon Jesus and the finished work at the cross, our hope will come back and the spark in our eye will return. Like that old song says, because he lives I can face tomorrow all fear is gone because I know who holds my future.  You will have found freedom comes when we realize that we live in this world but we are not of this world. Jesus paid the full price.

Hope Is Alive!

Dennis Cappel

Hope Givers Working Ranch