What Horses do For Us

I have been on a lot of horse forums lately. The number of stories I have heard about how horses can help one maintain his or her sanity amazes me. I thought it was just me. Everyday I would go to work just to get to Saturday. It was the day when I could see the horses and I knew that that day would erase all the insanity of the week. No matter how stressed out you are when you walk into the barn, it seems to melt away when you look into the eyes of these wonderful animals.

When I was a very young child until the time I was a teen, I had a weight problem. I wasn't able to participate in a lot of sports as nobody wanted me on their team. I was always the last one chosen. I would feel really bad about myself, but the one thing I had was the horses. They never judged me or turned away from me because of my weight. Riding horses was the only thing I ever thought I was good at. I even got to use it for some of my physical education credits in high school. I always knew that the horses would have to remain apart of my life no matter what.
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Your Horse-Your Partner

Getting along with a horse does not come automatically. There are some horses that, no matter what you do, you will never win them over. I know. I have had a few of those. But, for those horses that can become your friend, you have to remember he will also become your partner. You have to be partners in what you do as you are working together.

In order to achieve this partnership, you have to gain the horse's trust. That can take time especially if it is a horse you bought. When you buy a horse, he doesn't know you and you really don't know him yet. This is the time to start getting to know one another. You may ride differently than he is used to. You may use a lot of leg and this is a horse that doesn't like a lot of leg. Further, maybe your hands aren't as quiet as he would like. Give it time. You need to listen to what he is saying to you.
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