To many, this doesn’t look like much. To me, this is a big deal. I could have just put a halter on him within the first approach. But he would have been tense through the whole process. Z is one that I have not rushed at all and have zero intention to rush. I see so much potential in him that will never be realized without an incredibly strong foundation. He’s also one I would consider dangerous when pushed to far too fast. He has gotten a lot of time this past year to grow (two inches in height!) and settle, it’s been worth it. He gets better and better every single day.
“Try”
One of the biggest things I value in my horses.
Everybody is going to have their moments where the emotions get to high to handle. Spooks happen. And with patience and time and an expansion of life experiences we can help those moments become less frequent. But what matters most is, what comes after the inevitable tough feeling and spook?
Does a spook turn into a bolt turn into something catastrophic?
Or can they regather themselves, turn that around, and try again.
That resilience can be hard to cultivate in these prey animals that for all of history have survived by running away from danger. We have to help them learn to recover from the hard moments and develop as stable an emotional balance as possible.
I’ve left the audio alone for this video. You can hear just how much I talk to my horses while we work. As well as the very vocal ravens we are fortunate to have around!
