Horse Flies, May Flies, and Gnats

There are things that one can learn from a donkey. One of those things is that one cannot transform a thing into something else by simply declaring it to be so. Calling a donkey dumb does not alter the fact that when properly handled they learn much faster than horses. Calling a donkey stubborn does not alter the fact that they have a much less intense flight instinct than horses and cannot be easily intimidated into complying with a person's wishes.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons that one can learn from a donkey is how to determine which fights are worth engaging in. My donkeys will strike at a big horse fly. They will mash mayflies but none of them react to the gnats. If they did so, they would spend every waking moment in the summer responding to the haze of meaningless movement in the air all around them. They would not be able to focus on the horse flies and may flies that live to suck their blood.

Those engaged in preserving all endangered strains of Spanish colonial horses need to learn from the donkey and maintain their focus. The established horse world is my horse fly, entrenched bureaucracies of every sort are my may flies, and those who stand on the sideline and talk about how things should be done are my gnats.

Those who care about preserving any particular strain of Spanish colonial horse must support those who are involved in preserving every other strain. I am very proud of the assistance that my little riders provided to a Choctaw conservationist when a fire struck her barns and out buildings. I do not promote the Corollas because I believe them to be superior to other strains of Spanish Colonial horses. I do so because it has fallen to be my lot to care about the horses that have shared the swamps, marshes, fields, and dark woods trials with those who have worked the fields and the marshes, and crossed those swamps and dark woods trails of our region for a few centuries. Were my roots other wise I suspect that I would feel as strong about the Moneros, Choctaws, Cherokee, Cracker, or Tacky strains.

I support the HOA because it shares that sentiment. It supports every true preservationist. It seeks unity and leaves the whining and the carping on the playground where it belongs.

The HOA knows the difference between horse files and gnats.