Credit Where Credit Is Due

A few years ago someone who did not know me very well told me something that proved that they did not know me at all. After spending several hours at the horse lot and watching everything that goes on he tried to convince me to franchise our program because "there was a lot of money to be made doing that."

 Nausea and anger are two bad feelings made much worse when experienced at the same time.

Yesterday we did a demonstration at the local Veterans Hospital of the program that we do weekly for inpatients at the PTSD program. Dan and Pam brought a round pen over and Ashley and I carried her horse, Peter Maxwell, over for the demonstration

It was a great day because, despite the weather, it gave me a chance to talk to high ranking hospital administrators. I told them how effective the program is, how it cost the participants nothing, and, most importantly, that its simplicity would allow it to be used anywhere patients can get out to a horse, a round pen and an instructor who knows natural horsemanship and is willing to learn about PTSD.

My only interest is in seeing programs like this made available to everyone who needs them.

There was a reporter there from a local TV station. His story which ran last night did not mention me or Mill Swamp Indian Horses. Some were concerned about that omission.

It was not concerned at all. We constantly seek more public awareness of our program and the major driving force in doing so is to encourage others to develop programs like ours. I want young people who want to build a career with horses to understand that one may do so in a meaningful way without having to make any compromises with the established horse world. I want people to understand that they can build programs that preserve nearly extinct horses and save nearly extinguished humans.

Any step towards seeking credit for the development of the programs gets in the way of carrying them out and seeing them expanded. And I am in too much of a hurry to get that one to take that risk. I am already fifty six years old and the warranty on my body is running out. I want to die knowing that the seed is well planted.

Fifty six years is long enough to notice that words often mean more than what they say. The word "mine" is the most obscene four letter word in our language. The best way for programs like this to grow is for everyone who is involved in them to purge their minds of that term.

"Ours" is a four letter word that saves horses...and people.

(Two of last years foals from our Corolla Offsite breeding program)