Natural Horsemanship and Self Control: Your Words Have Not Killed Anyone, Have They?

When I was very young I was the Assistant Director of a local outdoor museum. An unkempt  young man was pan handling on the sidewalk. The Director asked me to have security remove him. I responded that I did not think that he was doing anything illegal.

Eventually I did have security remove him. Within the hour he killed himself. 

Humans are fragile, often much more fragile than they appear on the surface. Every human interaction is fraught with the possibility, however slim, that one sentence or even one word can cause unanticipated suffering. 

The serious practice of natural horsemanship causes one to be aware of the horse's emotions at every moment of the interaction. It requires the most difficult of emotional leaps--requiring one to empathize with a creature as different from a human as one could possibly be, without projecting human emotions unto the animal. 

The serious practice of natural horsemanship causes one to be aware of every threat the the health and safety not only to one's self, but also to the horse. The serious practice of natural horsemanship often requires one to place the best interest of the horse above one's personal wishes. The serious practice of natural horsemanship requires one to control oneself  before one can seek to control a horse. 

Most importantly, the serious practice of natural horsemanship teaches that one only has total control over oneself and only has limited ability to effect the behavior of others. This is among the most important lessons from the round pen.