The Mind Works With Unfortunate Speed

Yesterday was the opening day for public schools in our area. On the way out to the horse lot I met Lido's bus. Without thinking, as I had done for years, I looked up to see if I saw him on the bus. In quicker time than a clock could measure it flashed to me that I would not see him on the bus because he graduated last year.

In even less time I remembered that he did not graduate last year. The mind works so fast that it jumped from habit to hope to cold reality faster than I could blink my eye.

The mind works with unfortunate speed but the heart heals slowly, if at all.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

I must admit that at times my physical strength surprises me. I am not much for running or jumping but I can still toss a bit of weight around when needed. I have to further admit that on those occasions when I have greatly impressed myself, I occasionally flex my muscles and remind those around me that I am 50 years old.

My granddaughter turns three in a few weeks. She is quite athletic. Saturday she took off on a sprint. Someone behind her yelled that she was really going fast. Without turning around or missing a step she ran on while yelling "Fiddy Years Ole--Fiddy Years Ole."

Is Banning Horse Slaughter Impractical?

Of course it is, but practicality has no place in determining issues of morality. The slaughter of horses is immoral. It is not merely bad policy. It is not merely short sighted. It is not even merely cruel. It is immoral.

But who is to say what is moral and what is immoral? We,as reasoning beings, are tasked by God to do so. In making such a determination we must look to several sources.

We can look to tradition. The consumption of horse flesh by human beings has been banned at various times in history by all three dominant western religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Though cattle were used for transportation, agricultural work, and the production of milk, their slaughter and consumption has been accepted throughout the history of western civilization. While recognizing that many eastern religions prohibit the consumption of beef, one must note that with few exceptions, the consumption horse flesh has never been placed on par with the consumption of other livestock.

We can look to the unique nature of the horses relationship to the development of civilization. We differ from other animals in that we conceive and propagate thoughts, beliefs, and innovations. These thoughts, beliefs and innovations are the core of what makes up a civilization. For several thousand years those thoughts, beliefs and innovations were transported across the globe on horse back. For several thousand years, every advance in medicine, philosophy, theology, and science could be spread faster on horseback than on any other mode of transportation.

We have had the Internet for the briefest of time, but for millennia the horse has been man's world wide web.

Lastly, and we should make no apology for this, simple human emotion cries out against horse slaughter. The spiritual connection that occurs anytime a person first touches a horse is one of the soundest arguments against horse slaughter. Emotion is not the opposite of reason. Indeed, it is often the inspiration of reason. It can cause us to think, to care, and to cast aside apathy.

But what about all of the 'unwanted horses"? Don't we need to hurry up and slaughter them before something bad happens to them?

Slaughtering horses is certainly practical. The catch is that it is patently immoral. It is time for us to do for the horse what the horse has done for us for a few thousand years. We must spread information that advances horsemanship even faster than horses have been used to spread information that advanced civilization.

We must use the Internet to spread information, at lightening speed, of advances in natural horsemanship, natural horse care, and natural hoof care that make it possible for novices to become true horseman. We must use the Internet to teach ways of teaching riding that are practical and affordable for working people.

What is the most practical way to end horse slaughter?

Teach a kid to ride.

Saddle Up

Bill just got back from Kentucky where he has completed a month long, one on one, class on saddle making. Here is his first saddle. It is even better than the picture suggests. Bill has always been an organized, meticulous worker and it really comes out in the craftsmanship that he put into his first creation.

Pride

Jenny has accomplished something very important. She has taken a risk. She has placed trust in my horses and herself. She has ridden when she was afraid to do so. She chose not to let her life be governed by fear. She has found something that she loves and, from all indications so far, something that she will become quite good at.


That is just one of the ways kids can benefit from learning to ride. Young teens, and especially those even younger than teens, often find themselves at a cross roads. They can take either path, the road that says Believe, Achieve, Succeed or the road that says Fear, Fail, and Hide.

That is why we work so hard at natural horsemanship--to become better people. Horses change lives.