Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views: Having A Fever Clears the Mind For Serious Thinkin...

Time is relative. In fact it is my least favorite of all of my  relatives--Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views: Having A Fever Clears the Mind For Serious Thinkin...: Hate to see any horse described as a "prospect." Horses are not "will be." Horses are not "was". Horses mer...

For The Record--The Horse of The Americas Registry

No horse registry has been as supportive of the efforts to prevent the extinction of the Corollas as has the Horse of the Americas Registry. All the way back to 2008 they lead the expedition of experienced Colonial Spanish horse experts resulting in the conclusive report that the wild horses of Corolla and Shackleford were, in fact, Colonial Spanish horses and not an ad mixture of other breeds. The picture of my riders riding some of our herd of Corollas and Shacklefords shown above was taken at an HOA national meeting several years ago.

The HOA keeps a data base of Colonial Spanish horses from several of the registries that register such horses. It is one of the greatest services that they provide. This morning I learned that one of our mares, of Cayuse Ranch heritage  became the 6,500th horse added to that data base. I was delighted that Snow On Her's registry caused this bench mark to be met but I am still rattled by the fact that there are so few horses around from each strain of Colonial Spanish Horse (Spanish Mustang).

The candle is not blown out, but it is still a candle. With the continued hard work of those involved in the preservation of these horses the candle will become a flame, then a torch and finally a beacon.

Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views: Things That Last

This post goes back to 2010 ---Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views: Things That Last: When I was fourteen years old I sat on my bed dazed at the realization that there was no way that my knees were going to allow me to play b...

Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views: Things That Last

This post goes back to 2010 ---Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views: Things That Last: When I was fourteen years old I sat on my bed dazed at the realization that there was no way that my knees were going to allow me to play b...

Incurable

Joshua Shenk's book, "Lincoln's Melancholy--How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness",just came in the mail. I cannot wait to fully understand every bit of this book. Very few people have the remotest understanding of how sick Abraham Lincoln was all of his adult life. Shenk suggests that Lincoln's greatness may not have come in spite of his illness, but because of it.

It is the 21st century and we expect doctors to be able to cure everything but cancer. When we are sick we expect to get well. Lincoln lived in a time where no one carried such expectations. He seems to have accepted misery as an unwelcome partner.

Were horses human each would qualify for a diagnosis of anxiety disorder. Suffering is not a prerequisite to becoming a great horse trainer, but when one looks at the lives of many of the best trainers one finds such suffering.

That is not a coincidence.

Vacuous and empty headed optimism gets one nowhere with a horse. When one seeks to try to make a horse believe that everything is wonderful and there is nothing to be afraid of one must fail.

The horse knows better.

He lives in a world where every shadow threatens his existence. The horse has fought off extinction because of his flight instinct and fear, not in spite of has flight instinct and fear.

The best trainers do not seek to constantly teach the horse that there is nothing to be afraid of. The best trainers seek to let the horse know that no matter how horrid the experience, it can be overcome by following the trainer's lead.

Perhaps the best trainers, like Lincoln, are those who seek only to persevere, not to pretend.