Great video as always, I think a lot of people expect a horse to 'respect' them as if it were a person. For me respect from a horse it good connection and understanding of what I am asking but also giving them the choice to say no to something or show that they are confused. I really liked how you pointed out how important it is for us to 'respect' our horse - to be observant and show to them that indeed we are reading their messages
Thanks for this episode and all the others I have viewed. I was thinking about this notion of respect thanks to you last summer, riding in the mountains with friends. My very alert mare suddenly stopped on the trail, with a bit of a pileup behind. She was sensing something. We stood still, looking. The two riders behind crowded on past as I would not "make my mare go," one muttering to me, "I never let my horse just stop on the trail.". In a moment the rider in front called out, " There's a dead elk on the trail here, head uphill." I try to always respect my mare's judgement and knowledge while riding out. She has spotted bears others missed and found places where elk have been gutted out...adding to my enjoyment of our time together in the natural world. I hope I have increased her trust in me by giving her this credit.
Thank you for sharing a heartwarming story and trusting in your intuition and feel of your mare, beautiful ! Horses can really enhance our experience of nature if only we pause to listen Susan x
horses don't resent the lead horse they fear and the hierachy helps keep them safer or organized. We want to be their partners but when you are in a dangerous situation we might want them to fear our displeasure more than whatever is the danger. The heard does get attached to the bossy ones when that boss is not just cruel and so I guess we always work on that to make sure everyone is safe and also happy
Yes i agree, the hiearchy keeps them feeling safe and their relationship with the leader depends on the situation , i have seen that play out in different ways. As a human can we realistically act like another horse anyway ? I think it is a different kind of connection we are creating. As we ask the horse to live in our human world the important thing is as you say to keep them and ourselves safe we need to be in control, which starts with ourselves ! Thank you for joining the conversation Susan x
@@liveandbreathehorses this is why we will never be able to make our horse do something we ourselves are afraid to do. We must be their fearless leaders and know our own limits. For example my 28yr Oldenburg that I have owned for 23 years has a giant cyst on his tail, it is always examined by some one else that is not me because he will know instantly that I am concerned and then he might be bothered with it because of my fear. I think only horse geeks inderstand how being the boss demands much from us .
Well said, I love your awareness around your interactions with your horses. It always depends on the unique situation and the dynamic between horse and human but i have often found it is about AUTHENTICITY, when we are vulnerable with our truth the horses can accept us, it is pretending to be ok when we are not that bothers them ... like I said, it depends , so fascingating ! @@ratherbwithhorses
