MAY 2021 EDITOR’S POSTCARD What’s Your Horse’s Dream Job? Equestrian Sports Offer Many Options O by Kim Roe, NWHS Editor ne of the harder situations of horse ownership is when a beloved horse doesn’t want to do the job you hoped he would do. We humans have goals and aspirations, so we fix a label to our chosen horse that’s frequently related to his pedi-gree or conformation. Dressage horse, barrel horse, event horse, cut-ting horse—all are human inventions. Equines don’t care about such labels. It’s true that breeding often begets the chosen job for a horse but, like people, horses’ person-alities will in the end decide what a horse is going to excel at. If a horse’s heart isn’t in the work, it’s unlikely he’ll be great at his job. Excellent training can go a long way to instill the right mindset in a horse—the way a good teacher can cause a child to try harder at a school subject. But few great mu-sicians, artists, or math-ematicians were forced into their role. We come to our passions through more mysterious routes and nev-er through force. Sure, we can talk a horse into doing pretty much anything for us. They’re generous that way, but that doesn’t mean we should. Horses (and people) should be given the opportunity to do work that fulfills them. I once had a beautiful Warmblood/Connemara who I purchased as a foal with the hope he’d be my dressage horse. He certainly had the con-formation and movement to do the job. And though I did do dressage with him for a time, he really didn’t want to do it; he was just too laid back. Like Ferdinand the Bull, he preferred to mosey along and smell the flowers. Once, at a clinic, the instructor harassed and bullied me into ask-ing too much of my horse and I felt him give up a little. It broke my heart, and I never asked him to work that way again. And though we still played around in the arena, he became the best trail horse I ever had. Together we made each other very happy strolling along beaches and through meadows and forests. If we’re good horsemen, we have two choices when our horse doesn’t want to do the job we want: either move the horse on to someone else or change what we want to do. Luckily, there are many different equine sports to try for both you and your horse. If you’re devoted to a horse who wants to do something different, I urge you to explore the many options avail-able to you. kim@nwhorsesource.com www.nwhorsesource.com PETLAND CEMETERY Honor Your Best Friend PHOTO: JERRY PFANNENSTIEL Serving All of Washington, Western and Central Oregon, Northern Idaho and Western Montana • Equine Cremation • Companion Animal Cremation • Garden Memory Stones ® • Transportation • Custom Laser Engraved Urns & Memorials • Granite Memorials For Memorials of All Kinds 1-800-738-5119 • 1-360-533-8552 (fax) May 2021 The Northwest Horse Source www.peturnspl.com 9
The Northwest Horse Source NWHS 0521 Issue: Page 9
