Compassion

"The etymology of "compassion" is Latin, meaning "co-suffering." More involved than simple empathy, compassion commonly gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering."

Horses are living beings. And as such, they feel pain (physical and emotional), joy, happiness, defeat, pride, anger, confidence, resignation, insecurity, etc. just like we do. Too often, trainers do not consider this aspect when working with horses, or simply chose not to care.

While a good trainer will always ensure the horse is physically able to perform, ordering massages, chiropractic work, veterinary work, and other treatment as needed, the mental and emotional influences of training are often overlooked.

Even the effects of training on the physical well-being of the horse is often overlooked. The "crank-them-in" front to back approach to riding causes severe pain and distress to over-stretched muscles and leads to avoidance with detrimental physical effects. Horses are worked to complete physical exhaustion in order to make them "fit".

The principle of compassion is simple: Do to others what you would have them do to you.

Would you want to be your horse when it comes to riding and training? Would you want to have your personal trainer force your body into the most complicated position despite the fact that it is not anywhere near ready to achieve such a position? Would you let him over-stretch and even tear your muscle tissue to achieve such a result? Would you let him ruin joints, disks, and bones to do so?

If you wanted to learn how to do the splits, would you let your trainer rip your legs apart then tie them into position until you seize struggling? Or would you slowly stretch further and further?

If you want to run a marathon, would you force yourself to start out with a ten-mile run when you haven't ran in years? Or would you start in small increments, increasing duration of the run as you go?

If you wanted to weight-lift 250lbs, would you let your trainer show you a way to lock your arms and legs and use nothing but joints and bones to get the weight up in the air? Or would you start with smaller weights until you have the appropriate muscle tone and strength to lift repeatedly without doing damage to your body?

The answers might seem obvious to you, but - sadly - too often in the training of horses, the approach is to start with the ideal and force the matter until the ideal is reached, rather than slowly building a solid foundation and properly preparing the body and mind for what's to come. Pushing yourself or your horse is perfectly acceptable. But breaking yourself or your horse to achieve a goal should never be acceptable.

We have to remember that horses do not have a choice. They are innocent in the role their owners have chosen for them. We owe it to them to be compassionate, to consider in our minds, our hearts, our souls what it is that we are asking them to achieve and how we can reach that goal utilizing a path of harmony that works WITH the body and mind, rather than against it.  

After all, they are OUR ambitions, OUR goals, not theirs. Horses are not machines and therefore deserve better than to meet our expectations no matter what the cost. So why not encourage and empower them, why not build strong, supple bodies that reduce pain and wear and tear, why not give them the confidence and pride to achieve our goals with happiness and joy, rather than forcing our will upon them?

 Quality of life is not only about the best stall, the best food, the best care. It is also a state of mind.

I promised myself a long time ago to achieve success through compassion. And the changes I've encountered in the horses I have worked with have been my greatest reward.

Next time you go to see your horse, try to open an emotional line of communication with him. Allow yourself to "feel" your horse. Not just his body, and how it works under you, but also his emotions. Reach out to him and open your heart. What is he telling you?  Is he warm and open with his emotions, or afraid to connect? Does he look happy and proud, or seem resigned? Does he look you in the eye or avert his gaze? Does he look happy and relaxed, or a little tense? Imagine for a moment that he is a child, unable to express himself with words. Try to feel what he is telling you.

Then ask yourself: Is there a better way?