In a conversation with my horse that is now in spirit, he said; “You do not owe regrets or failures anything. Humans sometimes fail, that is life, perhaps much of what you attempted to do was never yours in the first place.“
Being the soulful philosopher that I am I immediately gave my attention to all in my life that I have attempted to do that was never my desire in the first place. Much of my life has been used up with these things. Things that I never considered that I had choice in, and just assumed as my own.
So of course, this brought my attention to the lives of horses. How much of their life is dominated by things, chores, work, treatment, and relationships that was never what they desired in the first place.
Does a horse that hates arena work take on the blame as lazy or difficult? If so, how do they cope with this? Can they cope? How do they try to process this difficult arrangement?
Is it fair or even accurate that a horse that is reactive and spooky on the trail is labeled as an idiot or a jerk? Do they begin to identity with this per their treatment of their behavior?
What about a horse that is physically not built to perform a task, yet they try to perform despite the lack of natural movement with their conformation? What do they think or feel from this difficult contradiction?
Horses know when they have performed well. They know if their task was conducive with their mental nature and their physical abilities. Having to fulfill a life that was never their choosing is a long and difficult life.
Horses have so little control over their lives. Where they live, who they live with, what they eat, how they get to where they live, if they are ridden, how they are ridden, what is expected of them, whether they get health care, or not. If they get to choose relationship with their human, or not. If they are acknowledged as an individual, or not. If they have any choice over their lives, or not.
As Soul Inspired eQUESTrians, it is our responsibility and our delight to understand our horse and provide them with the dignity of having choice. And I am not of the mindset that any of us, horse or human, are completely sovereign in our lives.
We live on earth and therefor have certain duties and restrictions that must be adhered to so that we do not impinge on the rights of others. Responsibilities that demand our attention to provision for our lives.
Horses also have responsibilities. They are responsible for respecting boundaries of safety with us, this is their greatest responsibility. And we owe them the same.
There is much of our lives that has choice, some that does not. So, consider, how much in your life was never yours to fulfill or own? Can you identify parts of your life that was not your choice, but you accepted it as yours? Then consider the life of your horse how much of their life is their own choosing.