AUGUST 2004 RECREATIONAL / TRAIL RIDING ISSUE
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AUGUST 2004 RECREATIONAL / TRAIL RIDING ISSUE |
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CONTENTS Trail Riding with Backcountry Horsemen
UPCOMING
ISSUES |
 by Baxter Black, DVM Woman & Horses I’ve always thought that one is either a horse person or is not. It is evident even in little children. You hold them up to a horse’s head, some children immediately reach out to pet it and others draw away. It is a level of comfort and trust that is noticed by the horse as well. More girls than boys, to my observation, naturally relate to the mind inside the horse’s head. I often have to explain to boys that there is no mechanical linkage, no steering column, set of cogs, hydraulic brake lines or transmission gears that connect their rein hand to the horse’s feet. Within five minutes of jumping on a horse’s back for the first time, boys will be yelling and showing you how they can “make it run.” Then they jump off and walk away like they’ve just driven a go-cart around the track and parked it. Girls seem to grasp more easily the concept that the reins, heels and body position are signals from a human brain to an animal brain. So, according to my observation, you would think that the mainstay, the customer base of the explosion of horse whisperer clinics would be men; male horsepersons who want to learn what seems to come naturally to female horsepersons. But it’s not. It is women who will follow a favorite horse whisperer around the country for years, still trying to become “one” with their horse. Maybe motherly instinct is involved, like a mom still telling her 46 year-old son to keep his elbows off the table and chew with his mouth closed. Maybe she needs the attention and it’s cheaper than a psychiatrist. Maybe it’s a search for perfection. Or maybe she doesn’t rope, punch cows, steeplechase or play polo and horse whisper clinicking is her hobby. After all, the horse might be her best friend, and who better to spend the weekend with. For you men, I appreciate there are many of you who are horse people and, like me, enjoy the clinics. And for you ladies who like to ride, but could give a rat’s pantaloons for the touchy-feely aspects they promote, I acknowledge the multitude of exceptions to my observations. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve eavesdropped on horses talking to each other at the ranch, in dude string corrals, at training clinics, riding clubs, gymkhanas and horse shows, and the phrase I hear repeated o’er and o’er is, “...Oh, I don’t know. She just understands me better.” |
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