love your horse

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Colin training his new horse SPIRIT in the Santa Monica Mountains. They just worked the hills in the background.

Horses are sensitive . As you approach, the horse will know your mood 30 feet away. You first enter his vision, then his electrical field, then his sense of smell, then vibrations and by the time you put a hand on him, he knows more about you than your best friend. Always approach in a loving, calm mood, something the horse will instinctively emulate. That is the nature of the horse. You being uptight makes him uptight. A horse smells fear completely and immediately. When I was steeple chasing, I always felt terror, waiting for the flag to drop.  I tried to mask this with a hefty slug of port wine – a “stirrup cup” the English used to call it. But once the race was on, and the jumps were flying by, I was so calm I could hear birds sing. For reasons I do not understand horses have always tried to please humans, despite our abuse since we started riding them 3,000 years ago. Before that, we ate them. But today, horse and humans love each other more than ever. We no longer kill them in wars. Instead, we embrace them and use them in therapy to heal us., and harvest joy in riding them.   The horse has never been treated with such kindness as it is today. That’s my take – and there is more to come. COLIN DANGAARD, The Australian Stock Saddle Company, Malibu, California.