Sports only have meaning because a certain group of humans ascribes meaning to those activities. Think about the passion demonstrated by groups of adults on Saturday fall afternoons sitting in front of television sets. From listening to the screams of ecstasy and wails of despair you might think the survival of earth was at stake, instead of whether some other human carried a ball across some line drawn on some field.
In horse sports, it seems to me, that the FIRST question to ask is whether or not it does harm to the horses.
The horse has zero interest in the hopes and dreams of humans. The horse doesn’t wake up on Saturday morning thinking, “I sure hope I can make my little owner proud of me today.”
On Saturday morning, just like on every other morning, the horse hopes to get something to eat.
Sports only have meaning because a certain group of humans ascribes meaning to those activities. Think about the passion demonstrated by groups of adults on Saturday fall afternoons sitting in front of television sets. From listening to the screams of ecstasy and wails of despair, you might think the survival of the earth was at stake, instead of whether some other human carried a ball across some line, drawn on some field. In horse sports, it seems to me that the first question to ask is whether or not it does harm to the horses. The horse has zero interest in the hopes and dreams of humans. The horse doesn't wake up on Saturday morning thinking, I sure hope I can make my little owner proud of me today. On Saturday morning, just like every other morning, the horse hopes to get something to eat. This is a quote from Denny Emerson's Tamarack Hill Facebook page. For more from Denny, I recommend his latest book, Begin and Begin Again, the Bright Optimism of Reinventing Life with Horses. Welcome to the Almost Daily Second Half Horsemanship Podcast where we talk about using your mind more than your muscles on the path to better horsemanship in the second half of life. The podcast features a thought for the day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and a more in-depth discussion or interview on weekends. I'm your host, Paul Sherland. Does your horse sport do harm to your horse? If you've been around horses and horse sports for a while, I think you have to agree that some of them certainly do. Recently, two horses died at the Bramham International Horse Trials in England on cross country day. Two riders were admitted to a hospital. Does eventing do harm to horses? Yes, it does. The fatalities prove it. Competitive jumping over large jumps also does harm to horses. I remember watching a video by George Morris years ago when he recommended practicing over low jumps because each horse has a limit to the number of three foot or higher jumps in his life time. In an earlier podcast episode, I mentioned someone at my boarding barn who would prep for Arabian shows by spraying aerosols at the horse while working at liberty in the barn's ring. What's the effect of that practice on the horse? Quarter horses in halter classes were rewarded for looking like Vienna sausages on toothpicks as one veterinarian described it at a Virginia Horse Council meeting years ago. The horses were being bred to be unsound. My friend Lynn Acton talks about doing agility and obstacle work with her horses in her book What Horses Really Want. Does that harm her horses? Nope. I've worked cattle with horses and those horses love the work. They'd pin their ears back to communicate the need to move to the cow. I've also ridden horses in local gymkhana events, and those horses seem to enjoy the opportunity to run. So in the second half of life, I hope that whatever you're doing with your horse, it's always in the best interest of the horse. That's the thought that Denny closes with in his book, and I'm sure it's something that second half horsemanship can support. Thanks for listening to the Almost Daily Second Half Horsemanship Podcast. If you're also on the second half horsemanship journey, please leave a comment on our website, second half horsemanship.com. We're always looking for topic and interview ideas. When I use links to books, products, and services in the podcast, some of those links might be referral links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission when you purchase something through those links, but you will not be charged more by using the links. One more note, I use Descript for editing the podcast. If you do any video or audio editing, you should check out what Descript offers. It's an incredible tool for creatives. I'll also have a link to Descript in the show notes. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Your reviews help the podcast reach a larger audience. Thank you very much.