| Stewardship Is A Serious Undertaking |
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| Sadly, it would appear that many horse owners/riders act and demonstrate that horsemanship is one�s ability to ride. When they describe their goals or aspirations in their involvement with horses, it will invariably be wrapped around what they look like on a saddle, or how many buckles, saddles, trailers or money they have or can win. I rarely hear what they are going to do for their horses.
One�s ability to ride represents a very small part of true horsemanship, the vast majority of true horsemanship is at it�s core�.STEWARDSHIP. Stewardship 1. the office, duties and obligation of a steward 2. the conducting, supervising or managing of something: especially. the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one�s care Many horse owners/riders fail in their stewardship and rarely, if ever, lower their expectations where their horse�s performance is concerned. Most of the failures are not owned by the rider or owner, typically it is the horse�s fault, and the excuses are as inventive as the imagination of the rider/owner. It is quite easy to assess one�s stewardship and a blind man with a cane can assess the lack of stewardship. Remember it only takes money to acquire a horse! For example: the teeth have not been floated in years�..the feet are dished, overgrown, quarter cracked, riddled with empty nail holes, or diseased (thrush) etc... The coat is dirty, dry, course, dull or thin due to salt gall, perpetual white blotches or fungal infections on the wither. The eyes are runny, surrounded by crud, dull and lack luster or sunken. Under weight, ribby with grass bellies, overweight near founder and the perpetual broodmare. Bored, depressed and void of any sensory stimulation and many other emotional or mental deprivations. The horse is standing in 1 foot of manure, the stench of ammonia is both gagging and blinding, the wood fences are all chewed up, the list just goes on and on. All the horses ridden regardless of conformation get the same saddle because as we all know the saddle needs to fit the rider�s backside and not the horse�s back or it takes too much time or money to get it right. The value of the LUCKY saddle can not be over estimated, the hell with the horse�s back�.�It�s my lucky saddle!� The varied tack gadgets which have replaced �horsemanship� skills to prevail over the horse due to the absence or lack of training skills, not enough money to hire a skilled trainer, wanting to train your own horse, not enough time, too many horses, all of which represents a �shortcut� at the horse�s expense. We see the same thing in school today�..Ritalin. Lacking the skill and patience to be a school teacher therefore drug the children into compliance. How did we manage without Ritalin all these centuries? Observing people ride their horses many times is painful to watch�.the rider and tack should be no more than 20% of the horse�s weight! Can the horse carry more? Of course it can, just go to a horse show and observe. Can this cause problems for the horse? Of course, put 20% of your total body weight on your back and work in 4-6 inches of sand and do not forget to run, quickly change direction, stop etc. Easy to get a mental picture of this, isn�t it? How about more than 20% of your total body weight on your back? If you can not honor your stewardship obligations to your horse, either you have too many horses or you should not have a horse at all! Monkey see�..monkey do is a poor excuse for poor stewardship. It is one thing to visit the world of ignorance (not knowing) it is quite another matter to live in the world of ignorance. Sadly, this article can go forever and a day given the human condition and the rationalization skills that humans possess. We have the CAN DO-type people and we have the GONNA-type people. Where stewardship is concerned, horses thrive with the CAN DO-type people and horses just live with the GONNA-type people. There is a difference with a distinction between living and thriving! The horse owners/riders who use the time honored rationalizations�.�It�s just a horse�, �I don�t believe in spoiling my horses�, �No one does this pampering in nature�, �it�s a slave�, �He didn�t deserve a treat, or do anything special to get a treat�, etc...etc...etc... One�s stewardship is plain for all to see by looking at their horse�.it is like a mirror. Just as in life, lip service is cheap, application on the other hand is difficult and expensive. Many riders/owners who demonstrate their lack of stewardship to their horses invariably whine, snivel, bitch and moan when exposed to similar lack of stewardship given their husbands, wives, children, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, acquaintances, employers, co-workers, managers or their fellow riders. Based on much of my personal observations of �Horsemanship�, I will take Stewardship over horsemanship where the horse is concerned any day. In closing I will quote Ray Hunt, �If the shoe fits wear it, you deserve it. If it doesn�t, I wasn�t talking about you anyway.� By Dr. Mackie Hartwig, D.C., C.V.C.P. Copyright � M.K. Hartwig, D.C., C.V.C.P. All rights Reserved |