Quote for the week

Trust in your horse when he deserves it
-Bill Basham (said to the DOR at a clinic)

When the DOR first heard this her first thought was "Great, how do I know when he deserves it?" She wanted a concrete answer for a question that could only be answered through a feeling. It took her a few days to figure out what Bill was telling her...well actually I think she is still trying to come up with a good working understanding.
The picture is of me headed out on the trail after the tumbleweed twister event. On that day she placed her trust in me without hesitation, it was do or die time and she knew that I was up to the job. What the DOR has come to discover is that I always deserve to be trusted unless my behavior is showing her something else (like the way I was acting before I bucked her off). By thinking about whether she can trust me or not she is sending me a message that she doesn't trust me, her faith in me is lacking. Well how would she feel if I didn't trust her all of the time? Wouldn't feel very good if I was always looking at her sideways waiting for her to mess up. The DOR needs me to trust her, she needs me to believe that she will never ask me to do something that I can't do or that isn't safe. Sometimes I question her, after all she is getting old and going through menopause-both circumstances that can cloud clear thinking-but I do trust her. Trust really is a two way street, it is needed on both sides to have a good relationship.
Trusting your horse is important to our emotional well being. When humans trust us we feel more confident, we feel empowered to do what we are being asked to do.
So trust in your horse when he deserves it and that is all the time, unless our behavior shows you different.
Enjoy your day and don't forget to hug your DOR