Most of us at some point in life have something we long to hear from a loved one, family member or even a boss. Here are my favourite words...
"I'll ask the question and see what they want to do"
Words spoken every day this week, by the yard manager of the new yard we have moved to.
When the yard manager says "they" she is referring to my horses. The "question" she is asking them (several times a day) is simply "do they want to come in or stay out?' She listens to their behavioural response - do they come running over, approach her or revert back to grazing?
It's funny how something so simple can have such a dramatic effect.
To have someone working with you in the daily care of your horses who 'gets horses' and their need to be outdoors, roaming, stretching, resting, sunbathing, snoozing and eating - is priceless. So too, are the results....
To have someone on the team, on the ground, who is happy to follow the lead of the horses and be totally flexible about the hours they keep indoors or outdoors - is refreshing. It's one of those things 'money can't buy' - it's either there or it isn't.
By sharing this blog, maybe it will help more people like me, look for it, and keep looking till we find it.
I appreciate that it's often no fault of large yards, despite their many staff, that they bring horses in at lunch time in order to get them all groomed and fed etc before home time. The problem is that horse care shouldn't solely be focused on 'the ideal human home time'. Not in my view at least. Horses first, human's second!
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| Grace August 2014 |
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| Essy looking younger than ever - August 2014 |
I believe, that knowledgeable horse men and women want to focus on the principle of giving the horse a lifestyle that is best for them, versus 'handy' for the human. It's a principle that I believe brings great rewards for horses, humans and ultimately the yard as a whole.
Its still great to hear it every day and I wont get bored of hearing it. I'm pretty confident these guys wont either....
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| Solar and Essy August 2014 |
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