A cowboy's love for his horse

I have been watching Alexander Nevzarov's movie, "The Horse, Crucified and Risen".  I think I wrote about this in an earlier post.  Since then I've thought a lot about the way people treat their horses, the way they are trained and used.  I've thought about Nevzarov's movie, and the first chapter of his book (by the same name).  I've thought about all these new methods of training there are, and the old methods of training. And natural horsemanship.  And everything.

Here's what I think:  I think that Nevzarov is right in part.  People have been very cruel to horses in the past. They were also very cruel to each other in those days.  While it's horrible and awful and proves that man has, in the past, thought nothing of how he treats animals, that doesn't necessarily translate to now.  He does show Russian riders competing at a horse show and how abusive they are.  I have never seen people quite so abusive on a horse. I have seen gaping mouths, uncomfortable horses, scared horses, scared riders.  I have seen mild abuse, and now that I think of it, outright abuse (under the guise of traditional horse training).


However, last night while watching (embarrassingly) a show called "Sweet Home Alabama", which is a bachelor-type show where half the men are from the country and half from the city, I learned of a horse that was stolen and killed.  The owner was Shaun Smith and his horse was named "Credit Card".  Smith was one of the top riders on the Southern Arkansas University rodeo team.  One of the girls on the team apparently stole his horse because she was angry at him, presumably due to relationship issues.  While five horses were taken, only Credit Card was shot and dismembered.  The others were tied to trees and left to starve to death.

This is a horrific and sad story, of course.  During the filming of "Sweet Home Alabama" Smith learns that his horse had been killed.  He cried, openly, on camera and sought comfort in the arms of a fellow cowboy on the show.  He cried to Paige, "the girl" on the show that they were all vying for. He was clearly upset, very upset.  In my mind it's perfectly understandable, and even expected. 

So what came to my mind after learning about this story was that no matter how they train their horses, ride them, jerk on their mouths, or any other myriad things, they love them! Smith's horse was shown in the rodeo arena with the De rigour tie-down, which he was clearly leaning on.  But he was a champion.  He did his job well, and apparently found some joy in that (although I am speculating).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that love can overcome some mistakes and some training methods.  I am still working out what I really feel is "the" way to train that is best for horses and people. However, Nevzarov would have anyone riding with a bit, or not training his way as being mean, aggressive and abusive.  That's clearly not true. His movie made me question using a bit, period.  But when I watch Oliviera riding, his sensitivity with the bit and the spurs and whip, I know he isn't being the least abusive or even aggressive.  




My cowboy and his horse, Snickers

 I know that I have made mistakes working with horses. As for my own horses, I think they have forgiven me for my mistakes, and not being able to communicate so directly I can only point to how they react to me now.  I experiment, a LOT, with different techniques.  When they give me a negative reaction, I stop.  When it's positive, I keep going, and they respond in turn.  They have, miraculously, always given me another chance to get it right. My gut feeling is that the love I bear for them overshadows everything else, good or bad, and that the relationship I have with my horses is one of the most honest one I've ever had. There's a lot to be said for love, Nevzarov! 




I love you even when you're covered in mud, Angel!