Upholding your Horses' Reputations

While there is much truth to the fact that not every horse works with every human, that is not something that equine professionals have the luxury of entertaining. 

As professionals we have to work with every horse that is put in our path without any emotion. The best horse in the world is the horse between our legs. We must bring a blank slate to every ride in order to give horses a fair chance to show accomplishment. 

Yes, you can get pissed off, frustrated and upset sometimes; but the next ride you have to come back to each horse with a clean slate!

While this may be an article about humans, it has some great points that fit with my theory of how we the way we represent our horses reflect how horses will come to be seen: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201004/the-value-good-reputation

The key points being:

• You can't stop others from maligning a reputation, but a good reputation can come to its own rescue and defense.
• A good reputation provides you a target at which to keep aiming. 
• A good reputation represents a great marketing strategy. 
• A good reputation inspires others. 

In our barn, we joke about how a past employee taught one of the little boys riding in our stables this script: 

"Which horse is your favorite?"
"EVERY horse is my favorite!! Especially the one you are riding."

But, quite honestly this little script has to be truth when you work in a stable because the emotions professionals display about their horses are contagious. Not just to clients but to staff, interns, volunteers and everyone else listening in. 

One comment or facial expression that displays that you don't like or prefer a horse has the potential to completely ruin a horse's reputation and end them on the "worthless" list permanently for everyone in the barn. This is because, lets be honest, there actually is some logic that if the professionals don't like working with a horse a novice wouldn't stand a chance.

This is why I rephrase things so often when describing our horses: 

• not cuddly or girthy -> ticklish, sensitive
• lazy or slow -> energy efficient, babysitting, protecting rider, making sure rider is ready
• hot -> enthusiastic, tries too hard

Even the littlest positive can make a big impact.