Learn to do nothing, that’s the primary message of this blog. Let me explain.
I love horses, majestic animals – but i never had any interest in learning to ride – just being around is enough.An old friend of mine grew up around horses, she is amazing with them. She races horses and to see the relationship she has with her horses is lovely.
Her grand daughter wanted to get into barrel racing so grandma found a suitable horse, sight unseen. Upon delivery, this poor horse was scared of everything. She was put in her own little barn and paddock to chill out.
So how do you deal with a horse like this? Nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is the right course. She understood this.
Aside from all the husbandry the horse needed – and the horse wouldn’t come near while she fed and watered. But a couple of times a day, she would bring a chair and sit in the paddock for a couple of hours a day to read a book. She did nothing but exist around the horse – it’s humans that operantly conditioned the horse to be afraid – and humans are a threat. The horse doesn’t trust humans – but trust has to be earned. The horse needs to be the one to choose that my friend is not a threat – the horse has to be the one to choose to change their operant conditioning and approach her. It took a bit, but once the horse made the choice – other people gained trust through my friend. It’s all very beautiful.
Lets compare it to humans – we tend to want to change people, turn them into someone that can suit your life. Operant conditioning is every you are, everything you’ve experienced good, bad or indifferent. You can suppress parts of a person, mold them into something that looks at you differently – but you’re not changing that person.