Dear Jo,
An e-mail I wrote to Jo Browne at HORSE Magazine after the 'GreavesleyGate' scandal.
I think it’s important that everyone remembers horses are
creatures with their own ideas about what is safe and what isn’t, and they
can’t be ‘fixed’ , ’once and for all’.
A horse is perfect for what he is:
a fast, fit, flighty creature who considers safety his primary focus in life,
above all other considerations. The reason we love them so much is that
despite all these things, they choose to be with us, to let us touch them, ride
them and ultimately ask them to be ok in unfamiliar and scary situations – I might
add we’d NEVER force ourselves to face our fears...so why is it ok to make our
horses do it? The fact that they do trust us, that most horses with sensitive
training out on the roads alongside road users who are kind and thoughtful, a
horse can become comfortable with traffic, but it only takes one scare to put
all that work back to the beginning, and some horses will never recover from a
fright, and neither might the rider.
I feel so cross and saddened that there are people we share
our planet with that have so little empathy for their fellow creatures that
they’d be willing to risk the safety of all concerned..who are these people?
I think I must be very lucky indeed, because I have the
nicest drivers in my village...cyclists on the other hand.....are a bit better
at slowing down!
Thanks for reading my rant,
Shelley
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