Listening . . .

to others.

Jasper

A life with horses is one of my little girl dreams. Being an Army brat and stationed around the world didn’t lend itself to having and riding horses and I’m sure my parents couldn’t have afforded it at that time anyway. I had two model horses, one was chestnut colored and the other a black foal. All plastic, no hair to brush, and no moving parts. They were displayed in various places around my bedroom and at times were the trusty steeds of my Barbies.

The chestnut has a broken leg and the black foal’s coat is chipped, kept in a box for sentimental safekeeping with about a dozen horses that my two daughters accumulated throughout their childhood ~ yes, they were horse crazy too. As the girls were growing up, they took advantage of every pony ride in town and when financially feasible, they took lessons. I delighted in their love of and enjoyment of riding and lived out my little girl dreams through them.

Now I’m living the dream for myself. I regularly ride a horse named Jasper. He belongs to someone else, but I get to love on him and ride him. As with most things I do in my life, I go all in and I learn as much as possible. You see, all these years I wasn’t riding, I still read books about horses, watched movies and documentaries about horses, and went on trail rides whenever and where ever. Among the books I’ve read, my favorite is called “Horse Speak” by Sharon Wilsie. She’s an expert on the language of horses and teaches others how to converse with horses in their language instead of our own. I’ve read, studied, practiced, and it works ~ all the time.

I went to the barn today to ride Jasper, but I didn’t. Jasper has been having issues with soreness. He is 19 years old and still fit, but sometimes he hurts. He is such a sweet animal that I could have tacked him up and ridden him and he would have done a good job, because that’s the kind of horse he is. But I vowed that any relationship I had with a horse would be a partnership and he very clearly communicated to me that he didn’t want anything on his back. So . . . I listened. I put away his tack, finished grooming him, hand walked him around the property, let him graze a bit, and then put him in his paddock. As much as I love riding, I love more that I have a relationship with this 1200-pound beast that trusts me and trusts my love for him.

This made me wonder if I’m listening to the people in my life as well as I listen to the horses at the barn. In this age of social media, people have a lot to say, but are we listening? Even when we don’t agree with one another, are we truly listening, truly trying to understand another’s point of view, or quick to tune out what doesn’t sound like us?

I’m going to take a lesson from my relationship with Jasper ~ I vow to listen more, judge less and talk less, and truly lend my heart and mind to understanding.

Hugs & smiles!