by Jim Swanner

I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. Luke 21:15

If you saw the last article in The Valley Star entitled, ‘The Heart of the Matter’ and now this one, you might think, why all the talk about heart? If we do things and don’t put our heart into it, why even do’em? What’s the point? There is no point. It’s pointless to continue doing something without putting our all (heart) into it, no matter what it is. If it’s worth your time, it’s worth your heart.

Sometimes we do things because we want to be part of a certain group or certain click; we feel we have to belong somewhere to feel important. If that’s our reason, we may want to rethink and figure out who we really are and what we want out of life. It’s one thing to say it; it’s quite another to do it.

OK, that’s my soapbox for now. Since we talk about horses here I’m going to ask the same question. Why do we have horses? Do we want to own a pasture ornament, if so, then that’s fine, that’s your choice and that’s good for some and in a lot of cases great for the horse. But, if you want to do things with your horse, we need to put our heart into it.

Here’s my point. If we have the desire to go somewhere with your horse, spending one day per week or one lesson per week AIN’T gonna get us there. It’s not that hard; we tend to make it hard.

How many times have we begun something; we didn’t put your heart into it, how far did we go? Not very far. I’m talking to me as well.

Now about our horses; I want to tell you about this one particular student I had, (a retired school teacher from Cullman county) who put a lot of effort and heart into being and doing with her horse. It was an awesome thing to see the growth she and her horse had together. I was amazed at the relationship that developed between her and her horse in such a short time. She got to where she could ride her horse bareback and bridleless. She said she had wanted to do that ever since she was a little girl. She is a retired school teacher. So, it’s never too late, if you put your heart into it. She would spend 4 days per week with her horse (no less that 6-8 hour a week) working on task we worked with during her class time. She put her Heart into her horse and what she was getting from it, the horse allowed her into its heart. I was so proud of and for her.

Some people have said they want to do this (work on the relationship and learn the language of, their horse(s)), but sometimes life just gets in the way. I understand that, I’ve been there. Sometimes we just absolutely don’t have time. But, often times, we just don’t get off the couch. Oftentimes, we allow things to stop us, because we really didn’t want to get off the couch in the first place. We don’t put in the time or effort with our horse nor do we invest the time in ourselves by learning. If the weather is bad or there are other reasons we aren’t out with our horse, we could use that time in study. We have to know what we’re doing before we go get the horse. Nobody is born with knowledge of horses.

I guess I’m sounding like a teacher, well, I am a teacher. It astounds me some people want to do things but don’t first, put in the time to learn what they need to do. It takes a great effort to do great things. Nobody is going to hand you anything.

This thing called Natural Horsemanship and these animals called horses are my way of life and my passion. It is a passion beyond measure. That’s the reason I write, that’s the reason for the radio show, that’s the reason for the clinics/seminars; not to show what I do but to show you what you can learn, if you have the Heart. So, ‘Where’s your Heart’?

Contact me to find out more information to begin this journey.

Listen to WKAC 1080 on Mondays at 9:30
to ‘All About Horses’ Listen online at www.wkac1080.com

K-I-N Stables
13124 Carter Road
Athens, AL 35611
(256) 874-6781
www.jimswanner.com
Enjoying Horses through Communication