Preparation For Life!

Preparation For Life!
More than just a hay burner!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Preparation for Life?

Exhaustion: A common side effect of "parenting" found during all phases of child rearing. Occurs most often after repeated attempts by human adults to prepare their young for life in the outside world. Adults have tried...everything...to prepare their offspring with the skills they will need for success. My approach...Horses!

Horses eat through your disposable income twice every day at constantly rising rates. Often they need snacks (grain or other supplements). Horses require medical attention almost as often as your children do. Horses, just like your children, benefit from vitamins and grow out of their shoes every six weeks. In fact, Horses are really just teenagers. They both destroy their rooms (corrals) with little regard to how much you paid for them to have a space of their own! Both also tear up their clothes (fly sheets; blankets; and fly masks). Why was I thinking a Horse was going to help me parent my children?

After I had lost all my money; patience; any opportunity for self-gratification, and most of my mind...I witnessed the results! My children did learn something. Skills that have helped them in the world outside their parent's home. They are compassionate people. They know what hard work is and have good work ethics. They are not afraid of challenges much larger than themselves. They are strong, confident adults and can gently negotiate through obstacles set before them. I credit their Horses!

All those early morning stall cleanings, wheelbarrow loads and hay bales; the bathing, brushing, and hoof picking; the lessons when they did poorly, the unexpected dismounts that left them in the dirt, and the horse shows when they did NOT win, place, or show payed off dividends! My children are able to handle the difficulties of life. They dust themselves off and go on. They are resilient and tough. In a world where so many expect so much will come so easily, my children are using their stamina, maneuvering skills, and persistence taking to task a world much larger than they.

I credit the Horse...because the task of parenting my children to success was much larger than I. Bravo to the Horses: Dar-ling, Miska, Jet, Pepper, DeMazien, Catch and Honor. Bravo to the lessons taught in and out of the saddle!

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