Working Together ~Steve McClure (Reno)
I like to find jobs that I can do from a horse. Horses and I seem to do best when we attempt to complete a task as a team and I enjoy that kind of partnership. When I trail ride for recreation, I find myself looking at the fence for potential repair work and it’s not even my fence! That’s just the way I am.
I am particularly interested in ranch work and learning cowboy “skills”. I’ve ridden more than a few horses these past years and have had the opportunity to work out of the saddle for many hours at a time. This work requires miles of walking as well as the occasional trot. The saddle is the office and except for meals (usually), gates or doctoring work you are pretty much mounted the entire time.
The mythological symbol of the Centaur is no mere accident. The half human – half horse is a reality for anyone who spends a long time in the saddle. Until I rode, I never really fully understood what that imagery meant. When you ride a horse for long hours, day after day, you find yourself and the horse becoming one. It seems more natural to be on the horse than afoot and for a short while, after you dismount, you feel diminished.
When I am in the saddle, I am taller and can see much further. Mounted I am stronger, faster, more agile and possess much greater endurance. My hearing is enhanced because I find myself aware of the horse’s ear and head position and I find myself turning to look see what he has heard or smelled. Each of us becomes aware of the others energy through the connection of my seat. The tradeoff for the horse is that he gets the use of my brain and my ability to plan ahead although I fear that, in my case, the horse often gets the short end of the stick concerning that particular transaction.
People sometimes ask me what drives me to continue to ride. I tell them it’s not just for the experience when I’m mounted but for the diminished feeling I get when I am afoot. I need to re-experience the connection between that living animal and myself. For many folks the ideal of the modern day “cowboy” is the motorcycle rider or the semi truck driver. Both are laudable avocations but, for me, they do not compare to two brains working as a team and combining their abilities to get a job done.
~Steve McClure (Reno)
To read more by Steve McClure (Reno)--see below.
Insights by Steve -- The Circle
Insights by Steve -- Natural Horseman
Insights by Steve -- Saddle Tracks
Insights by Steve -- Harmony and Horsemanship