A Time To Heal

The last week has not been a long clean hair flowing in the wind, make up on, dressed up nice kinda week.  It has been about going down to the barn every day twice a day to doctor on my colt. 

This horse is special to me (confession:  they all are special) because I've been the one to work with him. Daily trips to the barn to halter him, lead him around, picking up his feet, and placing blankets on his back that will be replaced with a saddle. These rituals of exposing him to these things make him gentle and much easier to break to ride. Shotgun has always been easy. He wants to please and prefers the company of people to other horses. A true gem.

Horses are like kids, they hurt themselves and sometimes you're not sure how they did it.  You just notice the injury and then dedicate yourself to the mending process.  Horses heal from the inside out so it is very important to not let the outside scab over and the inside fester.  A wound takes time, patience, and dedication.  You take a water hose and spray the area for twenty minutes to clean it and draw the blood back to the surface.  You have to forcefully spray the water too, to get the circulation going.  In the end, you're soaking wet and muddy...so is everything else.  This is not an event you get dressed up for and since there are no bonus points awarded for appearance, practical is best.

The entire time I've spent with Shotgun to help him heal, he has stood there like a true gentlemen.  He doesn't give me any problems...just returned love and appreciation.  I wish they all could be this easy.  During this extensive quality time, it occurred to me that people should be no different.  We should daily expose ourselves to the things that build our character so they are customary, put into practice good habits til they become second nature.  We should also learn to heal from the inside out and not let things fester.   File it under "life is too short" or Tourette's, but honesty is usually the best policy.  Get it all out there...drawing it to the surface; get over it.....let it heal properly and not sabatoge potential progress with infection; and get on with it...don't make it hard when it doesn't have to be. 

I am always amazed at what I lessons I learn at the barn.

To everything there is a season...and a time to every purpose under heaven.