“ Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”. John Lennon

Have you noticed that the people who are most likely to do the things they say they’ll do are often the busiest people, who seem least likely to have the time to do what you’ve asked of them? A phrase I learned many moons ago is “Ask a busy person“.

I don’t know what it is that makes this phenomenon, but I do know that I recognise it often. Have a look around you, and think about which people you can rely on the most when you ask something of them. I’ll take a bet that many of them are the busiest people you know.

Interestingly, when I was randomly watching a TEDTalk a couple of years ago on how to pick the best romantic partner, one of the top three traits was to fall for someone who follows through with the things that they say that they’re going to do. If anyone has any tips on how to fall for the right person, please let me know!

This is a really interesting thing to watch in relation to training horses. Watch to see whether a rider or handler follows through with what they have asked of the horse, or whether they give up if the horse chooses a different option. This is of course a huge generalisation. Horses should be given options and we should not force them into anything. But it is important that we are consistent and reliable in how we ask and what we ask of them.

Think about this next time you’re with your horse, or next time you promise someone that will do something for them. Do you actually mean what you say? And do they actually mean what they say?

© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio, 2021

Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity and compassion