Thursday, April 17, 2014

Necessary Excuses


Jimmy Wofford's quote about buying a horse you're willing to make excuses for is one I've been thinking about since Tuesday's dreadful jump school. 

I love Moe wholeheartedly, and I make excuses for him when anything goes wrong.

"I must have been riding like an idiot."

"Well, he's starting to get old."

"It's really hot outside."

"He was kind of stiff last year; maybe he has arthritis."

"I never bothered much with dressage when we were younger; no wonder he doesn't grasp shoulder-ins."

I think making excuses is a necessary part of having a horse you're partners with. Obviously, you can't excuse everything, or you'd have a whole lot of disciplinary problems on your hands. But every so often, it's important to give a horse the benefit of the doubt. 

Sometimes I wonder if Moe makes excuses for me, too. I think he must, because he's an awfully generous creature who's pulled me out of more sticky situations than I can count. He never has a sour attitude, always tries hard, and greets me cheerfully every single day. 

For that kind of horse, I'll make excuses all day long.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a great quote. I've never heard it before. You always hear that you shouldn't make excuses but I like the perspective this brings.

Stephanie said...

I read it in Wofford's "Training The Three Day Event Horse And Rider" (which is a holy book in my house, haha!). While I definitely don't think EVERYTHING needs to be excused, I do think there's a time and a place for it. Because, you know, we all have bad days- so do our horses!

Austen said...

I like this post. I make excuses for my old TB, but I like to think he makes excuses for me too. "Well, crazy lady lost her patience with me today, but she fed me a whole apple and we went galloping. I'll give her another chance." :)

Stephanie said...

I think they definitely make excuses for us!

L.Williams said...

Interesting quote, something to ruminate over.

Karley said...

Interesting quote.. I think I error on the side of no excuses too much lol!!

SheMovedtoTexas said...

I feel the same way about Simon :)

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