Old School Philosophy for Modern Day Horsepeople Warren Bengston has a heart for horses and people. He's spent 42 years as a farrier, 3 years breaking horses, and 10 years as a missionary to the Ojibwe Indians. You will find pieces from each part of his diverse background interwoven into the fabric of his writings.

A horse may be defiant because he is afraid or confused. He may be confused because his defiance or fear will not allow him to think. His fear could be fed by unanswered defiance or simple confusion. Any combination of the above will blind the horse to reality.

These are the superficial, yet very real, reasons a horse won’t give his feet calmly and willingly. The deeper, main root is lack of self-control.

Control is central to both order and chaos. We humans don’t like to be controlled but we like to control. In our world we seek to control according to our own opinions and beliefs. The problem is, those we control or try to control are wired just like we are. Ultimately control belongs to the strong and submission belongs to the weak, who would control the strong if it were possible. The point is that we dominate if we can and submit if we must.

History repeatedly shows us that the strong rule the weak until the weak become strong enough to rule the strong who have become weak. Those in rebellion to the status quo create chaos that destabilizes the establishment. Chaos is key to gaining control. They gain control, only to prove that they are as bad or worse than the vanquished. When the weak who have become strong take over, they will continue until the diseases of dominance take their toll and it starts all over again.

There is no difference between the weak (the ruled) and the strong (the rulers). The perceived difference simply has to do with the present state or position. We don‘t learn and we can’t break the cycle because we are all identically corrupt in our hearts. We can hide behind politics or religion but we will eventually be betrayed by the sickness of our souls.

Christianity is useless if the weak (us) think we can dishonor, defy or control the strong (Almighty God). We humans will never find real strength until we acknowledge our utter weakness, corruption of soul and blindness of our minds and acknowledge our need for the redemptive work of the Savior to restore us to a light and power that are not our own.

Only in Him can we understand our dilemma and begin to deal with our core issues of fear, defiance and confusion. (Church can only give a hazy and contaminated version of the God-human relationship unless the minister is a true shepherd who himself finds his only hope and strength in the Word of the Great Shepherd.) Then the issues of control and submission can come into clear focus and the journey into truth can begin.

Keeping a bunch of rules can be self-imposed or church-imposed but really can never resolve the issues of control and submission as far as the God-human relationship is concerned. God’s code of conduct meets our code of conduct and a power struggle begins. This struggle is manifested by inner chaos and confusion. To bring peace, one of the opposing forces must be ruled or controlled by the other. Two dictators can’t rule the same country. One of them must be rendered weak and helpless. If this God-human relationship is not clear to us, all of the answers are available through a serious and persistent study of God’s Word, the Bible. What it is, how it works, who makes it work and why will be made clear if we seek it like we seek water when we are thirsty.

A horse-human relationship that has the horse in control is somewhat peaceful because the human allows the horse to control him or her. Here are some statements that are clues that a power struggle is going on:

• When the phrase “knock it off” is used five times in five minutes.
• “Horse, don’t push me; I’ve had it with you.”
• “One more time and you’re really going to be in trouble.”
• “You know it makes me mad when you do that.”

The horse-human relationship that has the human in control—with integrity—is peaceful because the horse has submitted to human control. The horse is controlling himself based on the clear information he has received from his handler.

The horse-human relationship that is not consistently peaceful is in a power struggle. Horse and human both want control but neither are getting it the way they want it. That’s why I can’t pick up my horse’s feet. He’s stuck with me physically, but mentally he’s still on his own. He has little interest in controlling himself to accommodate my agenda. Too often this kind of standoff becomes status quo. Somehow the struggle has to end.

This is the single most common source of chaos in the horse-human relationship. Equality will never work. The horse that sees his handler as an equal will soon be treating him or her as a subordinate. He will control the relationship to the degree that he is given that freedom.

When two opposing schools of thought are mixed, they might blend and neutralize each other, but more than likely one will eventually rise to control. In his natural herd setting, the horse has no power issues with people. Similarly, the human who looks with admiration on the wild herd has no power issues with those horses. The trouble starts when the two worlds are mixed.

When the human code of conduct is in opposition to a horse’s natural inclinations, there is a power struggle. If he does not learn to exercise self-control, he feeds the monster of chaos. The horse’s effort at self-control gives the handler permission and a way to clarify his or her intentions. The horse then gives himself an opportunity to decipher human expectations and begins to search for a way to connect with this human who wants to connect with him. He discovers that he can’t control his handler and seems to realize that the only way to make sense out of chaos is to submit to the authority in his life. When this happens, horse and human are well on the way to unity. Opposing tensions are fading away, bringing peace and hope to the relationship.

The horse is as dependent on his handler as a Christian is on his God to guide and engineer a relationship that has hope and purpose in a world totally foreign to the world that is natural to them. In both cases it is a life-long journey that can have ups and downs, surprises, setbacks, disappointments, mistakes and deliberate disobedience.

This brings up an interesting question. Did you ever see one horse train another horse to neck rein? The only real help one horse can give another one is, “There’s the trainer. Go see him; I can’t help you. I have the same nature and inclinations that you have.” Can one horse influence other horses by his example? Of course, for either good or bad, but horses can never teach each other about the specific expectations of humans.

Horses can teach each other about the expectations of herd life, with dominance and submission being at the core of that life. Chaos in the herd is brief because control is quick and without apology. Subordinate horses learn very quickly to control themselves. They wouldn’t even think of challenging the herd boss. Why? They know what will happen if they were ever so foolish. They would be missing a patch of hair.

When a horse behaves and cooperates, he is exercising self-control based on information received and processed. The horse that acts on his whims and feelings has not learned self-control. He doesn’t get to decide if he will yield his feet to the handler on a particular day or in a particular set of circumstances. If we allow a horse to live by his feelings, we do him a great disservice. When we don’t oppose his inclinations that are in opposition to us, we cheat him out of the opportunity to learn self-control. Because he is self-absorbed, if he does yield to us in some degree he’ll also have a chip on his shoulder.

Each time a horse willingly obeys us, his own inclinations have less control over him. This makes the next transaction easier and quicker. Conversely, each unopposed disobedience pushes the horse into a deeper hole of rebellion and opposition to the authorities in his life.

When a horse is confused about being in our world, his actions will reflect that. So how do we clear that confusion up? We don’t ask questions; we make statements such as:

• You are safe with me.
• You belong to me; I don’t belong to you.
• I will never knowingly violate you.
• Disobedience will carry consequences every time.
• If you defy me, I am bound by my care for you to give you cause to reconsider, and when you do, I’ll be there to welcome you.

• What do I need to be afraid of?
• What can I get away with?
• What do you want?
  

• What am I doing wrong?
• Why doesn’t my horse like me?
• Why would he hurt me when I’m so nice to him?
  

When we provide solid leadership consistently with tough love, the person of the handler will become more important to the horse than the circumstances of the handling. When a horse truly respects his handler, he regards him as worthy of his obedience and cooperation.

This kind of relationship with a horse will make self-control a non-issue. Farrier work, trailer loading, water crossing, etc., etc. will be non-issues. Horse and handler will be on the same page and the horse will be rational instead of impulsive.

Warren Bengston