I think my job with Zum now is to prove to him that a human is not as bad as he thinks. To a horse, a human is a predator. Once Zum accepts that I am not a dangerous predator, he can be gentle with me. Zum wants to be with Huszar and his herd of horse friends. I have to use his natural herd instinct and turn it into bonding with me.
I decided to see if Zum would join up with me without voice commands. I was amazed when he followed me around without a prompting word from me. Even more astonishing was when Zum backed up when I backed up!
Zum doesn’t care how much I know. He only wants to know how much I care. Natural horsemen believe that the secret to handling a horse is to show the horse how much you care before and after you show him how much you know.
Natural horsemen believe that the riddle to a horse is found in the horse’s past. This is true for humans also. To protect us, our subconscious mind suppresses memories that are too emotionally overwhelming or damaging. What happened in Zum’s past that made him high-strung and anxious? If only I could convert his anxiety switch to a dimmer switch and learn how to operate it with proficiency!
Respect is hard to get and easy to lose. I am so elated when Zum follows me in the round pen. Natural horsemen call this join-up!
I want to earn Zum’s respect and I know this starts on the ground. If Zum doesn’t respect me on the ground, he won’t respect me when I am riding him. I am leading him into the round pen so we can build more confidence together.
I have three favorite things in the world. The first is riding my horses. The second is riding my horses on trails in the beauty of nature. My third favorite thing is riding with a person who is gentle and kind. Today, I manifested all three of my favorite things. I am so happy to be back in Phoenix!
