Story
Keep Moving
Move up.
Step forward,
Walk on…
Keeping moving!
Horses are in constant motion and much of what we say to them involves movement. An old-timer told me once, “If you find yourself in trouble with a horse, the best action is almost always to move forward.”
The automatic response of a good rider or carriage driver to a buck, balk, or shy should be “move on”. Engage those feet. Give them a job to do; get the brain and the feet moving on to the next task. Leave what’s bothering us behind!
Horses are prey animals, creatures of flight. If something uncertain is going on, “let’s get outta here” makes sense to them. The job of the handler is then to be certain that the motion is happening in the safest possible direction and at an appropriate speed. A horse appreciates that sort of guidance and will thank you later.
How many times has this philosophy served me well with equines? On multiple occasions, I’ve found myself stuck in a bog , been compelled to kick on at a scary fence, or had teams of horses back up unexpectedly while in harness! Yikes! Each time, the simple solution was to convince the horses that moving forward would solve our problems.
It did.
And there’s an obvious metaphor here to life.
Sometimes you just gotta put one foot in front of the other and move forward to make everything right.
It’s simple. “Move on, Rock, ole buddy. We’ve got places to go…”
Carla Hawkinson
Equestrian Program Manager
Blackberry Farm Move up.
Step forward,
Walk on…
Keeping moving!
Horses are in constant motion and much of what we say to them involves movement. An old-timer told me once, “If you find yourself in trouble with a horse, the best action is almost always to move forward.”
The automatic response of a good rider or carriage driver to a buck, balk, or shy should be “move on”. Engage those feet. Give them a job to do; get the brain and the feet moving on to the next task. Leave what’s bothering us behind!
Horses are prey animals, creatures of flight. If something uncertain is going on, “let’s get outta here” makes sense to them. The job of the handler is then to be certain that the motion is happening in the safest possible direction and at an appropriate speed. A horse appreciates that sort of guidance and will thank you later.
How many times has this philosophy served me well with equines? On multiple occasions, I’ve found myself stuck in a bog , been compelled to kick on at a scary fence, or had teams of horses back up unexpectedly while in harness! Yikes! Each time, the simple solution was to convince the horses that moving forward would solve our problems.
It did.
And there’s an obvious metaphor here to life.
Sometimes you just gotta put one foot in front of the other and move forward to make everything right.
It’s simple. “Move on, Rock, ole buddy. We’ve got places to go…”
Carla Hawkinson
Equestrian Program Manager
Blackberry Farm
Step forward,
Walk on…
Keeping moving!
Horses are in constant motion and much of what we say to them involves movement. An old-timer told me once, “If you find yourself in trouble with a horse, the best action is almost always to move forward.”
The automatic response of a good rider or carriage driver to a buck, balk, or shy should be “move on”. Engage those feet. Give them a job to do; get the brain and the feet moving on to the next task. Leave what’s bothering us behind!
Horses are prey animals, creatures of flight. If something uncertain is going on, “let’s get outta here” makes sense to them. The job of the handler is then to be certain that the motion is happening in the safest possible direction and at an appropriate speed. A horse appreciates that sort of guidance and will thank you later.
How many times has this philosophy served me well with equines? On multiple occasions, I’ve found myself stuck in a bog , been compelled to kick on at a scary fence, or had teams of horses back up unexpectedly while in harness! Yikes! Each time, the simple solution was to convince the horses that moving forward would solve our problems.
It did.
And there’s an obvious metaphor here to life.
Sometimes you just gotta put one foot in front of the other and move forward to make everything right.
It’s simple. “Move on, Rock, ole buddy. We’ve got places to go…”
Carla Hawkinson
Equestrian Program Manager
Blackberry Farm Move up.
Step forward,
Walk on…
Keeping moving!
Horses are in constant motion and much of what we say to them involves movement. An old-timer told me once, “If you find yourself in trouble with a horse, the best action is almost always to move forward.”
The automatic response of a good rider or carriage driver to a buck, balk, or shy should be “move on”. Engage those feet. Give them a job to do; get the brain and the feet moving on to the next task. Leave what’s bothering us behind!
Horses are prey animals, creatures of flight. If something uncertain is going on, “let’s get outta here” makes sense to them. The job of the handler is then to be certain that the motion is happening in the safest possible direction and at an appropriate speed. A horse appreciates that sort of guidance and will thank you later.
How many times has this philosophy served me well with equines? On multiple occasions, I’ve found myself stuck in a bog , been compelled to kick on at a scary fence, or had teams of horses back up unexpectedly while in harness! Yikes! Each time, the simple solution was to convince the horses that moving forward would solve our problems.
It did.
And there’s an obvious metaphor here to life.
Sometimes you just gotta put one foot in front of the other and move forward to make everything right.
It’s simple. “Move on, Rock, ole buddy. We’ve got places to go…”
Carla Hawkinson
Equestrian Program Manager
Blackberry Farm