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Most horses are pushed, pulled, prodded or levered into whatever direction or position the human desires.
Asking such a horse to think and make choices may be difficult at first.
He may want you to tell him, and wait for you to pull him, like he's used to.
He hasn't yet learned to shift his mind out of neutral.
If you set it up for him by closing all the doors except one, he'll find it if you wait.
You may need to put a little pressure on him if he doesn't try, to get him to search for what you want. Encourage the slightest try on his part--a look, a lean, the flick of an ear. Encourage him by instantly removing the pressure. Rub on him. Then go right back to it until you get another try. Let him sort it out until he finds it.
This way, you are "suggesting" to the horse instead of "making" him. The human needs to be in charge and call the shots, but you do it by making your idea become his idea. When he does it, he wants to do it because it is the most comfortable thing to do. He finds the one door you left open and thinks, "Hey, this looks pretty good, I think I'll do this." He does it willingly, with a good attitude, because it is his idea. It is his idea because it was your idea first.
Sometimes the horse doesn't take your suggestion, or he may initiate an idea that wasn't your idea. Rather than get in an argument with him, or try to force him, you might go with what the horse offers you, and use it in your plan. For example, say you are riding a young horse you are starting. You want to go straight but he tries to turn left. Instead of arm wrestling him to the right, just ride him on around to the left, purposely, like it was your idea, but keep circling him to the left until you are back in the direction you originally were taking him. The horse might stay in a more willing frame of mind, because you didn't argue with him. He stays with you mentally, and you maintain unity and harmony in your ride.
In the human's world, God is calling the shots. He is in control of everything that happens. But He has set things up so that it doesn't always appear that way. It appears to many people that things just happen, without rhyme or reason.
God promises to guide and direct those who belong to Him. But we seldom hear or feel that guidance. We believe that we are making our own plans and decisions, and in a way, we are, because we have free will. He wants us to think and make intelligent choices, just like we want our horses to do. But He is setting things up so that the choices we make work into His overall plan.
Proverbs 16:9 The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
God wants us to make right choices, but sometimes we don't a very good job of following His leading, or we just plain want to go our own way. Will He arm wrestle us into the direction He prefers us to go? Not usually. Have we messed up His plan? No--He already knew all the choices we would make. He takes what we give Him and continues on in the general direction of His plan. We still get there, but maybe in a slightly different way. All our choices work into His plan.
We sometimes wish that God would make things more obvious. It's hard work to think. We wouldn't mind if He would push, pull or pry us a little now and then. But usually He doesn't. Why doesn't He just stop us from doing wrong, or force us to do right? Because God doesn't want robots. He can't have a loving relationship with a robot.
He wants creatures of free will that obey Him because they choose to, not because of fear or pain. He wants us to sort it out, to seek His way. When His idea becomes our idea, we experience unity and harmony in our relationship with the Master Horseman.
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(c) 1998 by Jan Young
Permission is granted to freely copy this document, "The True Way" (unmodified), in electronic form, or in print if you are not selling it. Author credit must be included.
All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise noted.
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Two men led an unbroke colt,
Wild-eyed and about to bolt.
"Here's the colt you said to bring.
He's one of the best and fit for a king.
"His bloodline's royal as they get;
To buy him, you'd end up in debt.
"The owner sent this fancy bit,
And here's a saddle that might fit."
The Master shook His head and smiled.
"You two treat him like he's wild."
He slipped the halter from its head.
"We won't be needing this," He said.
He touched the colt, its head, its feet;
The bond between them was complete.
The wild look in its eye was gone.
It calmly stood and let Him on.
He sat the colt that'd never been rode.
Would it buck? Would it explode?
No saddle, bridle, bit or rein;
He moved it forward, touched its mane.
They walked, they trotted, circled, stopped
Never bolted, spooked or hopped.
One whispered "Magic--it's a trick!
Who could tame a colt so quick?"
The Master spun the colt around.
The man's eyes dropped to the ground.
"My creatures know My voice, My touch.
If only men could do as much!"
Looking royal, sitting tall,
He started toward the city wall.
The colt moved easily down the hill,
The Master's destiny to fulfill.
Out in the sagebrush, the cattle roam
Wanderin' aimlessly, far from home
On a fine white horse there comes a Rider
Grabbin' His brim, He pulls His hat down tighter
Tall and majestic, He sits His steed
The big white stud moves with grace and speed
He packs a spade bit, wears an A-fork saddle
He looks like he could carry a king into battle
Ridin' His spread, He's gatherin' His cattle
On a thousand hills, they bawl and skedaddle
The sun is setting, the hour is late
He's workin' the stragglers toward the gate
"Bring 'em in," He calls to His buckaroos
"It's time to sort 'em, to see whose is whose"
The cows are all in, the hills are stripped clean
It's the biggest rodear His crew's ever seen
The set of corrals has an alley and pens
The gate is shut and the sorting begins
He stations Himself in front of the herd
The others wait for His signal, His word
He pushes two forward—"An 'in' and a 'by'!"
The man in the alley responds to His cry.
He steps his horse forward, splits up the pair
The "in" goes by first, past the nose of his mare
Farther down the alley, near the gate of a pen
Another buckaroo steps out and turns her in
He steps his horse back, just inside the gate
The next cow goes by, unaware of her fate
One pen of culls, another of keepers
The crew sorts them out, kind of like grim reapers
The Rider on the white horse is coming back soon
The last gather could take place at mornin', night, or noon
Will you be an "in" or will you be a "by"
When He holds that big Rodear in the sky?
Rodear: Spanish term "to gather;" related to the word "rodeo"
Buckaroo: Americanization of the Spanish "vaquero"
Spade bit, A-fork saddle: Commonly used in parts of the West where the Spanish vaquero influence is still felt