"Indecisiveness, does it second guess you?"—Motivational Monday

Howdy Friends,

We all struggle sometimes with making decisions, especially really tough decisions. Tough decisions require a ponderence of thought, or we would not consider them tough. Some choices, ideas, strategies and decisions are far to important to skim over, take lightly. Some are not so weighty and we can make them in a blink of an eye, for instance deciding whether or not to grab and extra 5 minutes sleep before starting the day, should not take too much thought.

However taking the entire day off from work might require a bit more consideration. What if the question was not only taking the day off, but to quit your job? What if quitting your job was only part of the thinking? What if added to that was the idea of starting a whole new career? Maybe it would involve a move to a new town, or state. What about the children, school, friends and family, and security of sameness? Interesting isn’t it how layers can stack up, thicker, heavier and more cumbersome.

For some folks making decisions, no matter how involved or serious, is as easy as changing channels on the TV. For others just the thought of changing those channels is reason for hesitation, stress and uncertainty. In their mind they can build layers of questions, reasons pro and con. Sometimes they can talk themselves completely out of changing the channel, or anything else in life, simply by building walls of indecisiveness.

What do those folks possess who always seem to find decision making no big deal? A crystal ball? Probably not, but in most cases folks who wrestle with indecisiveness also struggle with self esteem. They are afraid to trust themselves, their own opinions, ideas and feelings. 

Simple decisions for some folks become layers upon layers of random, and not too random thoughts, problems, and created pitfalls in their thoughts. It is not hard to wrestle with doubt and worry on big decisions like changing careers and moving, but a decision on a movie, a TV channel, or even a new car, should not have the power to hold a person hostage.

Confidence, that more than anything can cure indecisiveness.

How does one build confidence? Simply by telling themselves they are in charge, and taking instant command of the little choices. Just make them. Toss that self-doubt out the window, go for it. The more often you make choices, the more confidence builds, and the easier it becomes. Here’s a little shared secret, folks who don’t have any problem with making decisions are wrong as often as anyone else—they just don’t let that stop them, they take it in stride. They understand not all their decisions will be winners, so they don’t let that worry keep them from finding the ones that are.

So if you sometimes, or all the time, struggle with making decisions remember, no matter how hard you ponder you’re going to be correct some of the time, and not so correct some of the time. Begin by going with your gut. It is often said the first thought you have is the correct one, and I have found that to be most always the case.

Now this is not to say you should forget about due diligence, we can’t run around making brash decisions willy nilly, with no intelligent thought. But building layers of self-questioning delays is a sure way to chip away at a person’s self confidence. There is no future in that. Whereas moving always ahead, being decisive builds confidence, and success. Go for it!

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry 

P.S. ~ You might also want to read, Motivational Monday—“What is Fear?”

"Horses and Personalities"

Howdy Friends, 

Horses and personalities, or people and their horse’s personalities. How about people misunderstanding their horse’s personalities. Perhaps, sometimes people are reluctant to believe horses have personalities, or they believe they can change them. Could you change yours? 

Sure we can change our habits, approach to situations, even our talents and concerns. We can improve our skills, and our horse’s skills, change their habits and concerns too ... but what about personality?

Merriam Webster defines Personality as, “the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual, especially in relationships with others: And the totality of an individual’s behavioral and emotional tendencies ... Interesting, “totality of an individual’s behavioral and emotional tendencies.” What does that mean? And are horses, like people, destined to have their own unique personality, and how does their “behavioral and emotional tendencies” affect our relationship?

I submit understanding that horses, and all animals, do indeed possess distinctly their own personalities, and endeavoring to understand them would make partnering easier, for both human and horse. Sadly many times folks looking for a horse eagerly fall in love with a horse the see as pretty, flashy, beautiful or any other adjective that suits their vision of a horse, when what they should consider paramount is a horse’s personality. I believe it is wise to choose a horse to fall in love with who has a personality or, “behavioral and emotional tendencies” compatible to their own.

Personalities tend to govern actions, reactions and habits more than education or training. At the least personality will govern the way a horse, or human, sees, understands and accepts or rejects education and training. So indeed I think it most beneficial to choose a horse whose personality matches your own. Too late, you say, you already have your horse and you don’t think your personalities mesh. Not the end of the beautiful relationship, if you recognize that, you both can build on it.

Much has been written about the different personalities in human’s, and horses, and how to understand them. It has even often been scribed how to navigate the waters of unblended personalities. I believe it is most important to understand, personalities are rooted in the horse’s genes, and neither you nor any trainer will change a personality. The job then is to understand it, and build on it, and not to confront, challenge or struggle with it. Embrace it, welcome it and polish it.

How does understanding your horse’s personality help? If attention is given to the core personality then it can be used as a blueprint for all you do together. It is the human who must adjust their habits to fit in the cogs of the drive-wheel of their horse, not the other way around. Once an understanding is gained of the idiosyncrasies of the horse, every action and interaction can be formulated in a way that makes complete sense to the horse, and all activities done together will take on a new shine, a new completeness, a new perfection.

For instance, my mare Kessy. She does not like to be approached head on, she’ll pin her ears and walk away. However when I finally understood that, I learned, or she taught me, if I approach part way and stop, she’ll come to me, ears up and smiling. She may pause a second or three, but she’ll always meet me.

Some horses welcome commands, and respond well; in fact the act of giving them a command gives them a sense of boundary, security, even safety. Other horses, like my Kessy, revolt at the mere attempt to “give” a command. She responds respectfully and willingly to a gentle request.

I’d like to end with another thought for consideration. Spooking, fidgeting and behaviors of those kinds are not truly personality traits in my mind. They are indeed behavior traits, learned and held onto, because their human has not yet discovered the horse’s underlying personality, and therefore is not quite able to communicate with the horse in a way the horse can clearly understand. The spooky, fidgety displays are merely demonstrations of lack of confidence born of constant corrections because requests, or commands, are not understood. It’s like speaking French to me, I would not understand so I’d offer wrong responses. That’s what happens to the horse. But once the personality of the horse is understood by the person, both can speak the same language and things like spooky and fidget will go away. The horse, and human, will gain buckets of confidence, born of an understanding of personality, and the language it speaks. 

P.S. If you've not yet had a look at my book, "It's For The Horses" please have a look HERE on Amazon  Or visit  www.itsforthehorses.com 

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry

Motivational Monday – "The Value Of Virtue"

Howdy Friends,
 
What is virtue? Webster defines virtue as morally good behavior or character: a good and moral quality: a commendable quality or trait: the good result that comes from something.

Benjamin Franklin had a list of 12 virtue references to gage himself and his own actions. These guidelines ranged from temperance, frugality, sincerity, justice, to humility.

Many religions speak of virtue as love, honor, trust, morality, truthfulness, and respect in perhaps dozens of different ways and guidelines, but at the root of all of them is perhaps the most grounding idea, can we say morality, or does that create a whole new area of conversation needed?
The word virtue come from the Latin word, “virtus” which again refers to self control, prudence, and courage, among other things defining a good Roman citizen.

William J. Bennett compiled a book of short stories from all times, lands and countries titled, The Book of Virtues, A Treasury of Great Moral Stories. Stories about responsibility, courage, compassion, honesty, friendship, persistence, hard work, self discipline and faith, he chose as examples that might shape young minds. In the introduction Mr. Bennett says, “Today we speak of values as things we should possess like beads on a string—these stories speak of morality and virtue not as possessions but as something to be, the most important thing to be.” I have read from this book when working with at-risk youths, or when reading to school children.

Can virtue, the value of virtue, serve not only as a root for good Roman citizens, American citizens, citizens of the world, but also as a motivator in an individual’s life? Can striving to be of good virtue propel someone to try harder, chase their dreams, and overcome shackling hardships? Will a solid base of morality provide within an individual the courage it takes to pick themselves up after a stumble? Surely it can, and will.

Virtues can and will motivate, strengthen and even build up troubled hearts, struggling self respect and even lighten sad hearts. That is there power.

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry

P.S. If you've not yet had a look at my book, "It's For The Horses" please have a look HERE on Amazon  Or have a look at www.itsforthehorses.com

"Water for Horses"

Howdy Friends,

Water for horses. Everyone knows we must provide water for our horses, it is the most important nutrient, and yet this is an area often done along marginal lines.

Most folks know we need to keep water available in the hot summer months, and do. Buckets hung on fences, stock tanks and automatic waterers. Most folks understand the need to keep water available in the coldest winter months as well, though the largest cause of colic is winter time lack of water. Breaking the ice is not a satisfactory way to provide adequate water intake. On cold days horses, like we, will not be excited by ice water. Today it is easy to use the many different kinds of heaters to keep that water supply about forty degrees and inviting to the horses. 

It matters not the season; a healthy horse will drink 10-12 gallons of water a day. And yes this will increase on hot days and with varied workloads, up to more than 20 gallons sometimes. I’m a big fan of closely monitoring water intake, and not real keen on automatic waterers, or ponds and streams for that reason. The metal bowls in many automatic waterers, when outdoors in the sun, can become too hot to encourage drinking when horses need it most.

I’m also a bit fanatical about the cleanliness; keep those buckets, tubs and tanks clean. I don’t think skimming the grass, hay, bugs and debris off the top is good enough. I empty and scrub Kessy’s 20 gallon tub at least every few days, there will never be sludge or algae in my mare’s water. If I would not want to drink from it, I would expect it of Kessy. 

Tubs, I believe are better than buckets, as buckets will not hold enough water when watering horses only twice a day. I like a nice 20 gallon tub kept sparkling clean. Also be sure to consider herd dynamics, some timid horses will almost never get their proper amounts of water in group housing with only one tank or tub, leading to chronic health issues never associated with inadequate water intake by the caregiver.

You might consider testing your well or water supply. Many, hard to diagnose illnesses and symptoms can be traced to high levels of Iron, selenium, arsenic, lead or bacteria. City water, treated with fluoride and chlorine are problematic for horses and that should be considered. It seems horses are more sensitive to chloride and fluoride than humans, though I’ve long ago fallen off the fluoride band wagon for humans as well; if you’d like a bit of an eye opener read about it sometime. Fluoride poisoning in horses has even been linked to chronic coughs, colic, allergies and thyroid issues (Cornell University).

The moral of the story—the most important aspect to maximum health for horses, water, is easy to supply, but often small, all important details, are forgotten or unnoticed. Water for horses, not only quenches thirst but is paramount in body temperature regulation, digestion, hydration and blood flow to organs.

Water for horses, the very best health enhancement item on the list.

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry 

P.S. If you've not yet had a look at my book, "It's For The Horses" please have a look HERE on Amazon  Or have a look at www.itsforthehorses.com

Motivational Monday—“What is Fear?”

Howdy Friends,

Fear, a word and emotion that controls. An emotion that stops action, thought, ideas and incentive. Did you know fear is also nature’s most powerful motivator?

In sales people are drilled in the art of using fear as a motivator for prospective buyers. We’ve all seen the ads that scream, “Sale ends today!” or “Only while supply lasts!” Perhaps you’ve even experienced a big fear motivator in the real estate business or car sales business, “You’d better make your mind up quickly, two other folks are looking at this car or house.”

It's a fact the “risk of loss,” is a greater motivator than the, “possibility to gain.” That’s why it works so well in sales. Think of this, “Sale ends today!” compared to, “When you finally decide I just know you’ll love this car.”

Yes fear is a word, an emotion sometimes even a motivator ... But it can be a de-motivator. Even an opportunity slayer. And a powerful one. Have you ever allowed fear to rob you of an opportunity? Has fear (that silly 4 letter word) prevented you from asking for a raise, a better position, a better price on a house, car or something else important to you?

Fear can paralyze. It can stop all forward progress, in a deal, a plan, a career choice even life altering decisions can be stopped, altered or forgone because of fear.

Fear has a life of its own ... But it does not need to manage yours ... Do you know that 80% or more of the things we fear never transpire? So imagine now a time when fear stopped you, changed your course, and something you truly wanted to do, or achieve, you simply did not do because fear held you hostage. Think about that 80% rule. Were the fearful thoughts that caused you to stop, things that never would have/could have happened, and success could have been yours.

Fear is a natural instinct, like doubt and negativity. Good thing, I suppose, or we never could have made it beyond our cave-man days. It was probably good that Mr. cave-man was “fearful” of dashing into any old dark cave until he practiced due diligence and made sure no cave-man eating monsters made that cave their domicile. Fear kept him from becoming extinct.

So did negativity keep the cave-man happy and thriving. No doubt! Just like all your friends when you share a good idea and they all lampoon it with “negativity,” which is a gut-first thoughtless instinct. Negativity kept the cave-man safe from those cave-man eating monsters—so we can be here today pushing back the strangle hold of fear and negativity. He needed it more than we do, I think.

What is fear? It is an important, but controllable, left over basic instinct. It’s a good thing to have fear ride your thoughts, ides, dreams and goals with you. But it is for YOU to manage. NOT for it to manage you. We are no longer cave-men, most of us anyway, although sometimes we have to wonder but that’s a story for another time. We no longer need fear to keep us safe from cave-men eating monsters ... We have intellect with which to balance, and reason with fear.

Fear is undoubtedly an ingredient in every decision we make, and it should be. But it should never be given the power to take over, or stop, the thought process. Simply thank fear for its input and consideration, then allow reason to polish your thoughts, remember the 80% rule—Is it truly something to concern me or am I being afraid of my own imagination?

Fear is with us to help us, not stop us. Make fear a small part of your team, not the team leader.

Relegate fear to a bit-part in your life’s play, the tiny seldom seen character with little or no credence to do real damage. Consider it, question it and move ahead. Move ahead to your success in whatever your endeavor.

What is fear? A little bit of seasoning in life’s journey ... not the tour guide. You are!

Gitty Up, Dutch Henry