177. The innocence of horses.

Yesterday evening i decided to hack Spice out on my own again. It was a calm day, the sun was shining and the breeze was light. Spice's temperament was calm so i thought it was as good a day as any. As i started to approach the gate sensing that she was a little apprehensive i asked her to walk forward five steps at a time and as soon as i felt her wanting to back off i stopped her, patted her and kept her nose pointing in the direction i wanted us to go without asking her to move again until i could feel she had relaxed. A few more steps and a few more stops and we were out of the gate with no fight and happily walking down the road. As we walked along I could feel Spice was still a little anxious so just kept telling her what a good girl she was and how brave she was the whole time. I then realised something about Spice and perhaps a lot of other horses that are primarily driven by fear which is how innocent they are. And how really they are the true victims of their fear. Even though Spice knows full well how to get me off her back and by her side she never uses this knowledge to her gain without real reason in other words she never 'cries wolf' for the sake of it. Her reaction to her fears are always completely genuine and this made me realise how innocent she and a lot of other horses really are - unlike humans they have no sense of manipulation. As she walked along i felt as though even though she was scared she really wanted to please me and do as i ask - she didn't once try to nap. It was a great feeling when we finally got home after having had what has to be the first proper ride in ages where we haven't had any dramas.