Saturday, June 20, 2009

Do We Treat People Like An Unbreakable Horse?

A Hidden Parallel


He might allow You. He might allow the halter. He may allow saddle, cinch and bridle. Somewhere along the line—no matter what—he fought.

That ole’ horse was the worst—he was smart. He eventually allowed you to ride. Given a tough situation he’d bog his head and dump you in the brush to sheepishly walk back to the crew. Impossible for even the best bronc rider to stay mounted when he’s standing the stirrups, stretched-out, swinging a loop on a yearlin’ and Ole’ horse pulls the plug.

The ultimate in irony. After being shown a better life, Ole’ horse remained a horse. Cold wind in your mane is preferred to a straw-filled shed. Wild oats overpower the lure of grain in a bucket. You accept rolling on grass easier than a human hand on your back. Your herd is safer than a corral. There is no reason to conform when the offered reward doesn’t exceed the risks.

We aspire to a stud’s powerful neck or muscles rippling through a mare’s shoulder but only if they assuage our own passions.

When Ole horse didn’t submit to our designs, we abused him. We canned him. We fed him to our dog. He was never turned-out to live.

We never addressed the “problem” of a horse being a horse. We merely twisted freedom into our being free of him.

What more could he want?



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10 comments:

Albert A Rasch said...

Nicely done Dennis, nicely done.

Albert

me said...

Thank you, Albert.

I kind of liked it and wanted to share it with everyone.

Have a great day.

timethief said...

Well written. I'm a horse person too. Up until 2 years ago when I said goodbye to my last two, horses have always been an important part of my life. I rescued and re-trained so-called "problem" horses and I also shaped some from birth onward. They taught me many lessons about living, loving and coping with "problem" people.

me said...

Timethief,
Thank you.

It is always nice to get comments, whether from horse people or non-horse people.

Have a great day.

Winded Bowhunter said...

Dennis, not only was the thought provoking, it was very well done!

You can apply the "Hidden Parallel" to many different aspects of our lives.

Thanks,
Rudy

Nothing Profound said...

Dennis, I love your writing. It's so dynamic and funny. You really have a gift for sarcasm, not for sarcasm's sake, but for making a humane point. I read your letter to the editor post above and this one on wild horses. The first one had me laughing hysterically, and this nodding in enthusiastic agreement.

me said...

Thanks, folks.

I will never write something as thought provoking as Plato's Republic, but in this piece I have tried to come close to duplicating the various levels that can be reached with the same words.

Thank you again.

Michelle said...

Great post! I came here from the carnival and am enjoying your writing style and your introspections. I'll be back!

Anonymous said...

Excellent post. I'm going to link here from my own blog. I want more people to read this.

me said...

Thank you all for leaving comments. It makes the writing that much more fun.