I’ve had several jobs in my life. Some of them were short-term jobs I did just for the sake of earning money. Other jobs were more on a career path. Not all the jobs I did inspired me to get out of bed each morning, happy to go to work. But other jobs were the best part of my week, and I would have done them for half the pay. Nevertheless, all the jobs I loved had some aspects to them that I didn’t like, and the jobs I dreaded were not all bad. Every job was a mix of good and bad.
We all want horses to enjoy their job. It doesn’t matter what the job is; we want working with us to be something they feel comfortable about and not dread. People (both professional and non-professional) who try to practice the art of good horsemanship place great importance and focus on making a horse feel good about the work.
But, like every job I have ever had, it is not possible to achieve enjoyment or interest in every aspect of a horse’s work. For example, most horses will never enjoy loading into a trailer or having nails hammered onto their hooves or snugging up a girth or being separated from their friends.
Your horse that loves to go on a trail ride with friends may be the same horse that hates loading into the trailer to go on that trail ride. The horse that enjoys a good brushing and scratch might be the same horse that hates wearing a rug (blanket) or being given a needle. And I have never met a horse that enjoys a visit from the dentist.
A large part of the goal of good horsemanship is to create a partnership where both the horse and rider are invested in working together. But clearly, not all the jobs we ask of our horses can bring a huge smile to their face. Some jobs are to be enjoyed, and some are to be tolerated.
But it behoves us to do our best to make every aspect of the work as stress-free as possible so that the stuff our horse enjoys is more enjoyable and the bad stuff is less bad.
Everyone is having fun going somewhere together.