Empathy
A conversation recently got me thinking about empathy and horses. Horses make huge allowances for our personalities and we only do a mediocre job of reciprocating. Horses simply are better 'people' than we are. Horses don't expect us to know their language, yet they strive constantly to learn ours. They c ould rebel and run from us any time we are harsh to them but they don't, they patiently wait to see how we can both get to the next part of the conversation. We don't give them nearly enough credit for what they tolerate for our benefit. Empathy by definition is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another being. I feel like horses do this innately and constantly. They put their own insecurities aside to sooth us when we are alarmed, or sick, or hurt, or sad - you only have to spend time with them to see it happen. Watch the feisty horse that calms down for the crying kid, or the spirited mare that is gentle as a lamb for the new rider...