Why am I impressed with Jesus Christ? Because it he is the personification of the creator God himself, being well grounded.
I am impressed with a boss who knows and lives what it is like in the field. I am all ears to hear from anyone who can explain a personage more impressive and more humble than the record we have of the creator God in flesh Jesus Christ in the Bible.
Some people feel that the incredible productive society we have was built on the backs of slaves. Slavery has been around close to the beginning of time and no country has ever produced like our country has until bosses became serious about emulating Jesus Christ. I am convinced that our country became great because, for the most part, people imitated Christ in their servant-heartedness as well as their productivity and innovation. I am sure that was, and still is, the fertile soil of open-mindedness, ability to be taught and motivation that created the most exceptional country our world has ever known.
Jesus was known for his softness as well as his toughness. He could empty a temple of moneychangers in a heartbeat with no one letting the door hitting them on the rear on the way out while at the same time having compassion on the downtrodden.
Good horsemanship is a humble softness with hard boundaries much like the example of Jesus Christ. This is most genuinely established on the ground. Groundwork gets us in shape to earn the right to ride on a horse’s back. The horse’s back becomes the resting place for human as well as horse. Both bodies welcome each other’s company, as both sets of lungs and muscles have the privilege of resting together with the human on the horse’s back.
I call groundwork “Jesus Christ stuff,” because it is boss coming down to earth to sweat with other flesh and blood. Besides making sure that our creator gets the credit, I use it as a litmus test for true horsemanship, as well as true religion.
Excellence in everything seems to involve going where others are unwilling to go (cue Star Trek theme). I have come across many instances in which people would rather drug themselves and/or their horses with all kinds of adult “baby bottles,” rather than get out and move on the ground with their horses to establish a mutual respect. When there is a problem in horsemanship, the groundwork is usually mediocre – if not non-existent.
Good groundwork works the mind as much (if not more) than the body. It does this because the moves are changed frequently between maneuverability, desensitization and responsibility mode. During maneuverability mode, a horse is taught to be sensitive to human body language, and the human is taught to read horses better here. The basic dance moves include forward and back, front end turn, hind end turn, sideways and unlimited combinations thereof left and right. On the gentle side, groundwork helps a horse cope with new stresses or props we introduce to a horse to deepen their abilities.
On the tough side, we go to the ground any time a horse is even remotely losing respect for, or tuning out the rider for one reason or another. The goal is to get both horse and rider appreciating the human getting back in the saddle as both sets of lungs and muscles as well as minds seek relief after the mutual workout both bodies had just endured. Yet sometimes we will go to the ground as a part of ranch work. I run beside my horse to install step in posts on the poly lines I put up for my beef cows. My horse mirrors my movements and stays with me and out of my way. My winter riding has me get on the ground quite frequently to help me use my muscles as a furnace to help stay warm.
A 13-year-old fox trotter gelding was brought to me because it bucked and reared with a lady and then her husband. I tested the ground skills of the horse and found them lacking miserably. I worked the horse on the ground and sharpened its mind until I felt it was more in tune with me, then I got on. The horse was not disrespectful to me until two days later when I asked him to go through one of my ranch gate openings. He reared up in the air in protest and I immediately got off and went to ground workout mode. I backed him up 200 feet or so quickly, also getting him to do the cutting horse game going from right to left, then left to right repetitively (he ran into my stick quite frequently during the process). I then got back on him so we could rest our heaving lungs as we went through the ranch gate opening. We moved through quite restfully with me petting him with my stick as we went. Since then he did well with me as I introduced many stressful situations to him such as side passing over objects, dragging objects behind or coming up to a pen of hogs he was worried about. He showed no sign of disrespecting me again.
When the couple came to pick up the horse, I spent two hours with them showing them the all-important groundwork that keeps them young and the horse in tune with them.
True religion gives God the credit for all the good and you can blame me for the bad. I am trusting in Jesus to save me eternally as I hope and pray you do too, but until that day hopefully we will all learn to emulate Jesus by striving always to be well grounded in everything we do.
Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot trimming specialist from Raymondville. Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.
