This is not an original story, and the author is unknown but it’s an old Cherokee Native American tale. I found it originally at Serious Things. It says a lot of what I’ve been wanting to share but haven’t known exactly how. I hope you enjoy it.

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Today, as I rush around in the flurry of last preparations for our first endurance ride this weekend, (our first together, since Gazi’s a veteran of 21 rides) I thought about my fears and what “wolf” am I feeding? I sat down and wrote out a pretty good list of exactly what tmy horsey goals are. These are not in any particular order, and most of them are synergistic - in other words, they work together, and build on each other.

  • I want the horse to like me and want to be around me.
  • For the horse to like having me touch it and direct it anywhere I want it to go.
  • To have the horse trust me implicitly, completely, joyfully.
  • For the horse to understand that my desire is to have FUN with the horse, and that I am constantly improving the horse’s skills and personality as well as my own, because I want what is best for the horse.
  • To have the horse willing to do whatever I want.Get to the point where we start a ride and despite the “excitement” at the start..
  • For me to be consistent so that the horse expects to have to behave, but also a job that’s fun and desirable, and safe - - trust.
  • To pick up on the horse’s slightest signals to know what it is thinking and to anticipate its needs/desires.
  • For the horse to do the same for me, so that it looks like we think the same thoughts.
  • For the horse and I to be as ONE. especially as we embark on our endurance rides together.. Talk about mile sto go before I sleep.. And despite the “excitement” start of the ride, I can look down and say “Gazi, my partner let’s git ‘r done”… and we’re a team

Tis a work in progress and to paraphrase the legend horse trainer Ray Hunt .. you have a vision and you keep correcting til you get as close as possible to those goals. The challenges are what make it interesting, and the successes, the moments where things just “flow” between you and a horse, are nothing short of being “of G-d”

I see the work of the L-rd in each ride , be it on Picken, Gazi or Alle . God has been showing me the last few months that this is His attitude towards me! He has blessed me with three perfect choices .. they each teach me such different lessons.. apparently ones I need to learn :) Through Picken, G-d teaches me,courage patience and acceptance. Despite the fact she’s 15 , she’s a Thoroughbred and will always want to be first and running.

He wants me to trust Him completely. He wants me to like being with Him. He wants me to know that He knows me better than I know myself. He wants me to learn to pick up His small signals to anticipate our next direction.

In the last months, I’ve realized why I have this love for horses. God knows I can be a stubborn, fearful person with control issues, born out of fear of the future. He knew I would have a hard time knowing that He is good and only wants good for me, even if I have to go through hard stuff sometimes to get to where He is taking me. He knew I would be someone who likes directing my own life.

So, among the many not so “G-dincidences” and blessings, He directed our path of a kid’s dream to move to Montana and a a fascination with horses I can see, through the horses, just how much He loves me and what He wants for me. And as I expect a lot from my horses, because that is what’s best for them, God expects a lot from me because that is what is best for me.

Git ‘r done and git ‘r slung .. safely whereever the journey takes you. Do I hear an amen?