New Insights

New Insights After 43 years with horses I can honestly say that I still do not know them. The same can be said about our relationship with Jesus Christ because no matter how many times I might read a passage each time I do I find something new in it. Of course the truth is that just like developing a relationship with the horse you also have to develop the one that really matters; the one you have with Christ. I can go to church every time the doors are opened and listen to the preacher but unless I actually take the time every day to cultivate that relationship it is going to go nowhere fast. It is the same thing when you are working with a horse. You can’t just do it once a week or even three times a week; it has to be done every day or the horse will never learn the lesson that you are trying to teach it. In many cases even if you did spend every day with it for a month and then started skipping days or weeks or months, the horse will revert back to its old behavior. The same goes for the quality of the lesson. If all I do is get the horse to ride and nothing else I am going to have a horse that will probably just follow the other horses. I will have to fight to get it to turn the way I want it to and stop when I want it to stop. This is not the type of horse that I want so I invest time into it on a continual basis. I don’t want to have to fight it to get its obedience so I instruct it to the point that the slightest prompt will cause it to react appropriately. However this can still not be accomplished in a positive manner if the horse is doing it grudgingly, so I develop a relationship with it. I introduce myself to the horse by letting it get used to my scent, my voice and my touch. I then establish dominance over it; placing myself in the position of the leader, I strengthen the bond with the horse by the time I spend with it and finally I develop the relationship by continuing in that time. I cultivate the relationship with love and trust and in return the horse is obedient, not because it has to be but because it wants to be. I am not talking about the mushy baby talk love but one that is mature and heart felt. I reward my horses with the palm of my hand and rebuke with the back of it. They come to long for the palm and when they do misbehave all I do is lay the back of my hand against them and they will settle down. I instill trust in them because I do not hesitate when I am working with them. Everything is done with purpose to develop the trust that as their leader I need to have. In turn their love is not only because of the time I spend with them but also in the assurance that I will protect them and care for them. Imagine a relationship with Christ that was built in this way? We know that it is His desire because we see it in the investment with the disciples. Even though He went back to His place by the Father, He provided them and us with another comforter; the Holy Spirit. But just like I cannot get the response from the horse without investing my time into them, He cannot get a response out of us if we refuse to invest our time in Him. In my book “Developing your Camp Horse Program” we go through each step of the relationship process, hopefully providing you with a clear enough picture so that it can be taught to the staff who are working with the horses and the campers however it is not just for youth camps. Any equine facility or horse lover can use the program to share Jesus with others. The importance of it is that it forces you to take a second look at the relationship that you, yourself have with Christ. It also pushes you to become a better horseman; not just someone who knows how to ride a horse. While for most people and the camp youth the relationship with the horse is sometimes brief the relationship with Jesus will last an eternity.