Suggest some topics

Hey everyone, for those of you reading this blog, lets suggest some topics that can be discussed and maybe through careful consideration by many, we can develop solutions. Thanks. Keep riding and stay strong.

Where is the common courtesy??

Dating back to the 13th century, the term courtesy was know as curteisie by the Anglo- French and it meant courteous behavior; consideration, cooperation, and generosity in providing something. Seems pretty simple doesn't it? Yet nowadays this courteous behavior has gone by the wayside it seems in many aspects of our day to day lives but I'm reminded how blind we are to are own actions and the impact that they have on others.

Recently, a fellow trainer friend of mine had a boarder come and pull out 4 horses and not pay the remainder of their bill  with not so much as a word as to why. This to me is simply unseemly.  There had been no indications that this individual was disatisfied with his services or the care that these horses were receiving. This woman just came loaded up her belongings and the horses and pulled out without even talking to the trainer and explaining why. Did this person not feel he was owed an explaination? Not even so much as a letter, thanking them for what they had done and explaining why they were leaving. To me that shows a lack of even human decency. As though she felt that my friend was below her in some way.

I have dealt with issues similar to this one from both sides. I have been the disatisfied boarder and I have had boarders leave. When I left my last facility, I felt awful because I had formulated a friendship with the owner, yet I still needed to move on. So to be courteous, I not only met with him in person but I wrote a letter explaining the situation. However, it has come to my attention that many people don't think like me and I think that is part of the problem barns face. I have had boarders leave and leave nothing but a letter. While I agree the written aspect should be there, but there is that simple courtousy of either a phone call or a face to face meeting that we as adults should be able to handle. Especially towards someone who has taken care of something that you hold dear and if you had formulated a relationship beyond the business aspect. I think these simple considerations and human decency would help make the industry a more pleasant place to be.

I feel terrible for my friend, who was just trying to do his job and someone was so callous as to not think as to how this would impact him or his family. I hope one day people will consider how their actions will impact those around them and think before they act. Now that's not to say that I'm perfect by any means, this is just what I strive for.

Just to be clear

Just to be clear, my purpose of starting this blog, isn't to get up on my soap box and complain about things I can't change, nor is it my intent to point fingers at any one person in particular. I have many reasons for my purpose, one is to work on my journalistic skills, the other is to raise awareness of issues both locally and globally that effect our horse industry and thirdly, I hope to start to unite the horse industry towards a common goal.

Why can't we all just get along???

Many years ago, I heard the same words in the title of this blog uttered by a fellow high school classmate during a fight at a football game. Truer words have never been said and it can be applied to many aspects of life including the horse industry. My mother once said, "all horse people are crazy", and to tell you the truth sometimes I have to agree with her. It feels as though sometimes the horse industry is full of catty, high school girls. One person gossiping about another and then turning around in the next minute and talking sweetly to that person. I'm sure many would agree that this truly goes on today. Even in my little corner of the world, here in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin, trainers, barn owners  and horse owners can't seem to just get along. Where did the respect go? Why can't we be happy for anothers success or for the success of the horse industry as a whole without belittling someones achievement? Instead we talk down other facilities and their trainers, sometimes without proper information which is even worse. Just think you could ruin a persons livelihood just by repeating one rumor or by not standing up and correcting someone else. And with every rumor that is spread, we give more credence to my mother's aforementioned statement, that horse people are truly crazy.

Imagine with me for a moment if you will, how beneficial it would be for the horse industry to see trainers getting along and actually helping one another out. Imagine how many more people would be drawn to an industry that promotes comraderie and isn't plagued by politics and marred by deciet and lying. We could all do so much better for even the horses that we work with, if we all realized our short comings and continued to learn from others. I don't know about you but that is the type of industry I would love to be a part of. What do you think??