The Ninth Secret of Perfect Horsemanship

Don Blazer
copyright©2010

          Success is easy!

          It is failure that is hard.

          Everyone has a special talent. Whatever your special talent, you are better at it than anyone else in the world. It may be hard to accept, and seem a little less than humble, but it is a fact.

          Your special talent is a gift; part of your creative potential, that power you know as Secret 1.

          I don’t know your special talent, and maybe you don’t either—yet. But part of finding out is to recognize that success is easy and failure is hard.

          To test that premise, accept Secret 2 and follow your heart.

          When you are allowing your special talent to emerge, you’ll discover that you are having fun, are joyful and fascinated by the activity. At those moments you are practicing “non-judgment”, Secret 3.

          Here is another clue to finding your gift: you will be willing to “give” your all, without taking from it. Once you have found your gift, you may make it your life’s work, but you will never see it as a job, or a duty or a task. It will always be the thing you want to do; your first choice for an activity and it is therefore easy to live Secret 4, “give.”

            Secret 5, “choose how you respond” is your guide once you have discovered your gift. You must respond by accepting your gift and allowing it to be the central theme of your life. Do not accept the “conditioned” responses which say you “can’t do just what you love to do.”   Yes, you can.

          Choosing to respond by doing what you love to do doesn’t mean you’ll never have unpleasant obstacles to overcome.   Choosing to do what you love to do means you’ll face whatever comes with confidence, grit and the acceptance that everything is as it should be, Secret 6. Obstacles will be opportunities to learn the lessons you need at that time.

          Once you know your gift you will be able to clearly define your intentions and desires and turn them into your reality, Secret 7.

          Be open with your intentions and desires; never conceal them. Many times peers, parents, spouses, or friends cannot understand and accept your dreams. It is because they are making judgments, have different intentions and are being ruled by their ego, seeking to control and win approval.

          Be brave. To abandon your desires simply to avoid conflict or ridicule is a mistake. To turn away from your true gift to please someone else only results in no one being pleased.

          You must stay your course once you know your special gift. And once you know your special gift recognize that your intentions and desires must now include the use of your talent. Your intentions and desires may change as you apply your talent; there is nothing wrong with changing your goals as long as the change accommodates your special gift and is not done to appease others.

          Of course, when you choose your “special” path you will be giving up the security of being within the herd, doing what others are told to do. You will be accepting the uncertainty of the next moment, next year, next forever, and embracing Secret 8.

          Before you can reach perfection in horsemanship, you must find your special talent, and then you must apply it in accordance with Secret 9: ACT TO BENEFIT OTHERS.

          Whatever your special gift, there is a way to use it to benefit the horses and the people with whom you come in contact.

          Only you know how you want to interact with the horses and people in your life, so only you can discover how to apply your special gift to benefit all those you touch.

          You will know perfection in horsemanship because whenever you act to benefit others, your success will come easily. If you actions are truly giving in thought and nature, failure is not possible.

          Live your dreams; now and in this moment and forever!

          Don Blazer is the author of Nine Secrets of Perfect Horsemanship, a book he wrote for his granddaughter who won an AQHA World Championship in Youth Trail (2008).

To read about the first eight secrets, please visit the Archives Page.

A Horse, Of Course Archives - Read Past Columns

Visit A Horse, Of Course on the Internet at www.donblazer.com