Appropriate “Horse” Management Works

Several years ago, a horsewoman (and qualified vet, although she no longer practiced) mentioned a so-called animal communicator and healer, called Margrit Coates. Although we shared important common interests, I found the former veterinary lady difficult to get along with, and she probably felt similarly disposed to me. However, I’m very grateful for the information she provided.

So with the Margrit Coates book, Connecting with Horses (Rider 2008), I agree with much of this, but somehow find it difficult to connect with (particularly all the therapy-speak !) Nevertheless, I would still recommend the book to fellow equestrians, not least because it points out that so-called “natural horsemanship” techniques can be just as detrimental – without the right experience, temperament and character in the human trainer – as conventional schooling methods in the wrong hands.

However, it is the following extract (ammended slightly by me) from the Margrit Coates book (from the final section entitled “Hands and Hooves in Partnership”) that I really did connect with :

“Brothers Om and Jai share a struggle for survival with Raju, the mule who earns a living for their family in India. Several years ago the brothers’ father died and left behind a sick wife, seven children and the mule. At the time, Om and Jai were around seven and five years old, and their mother had no option other than to send her sons to work, and their only hope was Raju. They started working in a brick kiln and Raju worked as a family member, co-operating in their need as a true and faithful friend.

The Brooke (http://www.thebrooke.org) mobile veterinary team and community animal health workers were working in the area, and 4 years ago Dr Shabir, the vet in charge, came in to contact with the brothers and their mule. He noticed these 2 boys as very polite and sensitive owners, always keen to know about the Brooke’s treatments and welfare messages. According to Dr Shabir, “Raju is about 15 years old now and his condition is good – he is fit for work. I wonder how these small boys keep their animal in good health in such adverse circumstances”….

…”Both brothers are so caring about their animal that they immediately take Raju to the Brooke team whenever any problem arises. Jai said, “How could we neglect Raju ? He is our only hope in the absence of our father. He gives us support to live and feeds us. Without his help we could not find a way out of our crisis period”. Dr Shabir reports, “I am thankful to these young innocent children that I have never needed to attend an emergency for Raju because they give priority to prevention of problems”…

A hardworking family indeed !  Please also see my Horse Work Blog @ http://horsework.wordpress.com

Know the Difference between Objectivity (or, indeed, Reality) and Aspiration

Another post from late 2006 (see also http://janetmackinnon.blogspot.com)

Know the Difference between Objectivity and Aspiration

I often wonder why organisations and individuals willingly submit themselves to being mercilessly ripped off. My guess is that their abililty to distinguish objectivity and aspiration is temporarily, and in some cases permanently, suspended. The phrase “willing suspension of disbelief” comes to mind.

 To explore my theory, I’m going to use two “case studies” : the Private Finance Initiative (PFI); and horse purchase.

The word “aspirational” first properly entered my psyche when I had an unplanned meeting with a senior army officer – unplanned because he’d planned to be elsewhere but bad weather prevented this – regarding a project in which the army took an interest. This gentleman’s use of the word “aspirational” had a particular resonance for me on two counts. Firstly, it was clear that aspiration was a core value for him, personally and professionally, and, secondly, I intimated that my own proposals (and person !) might be insufficiently aspirational.

A few years passed and I had occasion to “revisit” the same army establishment, which in the meantime had recieved substantial investment under a PFI scheme. In my opinion, this scheme had all the hallmarks of a typical PFI project. There had indeed been substantial capital investment ie new construction. However, this had brought with it new and equally substantial operating costs. Various new initiatives were now being contemplated to cover these costs, and additional funds sought for further capital works.

This kind of situation is familiar to (?) the majority of local health trusts who have embarked upon major new hospital (re)construction using the PFI in recent years. The Worcestershire Royal Hospital, a new facility on the outskirts of the city of Worcester, is a classic example of what can go wrong.

PFI is now widely regarded as a “bad deal” for the public sector, and particularly for the National Health Service. It was conceived under the previous Conservative administration to “get around” public spending constraints. However, under New Labour it has been a key component of “the building boom” on which the wider ecomony is now so dependent. We have a construction industry which is hungry for more PFI projects, regardless of whether these are in the best interests of potential “clients” for such projects, or the general tax payer.

Yet PFI has fulfilled the aspirations of the public sector for new infrastructure, and the new hospitals, schools etc that have sprung up, notwithstanding their frequently poor design (for purpose), are hailed as one of the great successes of aspirational New Labour.

The zeitgeist of the present time is aspirational, and there is a Mephistopheles around every corner, or so it seems, with whom to enter into a Faustian pact.

Horse purchase is another case in point. There is nothing new in the tendency for new (or newer) comers to horse purchase to acquire animals which are too energetic and/or big for them, and to find that the ongoing resources (time, money etc) required to maintain a horse are more burdensome than the capital outlay. The horse world, like that of PFI, also has a plentiful supply of professionals to complicate matters, and – although some do provide a genuine good service – many “trade” on the aspirations of their clients, sometimes with serious consequences.

So my message to potential horsebuyers and procurers of other major capital projects is know the difference between objectivity (including objectives) and aspirations, it may save you alot of money (and possibly your life). Also know that – as someone once said – “there are as many certified charlatans as uncertified ones” out there to part fools from their money.