In our land of plenty, our biggest cause of poverty is lack of teamwork in the home and the horse pasture.
We focus our time on the church show, work show, home show, horse show or no show (hermits). The product seems more important than the process.
I feel true worship of God is measured by the transparency of the process in the home. That is exposing the cake instead of just the frosting. We glorify God the most by striving to work together with others while acknowledging him. But it starts with admitting we are not there yet and we can learn from others (even the heathen).
I believe that the most spiritual thing a human can ask God and others, is to help us with our teamwork abilities so we can help sharpen each other better (Hebrews 10:24). Since true religion exudes truth and light, we have to shed light on the truth so we can see to operate better.
I call teamwork in horses the “Jesus Christ principle.” It focuses on walking beside or behind our horse so we can see and feel them more. That, combined with riding, helps us walk in their hooves, so to speak, so we can offer teamwork to them and they can offer it back.
This foot washing cuts our elite specialization so we can maneuver better together. Dancing is our best example. In order to dance well, we must learn to anticipate each other’s moves. The lead dancer (the boss) is actually the hardest worker and makes the other dancer look good also.
I feel this Jesus Christ principle is what made our country by far the best ever recorded in history.
In this day and age, there is very little for us to practice teamwork in the home. Machines do nearly everything for us, so the only moves we need to anticipate from each other are trips to the bathroom, refrigerator or easy chair. Horses are in the same boat, except they poop, eat and sleep in the same place. Like us, their main exercise comes from fighting and arguing with each other. We tend to be entertained by these very things as well when we sit in front of the TV with our remote control. But then, we are worse off than the horses because we don’t even get the exercise from it.
I believe the future of horsemanship – and revival of, yes, even the Baptists – will be tied to learning how to dance together.
I envision future riders and horses riding together much as a drill team yet adding all the “hovercraft” moves with horses moving beside each other. Would that not be spectacular to be a part of as well as to see?
Let us not focus on the specialized elite world of trail riders (nose to tail), cutters, ropers, jumpers, dressagers, reiners or barrel racers where we become oblivious to teamwork involving more participants while emptying our wallets at the same time. If we practiced dancing together we would be less worried about horses kicking and riders running into each other. And we might actually learn what foot washing is really all about. That might transfer to our home lives as well.
Is that what Jesus was communicating in the Lord’s Prayer (on earth as in heaven)?
Mike Daniels is a horsemanship trainer and barefoot trimming specialist from Raymondville. Email: rlhorse58@yahoo.com.
