A Broke Heart by Whitney Cartrite-Huckaby

Author:Whitney Cartrite-Huckaby [Cartrite-Huckaby, Whitney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781490813752
Publisher: WestBow Press
Published: 2013-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker (in reverent praise and supplication).

—Psalm 95:6 AMP

Teaching a horse to lower his head with a touch is one of the most powerful displays of the “changing of the guards” from a horse’s will to my will. It was a training session when I taught my horse, Zeke to lower his head to pressure on his poll, the area just behind the ears that the “guards changed” and he bowed down. This exercise teaches the horse to lower his head when his master presses on the poll of his head. This is done to make it easier for the master to bridle and halter the horse. Along with conditioning the horse to respond to pressure, this reiterates submission, because the horse is rewarded for lowering his head.

In the wild, a horse would only lower his head if he felt completely safe. An erect head is a sign of approaching danger, with the horse feeling the need to have some control of his environment. If a horse sensed an approaching predator in the wild, the horse with his head lowered would be in a vulnerable position.

When I was teaching Zeke to respond to pressure behind his ears and that the correct answer was a lowered head, he didn’t like it! He pawed the ground and tried raising his head higher. He looked at me as if to say, “Are you crazy? I’m not putting my mouth only centimeters from the ground!”

I must confess that I’ve done this to the Lord. He’s applied pressure to my heart, asking me to submit to His will, and I’ve put up quite a fight! I’ve asked God if He was crazy too! “You mean you want me to do what, God?” I responded by throwing a fit and doing the opposite of what He wanted me to do, but the steady pressure of His still, small voice and persistent love caused me to lower my head and surrender to His plan.

Humble Pie

God favors the humble.

—Proverbs 3:34

Humble yourself before God, draw close to God, and He will draw close to you… when you bow before the Lord, admit your dependence.

—James 4:8

One of my goals in training colts is to teach them to lie down. This is the ultimate sign of surrender to a horse. Lying down is the last thing a horse would do before dying. It is total surrender to his master’s will and trust in his master. It is the most humble gesture for a horse. The definition of humble is “brought low or prostrate; a meek position.”

There are many methods to “make” a horse lie down, and many are inhumane. I believe when done in the correct way, the choice to lie down is left up to the horse. Based on the teachings of Clinton Anderson in his Colt Starting Series, I have experienced wonderful success in this concept with my horses. The second the colt makes the choice to lie down, it is a precious illustration of humbleness and meekness to me.

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