The Problem With Pride

Last week I took the 22 month old Mozzie to be branded while over 8 months pregnant.

I cheated and used a bucket of feed to load him.  

Could I have loaded him without feed?  

Yes.  

Should I have tried to load him without feed?

No, Not home alone with a belly 16ft in front of me, less than stellar balance, and the agility of a sloth.  Especially when I knew I could get him in the trailer like dream with a little belly persuasion.

Horse people are often described as stubborn and with the title of "horse trainer" I am no exception, but there are just times when a person shouldn't pick a potential battle with their horse.

Sometimes to go ahead to put your pride aside include:

When you are seriously physically compromised.

When you are seriously exhausted physically or mentally.

When you have a serious timeline that must be followed.

When your horse is injured or otherwise unfit for a potentially long lesson.

Of course ideally you should not "cheat" if the battle has already begun.

If you start it one way, you must finish it that way (as long as it can be done safely, and even then it is better to cheat and win than not win at all).

Which is why some days it is better to never start it (the potentially hard way) at all.