30/ DECEMBER 2021 THE RIDER


The Science of how Horses Think & Learn Horses and the homing instinct.


“We’re NOT in Kansas any- more!” The horse show gate represents the exit from the alien sounds, lighting and movement of the show ring. The gate is the exit from physical exertion, mental focus


and…aloneness


(Where are my herd mates?) Yep, horses have a homing instinct. So do we. “We don’t know what


it is at first. But we know this much. From the mo- ment we are born, we are on a quest. It starts with toys. We think if only we had a certain toy, then we would be happy. Then we get older. We think a certain position or relationship or thing will make us happy…We have a homesickness for a place we’ve never been before. God wired us that way.” Greg Laurie After the Black Friday


By Lindsay Grice. Eques- trian Canada coach, horse show judge, specialist in equine behaviour.


• Anyone who’s prodded and zig-zagged their horse away from the barn, only to beeline back on the return trip; • anyone who’s ridden an egg-shaped circle, bulging as though magnetized to- ward the arena entrance • or anyone who’s earned a break-of-gait penalty at the show ring in-gate knows…


Horses have a “hom-


ing” instinct. No wonder - a horse is


designed to be drawn to an environment where things are safe and predictable for their very survival. A place where meals and turnout come on schedule. Where he knows where he stands in the pasture hierarchy. A horse feels “at home” when the cues and signals of his rider are clear and logical. Horse show grounds, in contrast, are NOT pre- dictable; NOT familiar.


frenzy and the sober realiza- tion that, in truth, I didn’t reeeally need that bargain, seafoam- blue, matching set of halter fuzzies and ship- ping boots, the lull returns to longing…for something to make me happy. Hmmm…I wonder if there were any Black Friday deals on Advent calendars –you know, the ones with the little cardboard doors to open in the countdown to Christ- mas?


Advent, the 4 weeks before Christmas, is about


longing and waiting. The ancient Advent hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” speaks of the yearning of ancient people for the prom- ised Messiah – who would be a leader and Saviour. Emmanuel – from the He- brew, meaning the presence of God with us. And in the 1st century


AD, living under the harsh thumb of the Roman em- pire, Jesus’ disciple John recorded how he was con- vinced the promise had been fulfilled- the events he’d ac- tually seen, and heard: “So the Word [of God] be- came human and made his home among us”. John 1:14, the Bible. For those who cele-


brate Christmas, its message is of a Saviour who made His home among us. He knows the unfulfilled long- ings we share navigating an unpredictable world. He spoke of a home beyond this life - a place where every unmet longing would be sat- isfied.


When I’m driving at


dusk or dawn past farm- houses with their golden lit windows,


Christmas


wreaths and front porch urns, I feel that tug of home- sickness. For a place of be- longing. A place of peace. We are wired to be


homesick. We, like horses, have a homing instinct.


Photo credit - Sorenson. The Homecoming.


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