Stick to your guns

Many, Many colts come through here and everyone of them is different than the last one. In order to get the same results from different horses, you have to get pretty creative. Lots of thought goes into setting up a situation in order to get a young horse to decide it wants to do a certain thing. And it doesn't always workout as planned. You can't jump ship and start over doing something else or mass confusion will set in. You have to stick with it. Keep after the original concept until you get the response you were looking for. That's why it's so important to put some thought into your goal before you get started. Because if you don't believe in what your doing to get the response you need, you're going to start doubting yourself if it doesn't go smoothly.

In Today's Readings Daniel shares the story of three men who are rescued by an angel from the furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar. The only reason they got to see that angel is because they stuck to their guns. It sure would have been easier to hit their knees when the King told them to. However, they stayed true to what they believed.

Then in John's Gospel, Jesus shows us perseverance as well. Though the people continue to deliver a barrage of ridiculous statements, questions, and accusations Jesus calmly guides them back to the Truth. Even though He knows that that truth is going to end with Him being thrown into the 'furnace' as well.

He knew, though, that His God and Father would be there to rescue Him. Know that He is there for you. Be steadfast in your efforts to walk the line. Doing right will almost always get you ridiculed by someone. Sometimes it will be even worse. Stick to your guns. Your angel is waiting.

P.S. The other time an angel appears in a 'rescue' situation is when Peter escaped from prison. Another great story of perseverance. Here it is.

You Are What You Are

Today's Readings seemed to focus on the stubborness of mankind. The 'stiff-necked' and unbelieving that we sometimes look down upon. The vexing part is that we are them. We are the stubborn ones.

So many times we worry and plan and scheme to remove ourselves from our current situation; maybe it's our job, our relationship, or whatever. We would be crying to Moses, too, if he were here. Why did you bring us into this 'desert' to die. And the whole time we don't realize that we're in the desert due to our own decisions. We've got to learn to be comfortable in our own skin. We are who we are. Get used to it.

The video above is of 'Joe' and I taken last Saturday at Joe's third roping. Joe is a calf roping horse that just wasn't comfortable with his job. He was born with so much speed, an amazing hard stop, and lots of 'cow' so guess what that makes him. A calf roping horse. Well, Joe was a little nervous coming across the line. Then, when the run should have been over, he didn't know what to do with himself so he kept going backwards. Calf ropers call it over working.

Well, I didn't decide to make him a trail riding horse because of this. And Our Lord isn't going to pluck us from our current situations and let us do something entirely different either. Mainly because we would turn our new situation right back into our old one unless WE decided to change. He helps us because He is the only way we can change. The same was true with Joe. I just had to find a way to help him relax in his efforts. He had to know when to work and to know when it was OK to just be.

As you can see in the video, he's finding the way. He's a calf roping horse. That's just what he is. And he's finally getting used to it. First, know who you are. That's the easy part. The hard part is trusting Christ to help you get used to it.

Rejoice in the grind my friends.

Comfort Zones

It's 10:40 pm and Lee Burton is cruising south bound on 281 just south of Pleasanton, Texas as this is getting written. Well, maybe he's already hit 37 and is rolling on to Corpus Christi. You see, Lee is the Loreles division manager for the King Ranch and will be hitting the pavement tomorrow before 6:00 am even though he's got 2 more hours to go and horses to take care of when he gets there. But he's in his comfort zone. Traveling is not an issue. Hard work is not a problem either. Calling a stranger about a colt he's riding . . . well we may be crossing the line.

Lee is a good friend of mine and brought a three-year old up here to San Antonio over the weekend. He plans to demonstrate the gelding on Tuesday for the annual colt competition that the ranch holds for the cowboys. I'm no stranger to hard work either. And riding horses, well that's just my bag. But telling someone else what to do with their horse . . . well we may be crossing that line again.

Twos, threes, even older horses have that line, too. It's our job as trainers to bring them to it comfortably and then guide them through it. They don't improve until they're beyond it. Then, there will be another line, a comfort zone that they've fallen into and don't want to leave. And we'll prepare them for the next stage, wait for the right time, and guide them outside their comfort zone again.

So why do we ALWAYS chose to stay in that zone. Improvement can not be found until we step outside of it. I have not done Lee any favors by with-holding tips for his colt. If what I have to say doesn't work for him, he moves on. Tries something else. Works it out. But if I say nothing, he benefits ZERO. Even if it doesn't work, he has the opportunity to find out why. And he has something else to try with his next one. Lee, if you happen to find time to read this in your non-existant spare time, I'm sorry I didn't spend more time with your gelding.

Back to the phone call. If Lee makes the call to the gentleman I recommended he speak with about his prospect and is made a fool of, what has he lost. Nothing. He probably will never even see the guy. But the benefits could be endless. So Lee, make the call.

Sometimes, we need a 'trainer' ourselves. Someone to push us out of our comfort zone. You may have someone in your life already. You're probably mad at them ;)

Anyway, if not, give yourself more credit. You can do more. Step out there and find out just how much more. Good Luck!

Stan Sigman - Namgis Quarter Horses

This morning found us in Hondo, Texas looking at some fantastic broodmares and an exceptional all-around stallion. Oh, and we had some work to do as well. Primarily, our purpose for being at Namgis Quarter Horses was to discuss the direction of Stan Sigman's brand. In this case, we're not talking fire brand. We're talking logos, web site, print materials, etc. The things that represent your business when you're not there to represent it yourself.

RanchForeman specializes in doing this for horse related businesses. It's a blast and keeps my wife and I in the horse business even when we're in the office and working the 'real' job.

We discussed the Namgis branding strategy in Sigman's new office at the arena pictured above. Everything has a place. There's corporate memorabilia from Sigman's former career, western art, a lounging area with live video streams from the arena, breeding lab, and stalls. There's also a bar custom built to house a collage we put together for his stallion, Bucks Hancock Dude.

These details aren't being shared to convey envy, or any other emotion. They're being shared to demonstrate entrepreneurial thinking.

Everyday you can be an entrepreneur, a manager or a technician. No doubt your life/job will need all three at varying times. However, most of us get bogged down in the details. Email, support, phone calls, feeding horses, cleaning stalls . . . technician tasks. When we do this, we just get through the day. When we step back and plan for our life or our business, we can execute and move forward. The office of Namgis Quarter Horses had people behind it that stepped back from the details and had some foresight to know what they needed moving forward. The ability to host events, watch over foaling mares and conduct business. That would not have happened if the details, the technician tasks, were most important. Details are important, but not most important.

It has been such a blessing, to meet people like the Sigman's and have the opportunity to aid them in achieving their next dream - Success in the horse business. We have no doubt that it's going to happen either. Entrepreneurial thinking didn't stop with the office. Mr. Sigman extensively researches the Namgis mares that he is putting together and has a rigorous culling program in store for those who aren't a good cross on his particular stallion, Bucks Hancock Dude.

For those of you not familiar with the horse business, finding mares that cross well on a stallion is VERY difficult. Having a proven (point and money earning) mare and a proven stallion doesn't always mean that you're going to get a nice colt. Some bloodlines cross well and some do not. Stan Sigman has gathered high-profile mares with varying genetics and has his first large colt crop hitting the ground as this is being written. Beautiful babies. He'll have them started on his ranch, place them in training and evaluate them as performers. This happens over the course of several years. At this point they'll be sold and he'll have a better idea of which mares are giving him the best babies. Some mares will inevitably be sold in order to be replaced with mares who have similar genetics to those producing the best babies. Sound like a challenge?

Stan Sigman is used to challenges. This is the man who brought AT&T Wireless into Cingular for around $41 billion dollars and then stood on the stage with Steve Jobs to announce the iPhone eleven days later. He has plans. Then he takes action.

Try not to get bogged down in the the technician tasks in your life. Step back every now and then for a breather. Don't set goals, create a plan to reach goals. Then take action. Who knows, maybe next time we'll be over to your office/arena taking pictures. ;)

Quick Friday Morning Humor

A good friend of mine tells stories. Cowboy stories. And he's damn good at it.

Here's a story of his that's pretty funny:
$1.25 Lesson

Normal post for Friday won't be up until tonight.

A little bit of hail never hurt anybody.

Over on the Country Living group on Facebook I posted a discussion wanting to know what everyone did on rainy days that they don't normally do. It's usually a great time for me to get tack oiled up and get some organization done in the barn. Nowadays, there's something else. I take pictures and post them on SpiritualHorseman.com ;)

There weren't any cattle trapped down south so I got to stay home today.

And I'm glad I did. We were blessed with a great rain today in the San Antonio, TX area. And hail came with it.

Everybody under the barn.

There's a group of horses here that are not even used to rain, much less hail. It's interesting to see how they handle new experiences.

Mellow Yellow is just that. He acts like he knows what's going on, but it hasn't stirred him up too much. Anticipated awareness.

Bugsy and Sugar are bouncin' off of the walls. They are more along the lines of, "I gotta get outta here. I gotta get outta here." Fear.

Cuervo didn't mind the rain much. Rounded back, feet close together withdrawn underneath himself, ears back and head down . . . no worries. Then the hail came. He started out like Mellow Yellow by just kind of becoming aware. Then he eased off to the other side of the large round pen where he stays. Stopped and waited. Then off to another spot and stopped and waited. "Is it over here, how about over here, and here-is it hailing over here?" is what it seemed he was thinking. Never still for very long. Nervous.

Sway, an older reiner we have just turned her rear to that north wind and balled up. She has been in hail before. And she handled it the same way then. Irritated, but Care free.

Buck, another one of the two's just stood there. Almost as if it were still a bright and sunny day. I'm not even sure if he knew it was hailing ;) Clueless.

When the hail storms of life rain down on your plans, how do you handle it? Do you dart from here to there looking for the quick solution? Do you stick your head in the sand and pretend it's not happening? Do you even know that it's happening? (there's a good post here)

Or, do you know what you need to do, adapt, persevere and move on?

Satan Bleeds Green and . . . Green

I know a bunch of Aggies. If you cut 'em open, they'd bleed maroon and white. Some of them even admit to it. Do you have a favorite 'team' that you root for? Most of us do.

Today's readings include the 'golden calf' story. It's in chapter 32 of Exodus. We don't worship false idols, right? That's crazy talk. Wouldn't even think of it.

Have you ever made a decision based solely upon financial reasons? Do you plan things based entirely upon how much you benefit financially? Join the club. We're cheering for Satan's team. Bleeding green.

It seems as though we always look at the 'golden calf' story through judgemental eyes. Here these people are just hand delivered from the land of Egypt by the One True God and they are worshipping something else!?!? And there it is. We worry so much about what everybody else is doing when we should be looking within. They were doing it back then, and we're doing it now. They didn't even realize, and niether do we.

Only now, it's the dollar. The devil gets into your life whether you know it or not. Recognizing him is hard, but it's the easy part. Overcoming him and removing him is the hard part. Satan's lifeblood is something you'll recognize pretty easily. It's the green-back. The American Dollar.

Married folk - How many fights have you had with your spouse that turned out to really be about money? Single folk - How many times have you been guided somewhere you know you shouldn't be because of money?

It doesn't matter how much we spend. That's not the point. We can be high rollers if we want, but it's how the money is spent that matters. You can't buy the things in life that matter. Relationships, Time, Peace, Love. You can, however, spend money that benefits those things in life that matter. If you ask Our Lord how to spend, he'll let you know. And you'll be surprised by His answer.