Horse Sense

The Beginning

What do I know about horses?  2 months ago I could have honestly said very little.  It was in conducting research for my response to the short story “A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard that a seed was planted prompting me to think about and want to know more about these magnificent animals.  I would argue that man at one point had just as powerful a connection with horses as they do with dogs, with only the advent of automobiles and cities derailing that bond. 

I was instantly captured by what horses are, magnificent in every aspect of design and function.  I couldn’t believe I knew so little about this remarkable animal.   For instance, horses may be the only animal that is instantly associated with athletic prowess, some horse have garnered superstar status and are only spoken of in reverence.  As big and powerful as they are horses are not predators, which makes them one of the rare animals of their size that humans don’t have a natural fear of.  And though they are technically classified as prey, the irony of it all is that man is the horses number one predator. Horses are truly royalty. 

From the day the horse is born it is up and running within 25 minutes after birth.  Imagine a team [possessing this ability to grasp the situation and respond accordingly in mere minutes and seconds.

Over time the horse learns four very distinct modes of movement: the walk, trot, canter, and gallop.  This ability formed the natural inspiration for the development of the manual transmission (man copies nature again).   The horse changes its steps in order to change its speed.  Isn’t that amazing? 

The horse is born with the 5 senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. We, humans, are also equipped with the same five senses, and yet horses and people are light years apart in how they use their senses to become both integrated, interrelated, and interdependent with the world surrounding them. 

Horses also possess an incredible sixth sense.  This sense is best described as an ability to interpret the intent of others.  The horse over time comes to know and understand the good, the bad, and all things in between of those animate creatures that surround and affect them as they go about their natural lives.

Can you imagine possessing the ability to instantaneously intake, assess, and respond accurately to the intent of others?  It would surely change the dynamics of human interaction forever (expressed behavior).  That however is just one side of the intent equation. 

Horses are also able to discern when the intent behind the expressed behavior is no longer a factor, even when the source of the intended behavior remains within their proximity.  The horse is able to assess and stand down from a threat calling an internal cease fire, as quickly and effectively as it initiated its original risk response plan.

From fear, anger and anxiety, to peace, joy, and relaxation, the horse can connect the emotions of intent to the consequences of the actions born out of that intent.  The horse understands the principles of causation and has absolutely mastered qualitative analysis, possessing an innate ability to link cause, effect and impact? 

Ironically, for all the horse’s innate powers of perception and attention to detail, if a single element of its daily routine is altered the horse experiences a sense of discombobulation, a feeling I get when an item from my outwardly messy desk is displaced.  “Something, on, my, desk, has, been, MOVED!” 

This sets up an interesting paradox within horses, for it is easy to startle yet difficult to fool.   What project manager wouldn’t want to possess these amazing abilities?

The Horse Knows. 

The horse brings every element of its fully integrated senses with it into the drift, that space where human and horse minds engage one another Mano E Mano.  The wise horse continuously collects and assesses all the available information to properly frame the intention behind every action.  Everything means something to a horse, there are no insignificant occurrences, and there is no such thing as coincidence.  For the horse see’s with its ears and listens with its eyes. 

The horse possesses an amazing stickler for details.  It would make an excellent addition to any project team.  While an unanticipated change may temporarily scramble its internal circuitry, the horse notes and compartmentalizes the change and continues with its routine to achieve its objectives and to respond to stimuli appropriately. 

In every way the horse’s senses are superior to man and yet it doesn’t boast of superiority.  Neither does it cower to inferiority.  From work, to sport, to combat the horse gives its best effort always and never shirks its responsibilities, even when its treated poorly.

Project managers when you find team members that possess horse sense you will have stumbled upon the rarest of the rarest in the work force.  Treat them well, provide them with adequate resources, get out of their way and let them be. 

The social responsibility of management is at the heart of this short and simple exchange of thoughts and ideas, as I continue the centuries old conversation Hubbard started about the modern social contract that exists between management and employees, while reflecting on Mr. Hubbard’s century old assessment of the employer and employee arrangement.

Just Let them be…

A TEXT MESSAGE TO GARCIA

Truth be told
by
S. L.  King