"I didn't mean to." "I didn't know." "I was trying to help." "I thought it would be okay." "It was an accident." "I didn't realize. . ."
We’ve all heard how the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and so it is, especially in Animal Rescue.
Frankly, this applies as often to the rescue organization as it will to the owners of the animals who need help.
There will always be mistakes made. Admitting them and moving forward for the better is key to progress. There will always be things you do not know, but there is a legal term called due diligence that could be modified to suit every single part of our lives. Whatever we endeavor to do, we need to be sure we’ve applied due diligence before diving in. Doing things willy nilly can result in harm, pain and death when it comes to animals far too frequently.
Prove YOUR Diligence
Diligence is a perfect word when we talk about empowering ourselves through knowledge before a given task, purchase or decision. I will be the first to admit, I have failed to “DO” this many times, and I am speaking from learning things the wrong way, regrettably.
We can substitute any of these words for Diligence - hard-work, concentration, effort, care, meticulousness, thoroughness, dedication, commitment, tirelessness
While we can apply this advice to any aspect of our lives, I am speaking specifically in this article on Horse ownership. It is not a thing to take on lightly. The time to gain knowledge is not once the horse comes home.
- It is not once the horse starts to become hard to handle in your unskilled hands,
- it is not once the horse starts to lose weight, break out of fences
- or once he colics or founders.
Sometimes what people refuse to learn end up meaning a crime is committed because true neglect and abuse takes place. Simply “NOT KNOWING” is not a fair or true excuse, friends and readers.
So much of the work of rescues could be prevented if potential horse owners gave the idea of horse ownership far more consideration. In the same token, rescues would be seen in a far more favorable light if they gave the running of these organizations more research, as well.
Horses are really quite magical and deserving. I do not think many people would deny it.
They require a tremendous amount of effort, time, money and willingness to learn on our part, and there is no “cheap, fast or easy” way to get where YOU need to be to be a Good partner to a horse.
