Today I happened upon a great idea.  But it is an idea that requires National attention and interest and of course, participation.

What if, like on television, we were given cue cards for life?

Joke coming….and just before someone next to you holds up a sign that says, ‘laugh now!’.

Important time to listen to someone…and they hold up a card that says, ‘nod your head in agreement’.

I think its a great idea!

Jeff Foxworthy, the noted comedian has made a fortune out of giving people their own sign for the stupid things that they do.

I am proposing we give them a sign BEFORE they do anything stupid.

Like today. 

Kirk and I were asked to trim yet another horse with farrier anxiety.

In case you don’t know what farrier anxiety is, it’s when the horse panics at the sight of an object that triggers a bad memory.  In this case, the horse’s eyes go wide and the nostrils flare at the sight of our farrier chaps and hoofjack. 

Sometimes this farrier anxiety is minor.  Today it was not.

The poor young horse with the PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) went google eyed and vowed not to let either one of us touch his back hooves without a fight.

We were told by his owner that the horse has reacted this way ever since (at 5 months of age) his impatient farrier whacked him with a rasp.

Farrier, I’d like to say, ‘here’s your sign.  Don’t whack horses with your rasp!’.

Admittedly, sometimes it is necessary to discpline a horse when it knows better.  But at 5 months of age  doubt very much that this little horse knew how to stand for long periods of time.  Or for that matter, short periods of time!  Now at 5, he’s a problem and tries to kick your head off while defending himself from being smacked with a rasp.  Poor boy.

Thankfully, some careful patient work later (it took all of 15 minutes to unravel this horses phobia) the now 5 year old stallion let us pull his shoes and trim his feet. 

But that whole incident raises my hackles and that is why I am on a tangent with this post.  I have a lot of signs I’d like to hand out.

I toyed with the idea of creating a deck of cards with signs on them, like:

‘Don’t be an obnoxious jerk.’  …On this one I’d like a consequence.  If you see the sign and are a jerk anyway, be prepared to get a swift kick in the butt.

‘Smile!’

‘Take a deep breath’

‘You aren’t God.’

‘Think about others (this includes animals!) before yourself’

‘Give away good things.  FYI — Grief isn’t a good thing’

There.  I’ve had my rant.  More later on what you can do as an owner to give your horse this sign…

‘Be prepared to be happy’.

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