Horse Training and Word Wrangling

To the average human being, horse training and novel writing have absolutely nothing to do with one another. Both seem challenging, yes, but what do animals with hooves have to do with long works of prose?

Patience. And lots of it. I am being reminded of this lesson on a daily basis as I slowly attempt to complete a novel while also retraining a horse that has been out-to-pasture for over a year.

Even if you have never ridden a horse, I am sure you have seen one in a picture, movie, or petting zoo. You can appreciate their beauty, power, and grace. Horses, real horses, weigh over 1000 pounds. They have ten times the strength and 20 times the endurance of a person. One kick can kill you. One bite can easily draw blood. If a horse is cornered, it will fight or find a way to run away. Horses have evolved as herd animals with a keen sense of fear and personal preservation.

And, even if you have never written a novel, I am sure you have read many. You have appreciated lyrical passages, inedible characters, and heart-wrenching dialogue. Real novels, the kind that stuck with you for decades, are a huge undertaking. Outlines are written, rewritten, scrapped, and dug back up. Chapters dry up and characters suddenly become cliche. Writer's block takes over. Reviewers hate everything about the book. The rejection letters add up to more pages than the finished work.

Why would any normal person, ever, attempt to train a horse or write a book? Is it simply insanity, ego, or boredom? Those may be the reason that a person starts a horse or a book, but it's something very different to finish both tasks well.

Somewhere in between falling off the horse and falling flat with every chapter, the task becomes something more, something larger than the trainer or the writer. The rider and the writer start to hunger for the connection with something outside of themselves. This connection is what makes everything worthwhile.

The horse will soon understand that you are here to help, not hurt. One day, out on the trails, the horse will listen to every little click and squeeze. He will respond just the way he was trained and the day will be unforgettable for decades. Readers will pick up the book someday, they will turn the pages, they will sigh and laugh and cry. Many will appreciate the beauty, power, and grace of your prose. They will recommend the book to a friend or two.

And, at the end of my day today, the horse is still unwilling to canter without a test of wills, and my notes for my next chapter include a squiggly line and a question mark. Back to the training pen and back to the outline I go. Determined to finish, content to struggle, and ready to showoff my hard work and hard knocks soon.