Hands

Since things have slowed down somewhat....I've had some time to reflect on things.  Lately it has been hands.  How we communicate with our hands, the physical things our hands do and how we take care of our hands....
Communication.  I can still hear my first horse teachers voice in my head...something like "whenever you let the pressure off that is what you taught your horse to do" or "try to be as light as you can with your cues" or "don't pull on your horses head".  Our hands are part of the way we communicate with our horses.  When we ride, when we groom, when we lead them, when we lunge them, when we just hang out in the pasture with them-our hands are part of our body language and those horses are soooo good at reading body language.  Sometimes my hands are yelling at Zoe-when she isn't paying attention to my "look, leg, rein" and I have to dig my spur into her side and use my hands to smack her with the reins, or use my hands to over and under her with the reins.  My hands need to be quick sometimes.... if Zoe tries to nip me or move into my space my hands are quick to smack her.  Sometimes my hands are comforting-Zoe loves it when I rub my hands over her eyes, she just drops her head and I swear I can hear her sigh.  I can gently rub by the base of her tail and she will lift it so I can rub better.  She has her favorite spots to be scratched.  My hands can give direction when I lunge her, just point in the direction I want her to go...usually works.  I can wag my finger when standing in front of her and she backs up.  I've never worried about having Zoe be afraid of me because I've used my hands in a corrective manner.   I once talked to somebody that was worried about using her hands to correct her horse-she didn't want her horse to be afraid of her.  And I guess if all you used your hands for were reprimands then I guess that would be a concern...kind of like always talking by yelling-yikes!  I think horses can tell the difference when hands are being used for comfort or direction or reprimands.  We use our hands for many things.  I think it is part of the body language life that they lead.  In the pasture you can see two horses get mad and snap at each other... later you can see the same two horses scratch each others back with those same teeth that were just snapping at each other 1 hour ago.  Ears can say "out of my way" or can say "want to play?"  I don't think they attach a permanent meaning to a certain body part.  They are just really good at reading what that body part is saying.  So my hands can be used for many things and it's okay.   I find that I need to pay more attention what I'm saying with my hands when I'm riding.  When Zoe and I are really in tune with each other it really doesn't take alot of pressure with my hands to make a request.  The amount of lightness needed with the bit & reins to make a move is amazing.  Sometimes I find myself getting heavy handed with her.  I need to learn to communicate better with my hands.  As a human I probably rely on verbal cues to get along in life.  Humans can talk with their hands, gesturing in an animated way, but that is different than the way a horse looks at my hands.  I guess learning to talk with my hands-the horse way- is a life long process.
I'm usually not afraid of getting dirty or working hard with my hands.  The only "dirt" I don't like is greasy car dirt-the kind you find in engines--won't find me there.   That being said I usually spend time getting dirty with just about everything else in life.  I find gardening and horses are hard on my hands.  Every winter I get cracks in them and I know it's from dryness but do I find time to do something about it? No-too busy.  The dirt seems to imbed itself in my hands.  Recently I started wearing gloves.  I spent a week helping out with my grandson-no horses or gardening.  At the end of the week my hands were sooooo clean.  I thought, maybe I can keep them this way-hence I started wearing gloves.  But I still can't bring myself to ride with gloves-it has to be VERY COLD before I pull out the silk lined riding gloves.  So I'm still working hard with my hands but now they are covered.   We will see how long this lasts.  It's obvious that I do alot of outside work with my hands, they are working hands.  I'm also getting arthritis in them-I can see it in the thumb joints-a bit bigger than normal.
Zeke's tiny little hands probably got me to thinking about hands.  His being so little compared to mine.  I love it when he holds onto my little finger.  He doesn't know how to use them yet...they can be tight in a fist waving around, hitting himself in the nose or pulling his own hair...or relaxed and limp as he is sleeping... or grasping something that you put in his hand.  Anyway all hands start out that way....and now look at them.  It's amazing to me that my hands can be used for very fragile things or very harsh things.  I can use my hands to pick up Zeke....he's small enough to fit into both of my hands or use my hands to gently touch my horses muzzle.   If needed-I can smack my horse with my hands or use the whip as an extension of my hands for corrective measures.  I googled "phrases with the word hand" and got ALOT of information.  It is really amazing all the different ways we use "hand".  But I got to thinking about them....they are all based in human thought and in the horse world....it doesn't really matter.  What matters is the body language I'm trying to convey with the use of my hands.  Such a little part of our bodies but it can speak volumes.