“Leaders are not what many people think–people with huge crowds following them.
Leaders are people who go their own way without caring, or even looking to see whether anyone is following them.
‘Leadership qualities’ are not the qualities that enable people to attract followers, but those that enable them to do without them.
They include, at the very least, courage, endurance, patience, humor, flexibility, resourcefulness, determination, a keen sense of reality, and the ability to keep a cool and clear head even when things are going badly.
This is the opposite of the ‘charisma’ that we hear so much about.” ~ John Holt
I just came across this quote and was struck by it’s applicability to horsemanship. If we truly want to become our horse’s leader then these are certainly qualities that we need to devilop in ourselves:
- Courage,
- Endurance,
- Patience,
- Humor,
- Flexibility,
- Resourcefulness,
- Determination,
- a Keen Sense of Reality,
- and the Ability to Keep a Cool and Clear Head even when Things are Going Badly
Yes, this is a pretty good list of quatlities that a Horse Person needs to develop and cultivate if they want true respect from their horses.