This entry can also be found at www.adn.com/horsetrainerblog


The thread of the week presented itself to me when three people in a row contacted me with horse ailment and or training problems. All three people are excellent horsewomen; they do their homework, research, and training and ask for a lot of opinions. Then this morning a question came across the Internet; what is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Then when I started my own research for these three horses – in an article about vitamins. Does the whole help more than a few of its parts that you may not like?

When we consider our health, the health of our horses the health of the planet even; many of us tend to look at it under a microscope rather than looking at the whole picture. I am guilty just like most of you of focusing on one aspect of a problem horse so much that I may lose the bigger picture of what the horse is trying to say.

I believe that when you look at a horse as a whole, and not under a microscope that you give that horse in the chance to speak with their whole body. They have no words; we must listen to their whole body when they speak to us. We must listen to our own body when it speaks to us, or that of our friends, spouses and loved ones.

So when it comes to knowledge v. wisdom what is the difference? I can’t say I can answer that in any other way other than my own personal opinion. Which may be those that use wisdom operate looking at the whole. All things come into consideration, all factors. Rather than looking for bits of information, look for patterns in information, pay attention to how that information feels to you.

Living life in this “Wholistic” manner and yes I realize I did not spell that correctly and I did so intentionally… Since this is a horse blog, I should relate this to horses, even though this can be used in every aspect of your life as a tool. If your horse has a particular issue, problem or behavioral trait, use your wisdom to tackle it.

What is your horse trying to tell you? Does it hurt? Where does it hurt? Are you not being clear with what you want? Is your intent lacking in conviction? Are you asking for one thing and repeatedly getting another? Lastly, are you using your knowledge of horses, and not balancing that with your wisdom of horses? If any of this rings true to you, your life, your horse, take stock of all your knowledge and make sure you are using your whole to listen to your horse.

Our wisdom grants us the ability to see the whole of the good that surrounds us. The world is full of good, not just in situations pertaining to our horse, all to often we allow just the knowledge to overwhelm us.

Until next time… Ride Arete!