Have you ever felt guilty because you pushed your horse too hard?  Or felt you let your horse down by not pushing him far enough, so he could show the world what he could do or simply gain in confidence?

Have you ever yanked on your horse’s face and regretted it later?  Yelled at your horse?  Told him or her something you wish you could take back?

Have you ever forgotten to release or just been too slow?

Have you ever walked by your horse without saying hello?  Or neglected to pick feet or groom or give a wither scratch when you had time?

Have you ever thought your horse was just being a jerk and later found out it was pain that was the root cause of resistance?

Can you count how many times a horse has tried for you without acknowledgement or praise?

We’ve all made mistakes with our horses.  Some big, some small.  We know that most horses forgive us.  But it’s important that we forgive ourselves as well.

Because no matter how accomplished we are, how educated we are, how loving we are or how talented we are, we’re going to blow it from time to time.

Hopefully, these words from Michael Jordan will help us realize we’re not alone in making mistakes.  Yes, he had a hoop and not a horse, but he acknowledged his failures and learned from them.  We should do the same.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

-Michael Jordan