Have You Hugged Your Horse Today?

If your horse could choose, would it choose you as his partner? How many of us are taking our horses for granted and just assume they are happy with us? But are they?
Are you giving your horse what it needs? Have you ever THOUGHT about the needs of your horse? Do you think your horse is happy standing in a 4m x 4m box 18 hours a day? And do you think your horse thinks it´s fun to be in a little sandpaddock for the other 6 hours - by itself, so it doesn´t get hurt? With no room to stretch his legs with no friends to play with or scratch each other.
Oh, and why do you actually have a horse? Because you love horses or is it some kind of status symbol or is it because you want to be seen - on competition. Oh wait, wouldn´t that be kind of selfcentered? - to have a horse just because you want to compete?
NO, of course we have horses because we LOVE them, right?
So if we love our horses so much wouldn´t it be our duty to read up on their needs and make them happy? Treat them as our partners and not as some subject?
Partners, that would go hand in hand with a partnership.
So what kind of partnership do you want with your horse? An abusing one or a respectfull one?
For me partnership includes respect, doesn´t it?
Yelling has nothing to do with respect and neither has jerking your horse around or beat him up or using any kind of artificial aids.
Just some thoughts that popped in to my head this evening.