I feel the need to address a very serious issue in the horse industry. Addictions. Most people with addictions aren't even willing to admit they have a problem. That is also the case here. I have found this addiction everywhere in the horse industry at an alarming rate. I have also found it freely covers every area of “horsedom”. No discipline is free of its overwhelming effects on our psychological system. The Internet has done more to heighten the effects of this malady than anything else in our generation. What kind of addicts am I talking about? Horse addicts.
You see them everywhere----they look like everyday, normal, “got it all together” type people---but under the surface they are fighting to find some “anchor in the storm”, some sanity, some way to bring about a means to stop drooling over, and buying another horse that they don't need. We've tried the “just say no” slogan. It doesn't work.
Did I say “we”? That was a pure slip of the tongue. I personally don't have a problem in this area. I can quit anytime I want to---I just haven't wanted to. But for all you horse addicts out there, I am thinking about starting up an organization called HAA! (Horse Addicts Anonymous) We could form local chapters, get together and share openly our addiction problem with others who understand. Who knows, if all else fails, and we don't find a cure, we can share information with one another on any new avenues that has opened up for the buying and selling of horses! I see this as a “no lose” situation! Plus-as an added incentive, we could have yearly membership dues. That way those of us on the “ground floor” would have a little “extra” in our bank accounts to spend on horses! Hey! We might as well enjoy ourselves while searching for a cure!
How do you know if you've got “it”? Do you find yourself from time to time, uncontrollably looking up horse sites on the Internet? (My son calls it, “Internet Horse Porn”) Do you ever catch yourself saying things like, “Just one more”--- and then I'll quit? Do you find yourself looking at another horse when you're not getting the ones you have ridden enough as it is? Is your attitude about owning horses very similar to buying shoes?---You need one for every season, one for every special occasion and one in every color? Do you sometimes wonder how you are going to afford the feed bills, vet bills, training bills as well as just the normal living expenses while at the same time you're trying to figure out HOW to get your hands on this other horse you've seen? If you have answered any of these questions with a “yes”---YOU have a problem!
OK---I'm serious about this. We've already discovered that just saying “no” doesn't work. Neither does going around chanting “I don't need another horse, I don't need another horse!” Soooo----Why not start up Horse Addicts Anonymous---get our “HAA” sticker---and every time someone is close to selling us another horse---just begin to shout out H-A-A! Loudly now! H-A-A! With passion! H-A-A!!!!!! I'm sure it won't keep us from trying to buy another horse, BUT---it just MIGHT keep someone from selling us another horse simply because they will be convinced we're a total nut case! What do ya think? I am open to suggestions.