Listen to Episode 29Since I last recorded an episode, there has been the death of my mare, Shea, the wedding of my son and his new wife, a trip to Denver and some cow work. Along with a few minor emergencies. I know. In other words, life.
I continue to be buoyed by feedback and engagement from listeners. One of our listeners is Art, a rider and retired engineer from Michigan. He has a horse named Bandit. Art got in touch with me after Episode 25, a short bit I did on Sex, Power, and Best Practices.
How might a clinician suggest crossing a creek?
What follows is a quiet conversation on how this topic looks from one man’s perspective. It was refreshing. Some of you may know that I write op-ed pieces about life in the rural west for the Washington Post. While I have a policy of not reading the comments, I am aware of the vitriol. And I was so pleased to talk with Art about gender, bullying, and personality styles with a civil, friendly back and forth.
While many of you might not agree with me, with Art, or with our other podcast interviewees, we hope that you can find common ground and take a moment to consider different perspectives.
Our title sponsor is Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds. Lucerne is this outstanding little company in northern Maine. Forage is chopped hay, an excellent option when you can’t have your horse on pasture or when you need to add calories and nutrients to your horses’ diet.
We also thank Redmond Equine for being part of our sponsorship family. Redmond rocks and other offerings come straight from their mine in Redmond, Utah.
And we welcome back Pharm Aloe . Pharm Aloe offers aloe pellets and gel and other products to support horses’ GI health, and immune system.
Super Illuminated Field Watch by Bertucci
Additional notes:
The Outdoor Retailer happens twice a year and brings together outdoor recreation brands, vendors, and buyers for everything from Osprey packs to tents to jeans to camp lights and freeze-dried good. I go to represent the horse community and make the argument that us horse owners are more outdoors-y than anyone else. Right?
Here are some folks that stood out:
Bertucci watches. I challenge you to find a Made in America watch that is as tough and reliable as a field watch from Bertucci. And when do you ever see the owner and founder of a company – in this case, Mike Bertucci – at a trade show? I particularly love the Super illuminated model. Two ways to light up the face. Perfect for late night barn checks and midnight emergencies.
Also. Kimes Ranch Jeans. I’ve been singing their praises for years as a Made in America company that gets us. And by us, I mean riders. They continue to grow and can be found online and in stores like Big R, Murdochs, and other farm and ranch type stores. Loving their new style, the Lola.
Kimes Ranch Jeans
We thank Kate’s Real Food and Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Did you know? All ya gotta do is comment or suggest a podcast topic or send us a training question here and you’ll be automatically qualified for our monthly Patagonia WorkWear giveaway.
Hello and thank you, Maddy for being willing to bravely take on this conversation, you were so patient and kind and it was sometimes maddening to listen to the grace you offered to Art –who sounds like a sincere and well-intentioned man. And Art, I do appreciate your willingness to engage in the conversation. Your thoughts on personality types are well taken and helpful in understanding men and women from all cultures and backgrounds–and horses too.
But, you didn’t answer Maddy’s question — I think you didn’t understand it–and, from where I sit, it seems you somehow have not had the opportunity to understand the privilege that your position has afforded you. You object to identity politics and I do believe that you mean this kindly — many of we privileged folk grew up thinking that we all start from the same place and we all play on that cliche even playing field and so we would be better off if we could learn to be color blind and gender blind and just give everyone a chance. Art, you are plus or minus my age, but I don’t think you ever left a meeting after dark wondering if you’d get safely to your car, by which I mean you never actually experienced assault and rape by men, (yup) who just thought they could and so they did. I just cried the whole way as I drove through Laramie, WY recently– they knew they could and so they did. (Maybe you never knew you were related to or knew, or loved a gay man or lesbian (maybe), but don’t you see how that young, gay man, Matthew Shepherd, needs to be acknowledged as a young gay man in order for this whole world to see that he has the right to be? ) You have a strong daughter, if you were Lakota would your message to her be the same? How do you not see that the lovely children you raised have not had to deal with the fear of not feeling safe in this country– my country and your country. And generations of my family have farmed on land that was taken but in all Christian goodness they thought it was OK to disparage the “Indians” with fill in the blank character liabilities. And I do not understand, if you love my country and your country, how you could believe that it is not fundamentally important to understand that this country was built on the labor of people who were enslaved and who are still not safe in this country. And how could you possibly with your eyes open believe that it is not important to recognize that the world their children go out into is less safe for them? I just do not understand. If we look maybe we can heal. If we don’t look, there is no engineer smart enough to work around that blind spot.
Painful to read that but so well said. I can only relate to the (as a woman) part, but think about what others have gone and are going and will go through just to survive.
The pendulum swings back and I predict it is swinging back mightily, when I would prefer it to stay in the “sweet spot.” But that’s not how the physics of the Universe works.