The first movie was Buck, an award winning documentary about Buck Brannaman, a man who came from an abusive childhood, yet ended up “a real-life “horse-whisperer”, he eschews the violence of his upbringing and teaches people to communicate with their horses through leadership and sensitivity, not punishment.”
The second movie was War Horse, portraying “the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets.”
Though vastly different, the two movies held certain common themes. They central point of both films focused on the relationship between animals and humans (granted they were both specifically about horses, but that doesn’t really change much).
So here are the themes, and here is what I learned…which I already knew of course but it always helps to be reminded:
- The relationship between animals and humans is built on mutual respect. We do not ‘own’ animals, nor should we allow them to own us. Though we humans may have the upper hand simply by virtue of the fact that we feed and provide medical care for our pets, remember in most cases they could lash out at us at any time, yet they choose not to…if a mutual respect is formed. “Whether you have horses, dogs or kids, with that comes a great responsibility. You have to be able to teach them to get along in the world.” ~ Buck Brannaman
- Once created, that bond is truly enduring. I was so moved by both of these movies, and once again reminded of the level of loyalty that animals have toward their human counterparts once a bond formed; it’s nearly unfathomable. As humans, we live in a world where we judge people, write them off, criticize and condemn much too quickly…and as quickly as we do it to other people, it happens twice as fast towards an animal. “I’m moving” – the dog’s gotta go…”It’s too expensive” – the dogs gotta go...there are a million of these excuses you could insert here (some are legitimate, and I don’t condemn all) but in general they mean = it’s just not convenient or fun for me anymore. But let me tell you that a dog NEVER does that.
- That relationship, the way we relate to animals, translates to all other aspects of our lives. The way we treat animals is evident in the way we treat strangers in the street, the way we treat our spouses, and the way we treat our friends and colleagues. Have you ever met a really great person who just happens to kick animals for fun? I think not. Now it is possible to find a wonderful person who doesn’t necessarily want to save every animal on the planet, but I truly believe you can learn a lot about a person by watching the way they relate to and treat an animal. Hell, you can learn a lot about yourself by simply observing the way you react to and treat animals. In my own life, I have learned (and been challenged by) so much by simply embarking on the mission of training my own dog so that she is set up for success in our family and in the world at large. It may sound simple, but it’s not always easy to bear your share of the responsibility, to look upon your successes and failures and observe any similar trends in other relationships in your life.
If I could sum it up, I would have to end with the thought that animals, particularly dogs, simply are a mirror image of us, their owners. When we are respectful and compassionate, so are they…they follow our lead. When we honor them for their place and importance in our family, they will never let us down…never. A friend would ditch you twice as fast if it met their needs than a dog would – and you can quote me on that.
The bottom line is, compassion is key in all that we do. The golden rule didn’t come from nowhere – so treat others (whatever form they may come in), the way you would want them to treat you.
