Ever wondered why Clint is sometimes late? Being perennially late myself, I don’t wonder so much, but you might. (Actually once, before we were married, we had a competition based on our New Year’s Resolutions. Clint was resolved to be on time and I was resolved to quit Mt. Dew. If you’ve noticed either of our records on those scores, it won’t surprise you that we’ve resolved to quit making resolutions!) I have always considered that Clint’s punctuality-challenged personality had to do with trying to do as much as possible in whatever time he has and, to be honest, that is a great deal of it…but over time I’ve learned that there’s more to it.
If you’ve ever watched Clint work a horse then you know that he is a firm believer that there are times when you just cannot leave a horse where he’s at. To do so, in many situations, would be detrimental to the overall goal of progressing the horse. For instance, I have seen Clint work a horse into a positive place for stopping beyond the time that he needed to be somewhere else – or well past the time his supper was cold on the table.
It’s not always (okay, it’s rarely) convenient to work with our horses (or our children, our spouses, our friends for that matter) on their timetable, but it is always worth it. I don’t get to watch Clint work horses as often as I’d like, but one thing I know is that he is doggedly consistent about is not quitting a project until the time is right. If he is loading a horse, or encouraging one encountering a new obstacle, he never leaves the job while the horse is still adamantly refusing. He may not have the time to take a horse all the way to the end goal during this session, but he doesn’t stop until the horse is giving a try at it.
So, the next time Clint’s late meeting you trust me, it’s not because he doesn’t value your time – he just wants to give each horse his best possible opportunity to get along.
