Stay

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Have you ever taught a dog to stay? Or a horse to stand still?

I don't have a dog, but I know they don't really like to stay in one place. Often they just want to come to you. Or maybe if they are a working dog they want to go chase the sheep.

I have taught my horse to stand still even if I move around him. He knows that he has to do that but doesn’t always want to. Sometimes he slowly creeps forward hoping I won't notice.  He is so sneaky often he literally only shifts his weight, then takes a tiny tiny step. If I don't correct him he gains confidence in disobeying and takes bigger steps.

I was paralleling this to me in a spiritual sense. I think it could have a few applications.

1. I often come to God in the morning but slowly drift away as the day goes on. I thought about how I teach animals to stay and I can teach myself that too. To abide, dwell.


2. Thinking again of a working dog God has me staying in a particular place for a  purpose. I might feel useless and out of place, like God's moved me out of the action to a useless spot on the side. But like a master places his dog so God puts me where he needs me.


3. Being still is a good neutral position. My horse or a dog is most ready to hear a command when they are still. There are no other distractions or any of their own opinions in their minds. It really is a submissive action for them. We are most ready for instructions when we are still and can take more into our minds. I know I'm guilty of walking away in the middle of instructions. Mum says go and... and I'm already on my way. It is humiliating to have to come back and say what exactly did you want. When we have our own ideas we get off course, but being still we can hear.

Psalms 4:4  Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Psalms 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

If you are curious about how I taught my horse to stand still here are some tips.

Have your backing up solid.
Maverick has three cues for backing up: backwards pressure on the halter. my hand pressed on his chest and a lifted waving finger (yes it's a strange one). All of these I reinforce with the word "back". To begin put pressure on the lead, then say "back", further you can add the hand on the chest. This helps them think of a solution because it takes their mind solely off their head. Do not increase the pressure on the lead until you have done these. If they still don't respond increase the pressure a little. Don't jerk or yank have it calm and constant. Stop all cues as soon as your horse even shifts backwards.

Begin teaching standing still. 

Lead your horse to the area you want to work in. Say 'whoa' to stop him. Then if he moves forward simply back him up straight away. I don't say "stand" or anything because if I don't ask anything else of my horse by default I want him to stand still. After backing up lead him back to the exact place you had him before. This helps them learn more quickly that you want them in a particular spot and not to back up from there either. It is that simple but takes a lot of practice. My horse is now at the stage where he will freely stand still or back up while I sit his bucket of food down.