I often see people forcing what cannot be rushed. In horses, in relationships, in work, in life.
And I’ve noticed that those who rush and force tend to share common patterns.
They lean on others to gain access. They test, push, and probe for information before trust is earned. They confuse eagerness with entitlement, impatience with intimacy, and manipulation with connection. They try to shortcut a process that was never meant to be hurried.
I’ve had my fair share of hard to catch horses- you can try to make the pasture smaller, you can try to corner them, try to bribe them, try to walk up with another horse and use that relationship to gain access, try to rush through a process instead of earning a relationship. But the horse knows. And the horse teaches a simple truth: only honesty, integrity, and patience carry weight.
To wait without scheming.
To approach without using others to leverage.
To honor boundaries and the natural rhythm of relationships, horse and human alike.
This is not passivity. It is discipline. And it is the only way to build connections that last.
There is no glory in shortcuts, no honor in manipulation. A relationship built on fear, instability, or strategy will never be able to carry the weight of something real. Regardless of how it looks for a moment, it will collapse under pressure every time.
But when you show up faithfully, give warmth without agenda, respect boundaries without resentment, and let trust and connection grow in their own time something different happens. Those hard to catch horses tend to slow down. They turn. And, eventually, they lower their head into that halter.
Horses teach this again and again: there is only one way to approach others that lasts- with honesty, respect, and integrity. Everything else is folly.
Centered Path Equine 