I love the word “entropy” because it applies to everyone and everything in the horse world and the whole world.  It means a gradual decline from order to disorder, which applies to horse farms and horse health. Disorder exists because life requires continuous energy to maintain order, and this energy tires out all living things.

Entropy is a lifelong process where we must apply effort to existing things to maintain the current state.  For example, in barns or farm fences, we all have seen the continuous need to rebuild and repair or, at the least, apply maintenance.  In some of the images, you can see entropy by vegetation taking over structures.  Ancient wisdom reveals this in the phrase, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.  All things want to return to the zero energy state.  Our horses and ourselves require constant maintenance, or we all will die – from entropy.

I apply this to the care of horses because if you have horses, you soon realize that they require constant maintenance.  Hooves are trimmed every six weeks or so.  Teeth are filed smooth between 6 and 12 months.  Bathing often, working horses are kept clean and free of disease.  And if we miss or forget to do these energy-requiring actions, the horse gets dirty again, the hooves grow, and the teeth become sharp.

We all agree that being with horses lifts our spirits and often gives us a sense of purpose or zen. However, work is needed to maintain them and can be exhausting in energy and money.  We all need to understand that EVERYTHING will eventually decay into dust.  While horses are in our care, it becomes the responsibility of the caregivers to apply the necessary energy to overcome their demise.  The more energy you give, the more they will thrive.  

Coming to this site and reading this article proves that you are applying more energy than most.  Repairing a damaged fence, replacing a burned-out light bulb, cleaning a stall, and feeding the horses are extra to our lives but necessary to keep them alive.  Doing more, such as sweeping the barn aisle, grooming the horse, making preventive health appointments and reading to learn more about their care, will return your energy to better results.  The horse will thrive directly proportional to the energy you put in.

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