The choice was his.

The horse threw a temper tantrum with his hind hooves, at liberty, and the choice to stop his tantrum was his alone.

Much like a child who has a melt down, screaming, yelling, kicking, fighting … and the Dad merely stands by and watches and then asks, when the child is done …

“Had enough? Are you finished now? Feel better?”  … and then moves on to another task without ado.

Although I didn’t merely stand by as this hefty draft pony Halflinger chose to come at me backwards with both hind hooves flailing AT me … but neither did I choose to physically hit or beat him or otherwise force him to stop.

I caused him to think he’d LIKE to stop … I did stand my ground and actually went after him with the lash of the lunge whip hitting the ground just directly in back of him.

But it was HIS choice to keep after me or to stop kicking out at me and move his own body away from me about 25 feet.

Which he did.

And then he stopped and immediately turned to look at me, breath held, waiting for the “punishment” that never came.

He dropped his head, licked and chewed, blinked his eyes and walked up to me. Quietly asking for forgiveness.

He was free to move wherever he wanted to move. He was free to turn around and start his temper tantrum all over again. He was free to do whatever he chose to do.  He was not restrained in any manner. He was free …

And he chose to ask for forgiveness.

The air was heavy with question from both of us — was he going to lash out at me again? Was I going to beat him for his behavior? Was he in B.I.G. trouble?

Nope to all.

He had his say. He was allowed to have his say.

He said it and was done.

And I doubt that he’ll express himself in this manner again.

The choice he made is one that he’ll remember forever.

That singular choice  broke the chains that bound him.