When I think about the way I want to earn a living from now on (teaching people how to handle cattle in a way that makes sense to them and keeps both parties safe), my mind always goes to proving what I know. I often think about how I can explain things, and how I can prove that I have indeed done my ‘apprenticeship’.
Just now, as I was pottering at home, I had the epiphany that I had been needing. If I hadn’t done my time in the livestock industry then… how would I know what I know….?
Over the weekend I was explaining my business plans and services to a friend who is a nurse in rural Victoria. She has no connection to the land or farming/beef production, so she is a wonderfully blank canvas for me to bounce ideas off.
Initially we were talking about dogs and dog training, but it soon lead into talking about the advantages of prioritising what your body language is saying instead of your words or actions. This is of course applicable with all animals, but especially so livestock. I began impressing on her the ways in which our stance, the position of our body, placement of our arms and hands, our eyes and the pace at which we move when handling livestock determines how they will move themselves.
The naive (and neurodivergent) part of me thinks that this is something that everyone knows. Life experience is now telling me that that isn’t necessarily so.
In my epiphany, I also had the realisation that if I hadn’t done all the work that gave me all the experience that gives me the position to share what I know, then why do I have pterygium’s in both eyes (also called surfers eye due to it occurring in people who spend a lot of time in the sun or working outdoors) and hyperpigmentation on my face? You don’t get this kind of damage to your skin & eyes without spending years in the saddle behind cattle blinking through the dust or dancing around in yards. Apprenticeship considered done I think.
