The Ottoman Endgame

The Mid East seems in constant turmoil with much blame given to western powers who drew the wrong lines for their own greedy reasons.  There has always been a lot of blame to pass around.  Sean McMeekin gives a different perspective going back just before the Great War with a focus on the Ottoman Empire.  "The Ottoman Endgame" was recommended by Fareed Zakaria.

At its peak the Ottoman Empire extended to eastern Europe, northern Africa, the Arab lands and included many Jews and Christians.  Jews fled Europe for greater safety in Ottoman areas with over a million Jews there in 1900.  By the dawn of the twentieth century the Ottoman Empire was considered "sick" and ripe for picking off territory.  They did control access to the Black Sea which was key for trade with Russia.  Russia, an antagonist to Turkey over centuries saw an opening.  Italy saw an opportunity in Libya.  Fighting in the Balkans, including Serbia and Bulgaria against the Ottoman Empire preceded World War I.

The Great War was precipitated with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife in Serbia on June 28, 1914.  The Ottoman Empire could not afford to be involved as it had a severe financial problem.  Germany, Russia, Britain, France all had their motives.

A German dreadnought outran a British ship in the Mediterranean to end up in Istanbul as an inducement to declare war on Russia and to allow him to patrol the Black Sea.  Also an Egyptian leader wanting to liberate from Britain was vacationing in Bosphorous.  Churchill was anxious to attack Turkey, but was blocked by Kitchener who was concerned about Egypt and India, but not before commandeering two Turkish dreadnoughts that had been built by British ship builders.   Russia, although blocked in was reluctant to push Turkey to war as they had their own Muslim subjects and wanted a better deal before taking sides.

Germans wanted Turkey to declare war, but Turkey had financial constraints including paying military staff.  Germany did some calculations and decided to finance the Ottoman Empire including large amounts of gold.  Turkey waited until they received gold before declaring war.

The British, like the Americans a few decades later saw the oppressed Iraqis  hoping for liberation from the Ottomans.  They found it more difficult than anticipated to fire up the Arabs.

The Armenian Genocide that is sometimes acknowledged is more complicated than I casually thought.  The Armenians were Christians in a Muslim country and wanted to be free.  The Russians were sympathetic and were reached out to by Armenians.  The Ottomans decided it was best to deport Armenians away from where the Russians were, but did set up guidelines that were meant to be humane.  Many of the guidelines were forgotten and Armenians suffered being sent to faraway inhospital sites and died from starvation, exhaustion and Turkish hatred and fear.  To further aggravate the situation Russians were successful in overcoming a Muslim Ottoman city with the help of Armenians.  Turks took revenge and directly killed many Armenians.  Historians argue over how many Armenians died, but it was in genocidal proportions.  

Ironically the British had been requested to ally themselves with Armenians and Russians for a strategic attack.  Armenians from Egypt were ready in large numbers to help this effort, but the British were stuck in a mindset that led to disaster in Gallipoli and ignored the Russians and Armenian requests, despite advice that in hindsight seemed a better use of their resources.  One of a few dissenters was T. E Lawrence, at the time a mere interpreter.

Mustafa Kemal is considered the founder of modern Turkey.  He developed his credibility serving well in the military including Gallipoli.   He is credited with saying "I did not order you to attack.  I ordered you to die." reportedly before a battle.

The Germans tried to stir up a holy war against Brits and Russians but with little success.  Brits suggested Arabs could take over caliphate.

In the 1917 Russian Revolution one of early events was mutinies among soldiers and sailors.  Lenin reached Petrograd (St Petersburg)  with a German military escort in April and immediately demanded an end to imperialist wars, but there was still political maneuvering.  The Russian navy still wanted to conquer Istanbul.  A ceasefire was declared in Nov 1917 which European armies accepted readily.  A little slower on the Ottoman front as Russians were relatively successful.  This allowed a shift of troops, but more importantly helped retain some land.  Leon Trotsky sat down to negotiate and was fairly clever about it, but both Germans and Ottoman military forces tried to seize with some success lands under Russian control.

At the end of the war, the allies ganged up on the Ottoman Empire with Greece, Italy, France  Russia (under Bolsheviks)  and Britain staking out claims to large amounts of land.  Britain (against the advice of Churchill) occupied Istanbul.  Mustafa Kemal rallied military leaders to resist.

America had entered the war in April 6, 1917, but not against the Ottoman Empire.  They were seen as possible peace brokers, but they backed away from the responsibility.  President Wilson was now an invalid.

The Greeks had an advantage for awhile and conquered a lot of what we know as Turkey today.  However, Kemal made some very smart moves gaining gold and weapons from the Bolsheviks, making an agreement with Italy and neutralizing Britain.  Arnold Toynbee testified that the Greeks had committed atrocities against Muslims.  There ended up being an exchange of Turks from Greece and Greeks from Turkey.  Turkey lost Christians and Jews that had helped elevate their cultural level.  Greeks and Turks have argued against one another ever since.  One bright note was an artistic alliance between Zulfu Livanelli and  Mikis Teodorakis, two great artists who performed together many years later.  

France, Britain and Russia negotiated what became known as the Sykes Picot agreement signed on May 16th, 1916 that split up parts of the anticipated concessions by the Ottoman government after their defeat.  Britain was to control what we know as Palestine and over to Jordan and including part of Iraq.  France was to govern the northern part of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and part of southern Turkey.  Russia was to control Istanbul and Armenia.  On November 2nd, 1917 Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour declared in a statement to Walter Rothchild, a representative of the British Jewish community that Britain would accept an facilitate a Jewish homeland in Palestine, but without prejudice to civil and religious rights of non Jewish communities.  Undoubtedly these commitments and their interpretations have affected modern conflicts.  The author contends that ethnic and religious animosities would still have caused conflict almost no matter what boundaries were established.

Mustafa Kemal abolished the caliphate in 1924 and was denounced many years later by Osama bin Laden for doing so.  He is noted for running roughshod to modernize Turkey.

What can history tell us about today's turmoils?  While finishing this up I heard Fareed Zakaria's guest Robert A Worth and then checked a book review.  There is a lot of anger in the Mid-East.  They all want change, but are not tolerant of different views.  One view is that modernization has progressed technically, but socially the pace has been very slow.  Sean McMeekin proclaims that the hatred has existed for a very long time, but had been controlled under the Ottoman regimes.  Although boundaries may have been redrawn imperfectly they only complicate a difficult situation.

North American Indians domesticate the horse

It has been pointed out that in modern culture there is no such thing as Easterns while there very definitely is a strong interest in "Westerns."  When Europeans first came to North America the indigenous inhabitants were in awe of the horses and rapidly lost control of land, but eventually the Indians were able to fight back more effectively in the west.  Oversimplified, but a big factor was the horse.  At first a very strange beast to the natives, they eventually learned not to fear it and in fact to ally themselves in a very natural way that the supposedly more sophisticated Europeans had not mastered to the same extent.

The Spanish brought horses to North America around 1500 and by 1540 Coronado and De Soto brought horses above the Rio Grande.  In the early 1600's Spanish were farming and establishing missions in New Mexico.  Although for a native to ride a horse was forbidden, they were used as workers and slaves allowing them to watch horses being trained.  In 1680 Pueblo Indians successfully revolted and forced the Spanish colonies out of their area so fast that many horses were left behind.  This allowed the Pueblo and Navaho tribes to start selling and trading horses to other tribes.

The Plains Indians tended to be nomadic and horses made a huge difference in their lives helping them move faster and farther with horses bearing the heavy weights.  Horses were used for bartering and as gifts.  Hunting the buffalo was much easier on horseback than on foot.  Horse stealing between tribes became a test for young warriors and naturally they felt no compunction stealing from the invaders.

The Indians were able to fight back the European colonizers with their horse expertise and acquisition of guns.  The U.S. cavalry felt the only way to control Indians was to separate them from horses.  There are wholesale massacres of horses on record.

From the beginning Indians were aware of saddles and other tack, but from necessity they often rode bareback.  Without bits they improvised with rope, but when opportunities occurred they would steal more sophisticated tack.  In battle some were able to fire weapons from underneath their horses.

They did not keep horses in barns or fenced in areas, but for the most part allowed their horses to roam loose.  They built up trust before attempting to ride.  They also used the horse's natural preference to fit into a herd

The Appaloosa was perhaps the most famous breed developed by the Indians.  The Nez Perce tribe first obtained horses from the Shoshone tribe around 1730 and by 1750 developed breeding stock.  Appaloosas are usually pictured with a leopard type of spotting that had been brought to America by the Spaniards, but at first the Indians were not focused on colour.

Lewis and Clark commented on the superiority of their horses and some time afterwards the Nez Perce put more emphasis on colour.  They were among the first to geld inferior stallions and traded away inferior stock.  When more white settlers moved into their area they traded for new stock and further developed the breed.  Gold miners moved into the area and the Nez Perce were deprived of much of their traditional land.  The Nez Perce War of 1877 resulted in their loss forcing them into a smaller area of land and pressured into being farmers.  Chief Joseph accepted defeat, but left many famous quotations.  Over 1,000 of their horses had been taken and many others shot.  They were given draft mares to help transition to agriculture.  Fortunately some of their horses had been hidden and others had escaped.  Horses were forgotten for several decades, but were recognized as something worth preserving.  Idaho declared the Appaloosa the state horse.  Popular today in a variety of equestrian disciplines.

A prominent Indian trainer is GaWaNi Pony boy who gives clinics in natural horsemanship.

Bridge of Spies

Tom Hanks has appeared in a lot of thoughtful movies.  When I picked up a Blu-ray disc I was expecting a suspense movie and although I knew some of the story it was tense.  More importantly it made me reflect on some of the issues of today.

I first learned of Francis Gary Powers from reading the headlines of the Toronto Telegram when I was a delivery boy.  It was a bit scary that one of our guys had been caught by the evil guys.  There was a concern about nuclear war.

On IMDB there is a lengthy discussion about the accuracy of period components and political slantings.  A lot of it is very interesting, if sometimes confusing.  Like most movie viewers I wasn't there and can appreciate the difficulties of being accurate in every detail, fair to the historical figures and making the movie a money maker.  I believe they made a number of points relevant for today and revealed some historical realities that have been overlooked.

Most of our society was a bit paranoid during the Cold War.  I remember listening to talk about building bomb shelters and the Commie menace.  In the United States Joseph McCarthy was finding Communists in positions of power and influence and he specialized in uncovering ancient brushes with socialism.

Rudolf Abel (played by Mark Rylance) was a Soviet spy who passed undetected for 8 years.  We never learn if he passed on any significant information.  He is captured and put on trial.

We are introduced to James Donovan played by Tom Hanks as a sharp insurance lawyer showing how he could beat back claims.  He is soon asked to represent a captured Soviet spy (this happens before the Powers incident) and it soon becomes apparent that the Americans wanted to put on a good show to demonstrate how fair they were.  When Donovan does do a conscientious job he is reviled by government officials and the public who assumed Abel was guilty and deserved capital punishment.

Donovan is successful in avoiding an execution (shortly after the Rosenbergs had been executed for giving information to the Soviets).  He pointed out that if Abel was executed the United States would lose leverage for a possible prisoner exchange.  A strong reaction from vocal people who thought he should be executed.  One is reminded of today's anti-Muslim paranoia.

A complication was an an American student Fred Pryor in East Germany who was captured and one rumour was he would be exchanged for Abel.  However everyone including the East Germans realized he was not really a spy and the Americans had little motive to retrieve him.  At the time East Germany was not recognized by the Americans and they thought this would give them a bargaining chip.  The Soviets and East Germans had different motives.  Donovan decided to include Pryor in the negotiations, although government workers felt it was too risky and too trivial when they really wanted to recover a spy with lots of classified information.

Donovan pointed out that the constitution makes Americans better, and by adhering to the rules gained respect of the world.  He felt Abel was a Russian doing his best for his own country. and that is what Americans expected for their own spies.

In some ways the movie put Americans in a bad light for such things as not pursuing the spirit of the Constitution, wanting execution while the Russians were looking at 10 years hard labour for Francis Gary Powers.  But there was a lot of balancing with the Berlin Wall was started and we were shown would be escapees being shot. At the and of the movie Tom Hanks had the idea to contrast American youngsters climbing over fences without getting shot

On IMDB it was pointed that the movie's portrayal of torture inflicted on Francis Gary Powers was untrue.  He was given tools for a knitting project in reality whereas in the movies it was pointed out that Abel was given painting supplies.

There was some scenes that the returned spies would have their patriotism doubted.  In fact both men were accepted and in the case of Powers continued to work for the military.

Another touch dealt with flash photographers who had a problem with flash bulbs that after being used were very hot.  Instead of putting in pockets as advised they threw them on the floor.  Spielberg  chose to shoot a scene of reporters and others walking through discarded bulbs

Spielberg's father had been involved with a Russian/American exchange and was consulted.

Mark Rylance won an Oscar for best supporting actor. and had some of the best lines  "Do many foreign agents register?" and the much repeated, but timely "Would it make a difference?"

Amy Ryan played Mary Donovan, wife to James.

Music by Thomas Newman, in the background supported words and actions.  I will be adding to my iTunes list.

If you are looking for spine tingling suspense or seat clinging action you will be disappointed.  The movie's dramatic strength is the power of negotiation.  Tom Hanks was very believable portraying Donovan who went against government advice to persuade both the Russians and East Germans to co-operate.  In the post script at the end it was pointed out that John F. Kennedy asked Donovan to negotiate the release of Americans after the Bay of Pigs disaster which he successfully did.  In this day and age there are many who are ready to drop a bomb, send thousands of soldiers to fight at any insult to American integrity.  This movie provided an alternative.

Something I have never done before is to refer my readers to a more detailed review at IMDB--check out the discussion groups.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3682448/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Politics and Climate Change sparked by the Fort McMurray fire

Read an article in Huffington Post reporting that Elizabeth May was criticized for pointing out a possible connection between the Fort McMurray wildfire and climate change and that charge was considered too political.  I am just amplifying the issue.

I agree it is necessary to concentrate on cleaning up the mess and restoring the displaced people back to normalcy as quickly as practical.

The article suggested the claim of being too political (Justin was one of the many accusers) would not have been made if a virus had been causing a problem in Fort McMurray.  We would all want to know the cause so we could prevent a future occurrence.  Climate change has been made a political issue, when it really should be a scientific issue.

My contention is that climate change has been established by reputable scientists as a major problem requiring international co-operation.  It should be considered the top priority for politicians, but unfortunately they are tied in too strongly to vested interests who can take advantage of basic ignorance and suspicion.

On Facebook I was disturbed to see one post stating that while the mess was being cleaned up the government should not spend one cent helping refugees.  The priorities are always changing, but a commitment has been made and until it has been fulfilled it seems to me that we are honour bound. After that it is logical to re assess our priorities, but I hope we would not base our decisions just on racially charged concerns and the overblown fear of terrorism.

Reviewing my thoughts on the refugee crisis.  We are complicit in it, one item of which climate change has been a factor.  We benefit from new blood while Syria suffers a brain drain.  Previous blog:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/11/the-syrian-refugee.html

Politics has always been about power.  Sometimes it is tied to the people's welfare, but too often it is a convenient cover for vested interests.  In the case of climate change the people's welfare has been taking a back seat to vested interests of those who control fossil fuels.  We are talking about literally trillions of dollars presently in the ground which can buy an awful lot of political power.

To read the original article in Huffington Post by G. Ellijah Dann of Simon Fraser University:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/g-elijah-dann/fort-mcmurray-fire_b_9890178.html  Let's have that political discussion about a scientifically claim that affects everyone.

DETROIT SCHOOLS MAY BE AN OMEN FOR THE REST OF US

Detroit is in the news and from a distance the implications are scary.  My only experience with Detroit was driving through on the way from Flint to Windsor, Ontario.  Our two children had been involved with the CANUSA Games and made a few friends in Flint.  Detroit, although having a few impressive skyscrapers also had a lot of boarded up buildings.  Flint, too is in the news as the result of short sighted budget restrictions.

I grew up in Oshawa, a town dominated by General Motors, like Flint and Detroit.  My father, an independent trucker and a champion rally car driver distained General Motors.  In fact Oshawa prospered anyway.  Not so much Flint or Detroit from what I could see.  My father thought General Motors was very arrogant and not adapting to the future.  I heard these opinions over 60 years ago and so was not surprised hearing of their financial problems developing over more recent decades.

Perhaps Detroit and even Michigan had allowed themselves to become too dependent on the auto industry.  After 2008 some very difficult decisions were made that allowed General Motors to survive, but at the expense of many jobs.  Detroit's tax base has eroded.

When tax revenues decline more difficult decisions have to be made.  It is unfortunate that too many governments think education is one area where a lot of cuts can be made with minimal fuss.  Republicans especially seem to hate unions and that especially includes teacher unions.  Teachers have had to knuckle under like many of fellow citizens, but they have fought back not only for their job security, but for working conditions.

At one point they were asked to choose between their salary being distributed during the academic year or spread over the whole year.  Apparently over 2/3 opted to be paid over the full year, but more austerity measures threatened to cut off income over the summer months.  Forbidden to go on strike the teachers opted  to call in sick in large numbers effectively closing most schools.  As with any big school system shutdowns lead to all sorts of personal problems with parents having to arrange childcare.  A few thoughts on what teachers make and it is not just money:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/11/what-teachers-make-by-taylor-mali.html

It is unfortunate that many problems are not dealt with until they become painful for others.  As I understand it there will be some government aid arriving to at least stabilize the system temporarily.

What frightens me is that too many governments see education as a factor that can be minimized safely.  Perhaps with aging populations fewer parents are involved.  Perhaps anti-unionism has successfully painted teachers as greedy incompetent devils.  Perhaps poverty has actually made teachers' jobs more difficult.

My contention is that education should be the number one priority as it affects everything else.  Our future is in the hands of our children.  The skills and attitudes they bring to their adulthood will affect everyone directly and indirectly.  They will run our businesses, decide how we deal with the rest of the world and take care of us in our old age.  They will have to compete against the rest of the world, much of which does value education.  Consider:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/11/education-and-our-future.html

Education is a big challenge.  Teachers are a critical part of it and they need to be thought of as engineers of our future.  Getting a youngster to read and understand numbers opens up doors.  Developing innate talents can lead to skills needed by the rest of us and even to innovations that will improve our lives.  Critical thinking skills will assure that future citizens understand what is really important and make better decisions.

Taxation needs to be increased.  We don't need to pay lot of attention to the effects on the "job creators" as the real job creators are those who spend money at the grassroots level.  The real future will be determined by our children and teachers will have a lot of input.  There will be resistance to increasing taxes, but at the very least education needs to rise higher as a budget item

Teachers cannot do it alone, but if they are respected and appreciated we will all be better off.  We should make the profession one that is desirable with money, working conditions and most critically with respect.

One education expert I respect is Diane Ravitch and you can learn more about how she thinks at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/02/reign-of-error-what-direction-should.html

A Big Disappointment with one of my heroes

Bobby Knight is not exactly my biggest hero, but I have a quotation of his prominently on my wall that I find inspirational.  For those of you who are not basketball fans, Bobby has a remarkable record that stands well in the entire field of sports.

He has coached 902 winning games in the NCAA Division 1 Basketball.  When he retired that was the record, but it has since been passed by Mike Krzyzewski, one of his former players and assistant coaches.  Knight won 3 national NCAA championships at Indiana University and also coached the U.S. men's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in 1984.  Along the way he infuriated a number of people by his rough tactics including throwing a chair on the court during a game and being verbally abusive to players and reporters.

I don't condone all of his methods, but I greatly admire him for a particular quote which I try to keep in mind, especially when things aren't going so well.  "The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win."  We all admire talented people who can turn it on when it really counts, but the rest of us might not be as talented.  Of course some talented people actually worked hard to be considered talented.  Coach Bobby Knight was noted for thorough preparation.

What I got out of the quote was that although you might not be able to summon up the strength to do something that can make a difference right now, you can always do something to improve your situation for the next opportunity.  It is so easy to despair when things are rough, but better to analyze the situation and your resources and then carefully plan to do better.  Preparation for the opportunity is always a good idea and there is always something that can be done.  When you are not successful at some goal you can usually look back and appreciate you didn't do enough preparation.

My disappointment was seeing on television Bobby Knight, who is very well respected in Indiana endorse Donald Trump.  I heard a brief piece on NPR this morning commenting on how many sports leaders had also done so.  They all had a few traits in common--an anger at reporters and a strong authoritative behaviour.  Bobby Knight fits that pattern and so does Donald Trump.

I admit that society needs those people to get some things done, but they are not always the best source of advice.  Donald Trump is a noted admirer of Vladimir Putin and one can see similarities, but one hopes neither has control over our government.

Donald Trump cannot be blamed for wanting to be president, but in my opinion he would be a disaster.  He is smarter than he portrays himself, but he is deliberately appealing to baser instincts.  It was once said that to every complex problem there is a simple solution that is wrong.  Trump is preying on people's unhappiness by offering simple solutions that would make the situation worse.

Building a wall will create negative results on both sides of the border.  Banning Muslims will be used  to inflame extreme actions for both Muslims and non Muslims.  His attitude towards torture  is machoistic and counter productive.  Insulting women will aggravate inequality to hurt us all.  Platitudes can be misleading whereas explanations can be evaluated.  He once expressed gratitude to all the poorly educated people who voted for him.  That should be taken as a challenge to improve the education system.  My views on torture:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/12/torture.html

I can still admire Bobby Knight for some of his insights, but my image of him is tarnished.  Donald Trump is a very scary phenomenon who I wish I didn't feel compelled to write about.  He thrives on attacks.

The Power of Horses to Heal; Riding Home

For many modern people, horses are a thing of the past.  They were once useful, but now they are just pets for the rich and not thought much of anymore.

This book was brought to my attention at a trade show and has a powerful message for today's population that is increasingly urbanizing and detached from nature.  The author has an interesting background for this book.  We learn that his childhood was disturbed by fighting parents and that he was 47 when he  first rode a horse in 1992.  He learned a lot since then and has watched how horses have transformed the lives of many troubled people.

Humans have evolved from being at the mercy of the environment to dominating the rest of living beings.  Horses have survived as prey creatures in a world that is taking them for granted and relics of the past.  Tim Hayes uncovers for us what horses have to offer mankind.

Humans reached our dominant position by being superior animals of predation.  Horses are prey animals and have survived by being able to avoid being eaten.  Eyes and ears are independent and can cover wide range.   Each eye has bi lateral monocular vision.  Their ears can rotate.  They can feel a fly.  As herd animals they must learn to get along.  They are also very sensitive to interpreting the intentions of other creatures they are confronted with.  Although humans may mask their emotions horses can detect inconsistencies with our actions.  Trust is vital to a horse.

Tim gives an example extreme of sensitivity in describing his experience with a cutting horse.  Although Tim had had little experience he found that the horse knew almost instantly what cow he had identified as a target.  This was attributed to proprioceptive abilities, meaning they could detect very slight changes in the rider such as tilting their head.  If you have ever seen a top cutting horse it is a thing of beauty with the best needing little direction from the rider.
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Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP) in Colorado was developed to use cheap labour to tame wild horses.  Long term prisoners who were mostly city people with no experience of horses were selected for this experiment.  The prisoners were asked to approach horses on the ground and found the horses often uncooperative.  Gradually they were taught to train the horses in a natural way so they could be ridden.  A strange thing happened.  In the process of trying to understand what motivated the horse they came to better understand human relations.  One of the results was that the recidivism rate became half of the national average.

Tim wrote next about a returning Marine suffering from PTSD who had been given various forms of therapy and had given up when it was suggested she try equine therapy.  Equine therapy has proven to be quicker, cheaper.  This idea has spread to Canada.

Tim also got involved with Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) and found that many of them also suffered from a form of PTSD.  Abused as children they found difficulties in forming relationships as adults.  Often small things would trigger reactions.

Autism is a behavior with many variations and a only beginning of understanding.  Tim doesn't claim that all autistic people can benefit from equine therapy, but has found that the process can be very helpful.  I am reminded of http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/11/horses-in-modern-world-psychotherapy.html 

After giving examples of how horses have helped many troubled people Tim makes a number of generalized  observations.  We tend to deal with horses and young children in a similar manner.  We adults tend to belittle their fears.  Tom feels it is better to acknowledge a fear and work through it.

He describes most horse training as traditional and admits that it is quicker and more economical than natural horsemanship.  Many great men have advanced beyond traditional training.  He gives examples of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Napoleon who all had a close relationship with a horse. Unfortunately armies often are forced to use traditional methods and that is what has mostly been passed on.

Reference was made to studies that on one way see a link between ADHD (attention deficit, Hyperactive disorder) and how much tv and indoor electronic activity is indulged in.  In another way it is suggested that contact with nature reduces ADHD.

Tim gives good reasons why horses have more than ever, to contribute to our human culture.  Hopefully more people will become aware of what horses offer before it is too late.  You can read more about Tim's very interesting life and how horses can make us better humans at:  http://www.hayesisforhorses.com/bio.htm  One group who is helping was also at the same trade show as Tim can be read about at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/05/where-horses-bring-learning-to-life.html