A christmas message from Idi Amin

I remember during my very first job, kennel hand at the Local Veterinary clinic working after school at 14yo – lovely place, nice people, a good community to join, and great people to teach me new things. I was young and didn’t have much ‘real world’ experience.

One afternoon in December there was a message on the noticeboard (written by one of the older Vet nurses) that I saw during break time. It read

A Christmas message from Idi Amin – everybody will smile or be shot

I of course went home to enquire who or what was Idi Amin. That saying stuck with me for a bit, it was probably one of the first political statements I became aware of (no internet back then, and politics wasn’t horse related!)

Fast forward to today – so often that line pops into my head while scrolling social media.

Ads for horse clinicians – promoting feel and partnership usually – but showing a horse pictured with a facial expression that says the horse would rather be anywhere else but there!

Ditto private horse owner posts showing their horse at ‘liberty’ (generally no bridle, ropes or headcollar) Posts bragging about communication and understanding, when the facial expression of the horse again says “I don’t want to be here’

Horse expressions that range from shutdown, unhappy, hyper-vigilant, zoned out, wary. Scared. Predominantly unhappy.

Clinician smiling and holding a whip.

That’s as great a depiction of “everybody will smile or be shot” as any I can think of.

Horse bridle-less to prove they have ‘rapport’

And that Idi Amin sentiment is exactly what is happening in so many places in the horse world.

I will force you to endure this

You will participate and not project your displeasure

There is no escape from me and my whip

I will ignore every message you try to convey that says you are unhappy

I am the leader and you must obey me

Your choice is a rock or a hard place

You will perform as I wish, because I will make you do so

I will bend you to my will

Everybody will smile or be shot

Written by Vicki Conroy for PPGA Equine sub committee

(Picture downloaded from a public facebook liberty page)