While I have not ridden a horse in years, I did grow up with them and remember a few life lessons from those days. It was then that I was exposed to the difference between “breaking” and “training” and that difference was etched permanently into my memory banks. In the equestrian world of getting the horse ready to accept a rider, both methods can accomplish the final goal but the methods are extremely different and the end result has differences that we may be able to apply to the world of construction. Breaking a horse is the appropriate term for the process; it is much faster than training a horse. Training takes time and patience on both the trainee and the trainer. Breaking is the process of quickly establishing who is in charge.
It was in the 1960s and a horse ranch with a questionable reputation was a place I frequented. Stories always lingered about this ranch of cruelty to horses. One morning, a truck load of wild horses were brought in. I vividly remember this one amazing animal. He was unloaded from the cattle-car type trailer and was magnificent in form, power and spirit. He was also very frightened of the situation he was in and the people around. His fears were soon to be justified.