I laughed, and asked if he didn’t owe me an apology. See, I’ve been a Mac user for forever, and Chris used to tease me mercilessly from high atop his PC ivory tower. He said that since he got an iPhone, he’s “been enlightened.” I said that “being enlightened” wasn’t an apology. He said that he had been wrong. I said that wasn’t an apology. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry that I ragged on you for so many years about your Mac.” I said, “Apology accepted,” and we had a great laugh.

I got to thinking how much the PC vs Mac battle is like some of the horsemanship discussions I hear. If you’re not into a particular discipline, you may not experience it. But if you travel is some circles, you know what I mean. In nearly every discipline, you’ll find the people who know their stuff and you’ll also find the groupies. The groupies really want to be accepted, so they rigidly adopt the culture of the group as if that was the sum total of good horsemanship, and frequently they put down anybody who isn’t in their group. For instance, people who don’t know anything about dressage (but have friends who put dressage riders down) are surprised when they learn that natural horsemanship techniques involve the same sensible thinking good horsemen have held throughout the ages.

Chris hadn’t used a Mac. He didn’t know anything except what his PC buddies had told him, so he put the Mac down. But now, like any newly converted person, he feels empowered and maybe just a little superior, even to those who had been on his new track for years. Spend a day with a new non-smoker, and you’ll experience the same thing.

The lines may be clear when it comes to PC/Mac or smoking/non-smoking, but they’re less clear when it comes to styles of horsemanship. We don’t have to live in an either-or world. Top horsemen tend to see the commonalities in styles of training or riding. Good horsemanship involves a blend of technique and common sense, not just blind devotion to technique. 

So, if you’re stuck in an either-or line of thought, have a carrot and relax. If you have friends who are stuck, love them anyway. Like my buddy Chris, they might just “become enlightened.”