Dismounting a Dead Horse

Take a look at the photo to the left. Why is that elegant man in a tophat sitting on a dead horse? And does it say anything about your life?

This black-and-white photograph was taken in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, between 1876 and 1884 and it has led to nationwide curiosity, speculation and jokes.

The Sheboygan County Historical Research Center has had the picture in its collection for at least 20 years. The Center's director, Beth Dipple, said no one knows who the man is or the circumstances surrounding the photo--only that the city had laws that required people to stay with their dead horses until they were picked up and disposed of.

Does the photo say anything about your life?

Here’s a news flash: “If the horse you’ve been riding has died, dismount.” You don’t keep beating a dead horse, and you don’t keep trying to work a method that doesn’t work. But instead of following this advice, we do a number of other things first. Someone sent this list to me by e-mail. Instead of dismounting a dead horse we:

• buy a stronger whip (discipline)
• buy a new saddle (get some new toys and technology)
• tighten the cinch (control)
• say things like, “This is the way we’ve always ridden the horse.” (tradition)
• switch riders (it must the leader)
• ride the horse for longer periods of time (more meetings, harder work)
• appoint a committee to study the horse
• arrange a visit to other sites where they ride dead horses more efficiently
• write a policy manual for riding (in other words, improve the technique of a process while ignoring that the process isn’t getting you any results)
• buy some air fresheners and fly strips so we can pretend that the horse we’re riding isn’t really dead

Well, you get the idea. Bottom line, “If what you’ve been trying isn’t working, be willing to try something else.” Proverbs 18:15 (LB) is true: “The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them.”

Are you riding a dead horse?