Quiet woman, screaming mare. Exciting sounding, right?
Well, it is not as exciting as this, which is where we eventually ended up, thankfully…
Many life lessons can be learned from the horse. I was reminded of one on Saturday:
Sometimes it pays to walk away from something for a little, go do something else, and come back later. It is not giving up or quitting. AHAmoment.
I woke up early as per usual to get going before the heat. All was serene and quiet on the farm, including Cheetah. A very pretty morning, honestly. Well, that is what I get for thinking.
It became very clear shortly after mounting we were going to be spending almost the entirety of the ride convincing her to walk. Just walk. And not lose her mind. Would not have been able to even think about stopping enjoying the scenery. Or smell roses. If there had been roses. Clearly just her running thoroughbred side is the only side that showed up to play.
She was literally SCREAMING the whole time. Lito, of course, innocent little man he is, answered in kind every time. Thanks, buddy. Let us not do that next time. Scratch that out of your book of life.
Anyway, after about an hour of consciously not reacting to her antics and a pool full of sweat (hey at least I have a horse that sweats, right?), we were walking without trying to run and scream. I decided to hop off, loosen her girth, and tie her up for a while. I went to take care of a few other things. Give us both a little time to cool off and relax.
I came back a little while later and mounted back up for a quick walk loop around the farm to see if she would be any better.
And? She was a completely different horse. Back to being my best mare.
It is amazing how quick the switch can flip. Now, do not you say any quick witted comments about women. We know how we can be, OK?
The point is, sometimes things can just be off, for any one reason or another. If a change in approach in the moment doesn’t help, take a break. Let it sit for a while. Take a breath. Get centered. Then come back and try again. Sometimes powering through is the answer, but on Saturday it just didn’t feel that way. And, we didn’t have to. We had the option to take a break and try again. Which paid off handsomely.
Have you ever noticed that?
Happy Monday!
Walk in love, dear readers!
Taking a breather is a great thing to do yet sometimes hard to do in the moment. Great topic to think about
Oh my goodness I totally relate! I sometimes get tense and stressed when things aren’t working and as soon as I hop off it’s like a switch has been flipped, my brain starts working again and I have ideas about what I could do differently. I just need to remember to get off when this happens.
It is hard to do in the moment, but it can be so helpful for both! It’s funny how something so simple can have such a big impact.
It really is incredible isn’t it! I wonder what that says about us as humans that something which is so simple can alter our thinking and our physical functioning so dramatically?
I know right. It is mind boggling to me. We miss the simple, best option so often. Make things more complicated than they are or need to be.
I feel like I need a do-over some days, too.
I had a 3 year old that I was trying to teach to work over trot poles once. He could not, FOR THE LIFE OF HIM, figure out where to put his feet. I think he thought I wanted him to step on every pole. I finally gave up and put him away. He was too young to work any longer. I tried again the next day and what do you know? He placed every foot perfectly centered between each pole. Genius! I got off immediately. That was an AHAmoment for me. i realized then and there how in intelligent these animals are. I’m convinced he studied in his stall all night!
haha that is great! They are so smart and it is we that get in the way.
Thank you for your comment and revelation!
I wonder what she was thinking from beginning to end? It’s lovely that you understood she was not in the right frame of mind at that moment and listened to her not so subtle cues. Sometimes I think we just focus on pushing forward through the behavior rather than stepping back and asking, what does my horse need right now? This is great, especially on a hack and not in a lesson.
<3 thank you so much for your comment. It is a hard skill to grasp, but is something we all need to be better at.