Ride the horse you have today

I didn’t want to ride her. She had two challenging rides in a row that just weren’t enjoyable for either of us. We didn’t end the rides in a bad place. We took lots of breaks and didn’t push. We made slow progress for that ride but not her overall ability. Her canters were disasters. She was in heat so maybe she was uncomfortable. It was disappointing because we had been riding flying changes the week prior. This mare is 7. I started her at three. We did not canter until she was 4 because she was so unbalanced. It was very frustrating waiting but at 7 she canters and waiting paid off. However, every time she has a bad day, my brain goes back to her three year old version and I am convinced we have lost everything. As humans we are good at carrying baggage and pulling it out to review every time our horses make a mistake. (I am so glad they don’t do that with our mistakes) I did not want to ride her. I had talked myself out of doing it. But the feral donkey was acting strange and I needed to take a horse out To check her. I had other options. But I put on my big girl pants. I told myself we would just walk out to the donkey and back. She felt good. So I asked for trot. She floated. Her lateral work was spot on. So I decided to ask for the canter that had been subpar for days. While this wasn’t her best, I was elated. So much improvement from the previous two rides. I did not pressure her on those rides she was struggling. My patience paid off even though I felt defeated after the rides. I rode the horse I had and did what was best for her even though it was not the ride I wanted. We have goals. The horse has no goals. They are voluntold they must participate in our goals. Patience. It takes the time it takes. Don’t quit when the days are bad. Don‘t blame the horse. Don’t remember every past failure. Dust yourself off and try again tomorrow but ride the horse that shows up. Learn about the horse from the inside out. Support the horse from the hoof up. Ride the horse from the hind leg forward. #TarrinMadeMeDoIt

Want to read more?

Subscribe to tntfarmsqtrhorses.com to keep reading this exclusive post.

Subscribe Now