Friday, June 26, 2015

Take Time to Play


Last night while walking back to the barn after "dutifully" completing my "scheduled" training session with my mare, I got a little "reminder" from two giggly, blonde, side-braided, long-legged, teenage girls and one big old gelding grinning from head to tail about what’s really important between a horse and rider! 

As they cantered around circling the rolling grass field together, I couldn’t help but notice the lovely, balanced, collected, free, PROUD frame this horse had carrying his crew around and the synergy of his precious cargo aboard. I’m a connoisseur of centered riding and natural movement and balance and this to me was a more authentic beautiful, achievement in horse/rider teamwork than a medal winning round at equitation final! It spoke a truth and lesson for me that many of us "adults" need a reminder in!

We can regiment, schedule, task, and work ourselves to death and take the real meaning of life…JOY… FUN...right out of the very things we love most when we get too ahead or even too behind of where we are in life...at that very moment! Don’t underestimate the power of JOY. The energy that comes from both happiness and joy can make a horse you’ve seen a thousand times before appear LARGER than life when truly CONNECTED.
 
I had to laugh at myself once I realize that it’s okay to deviate from my "scheduled" tasks once in a while and just have a little fun and PLAY! Sometimes, I need to give myself a break! You can kill the fun in the very thing you love the most by turning it into WORK all of the time!!! Who wants to work all of the time? Horses sure don’t….AND teenagers ABSOLUTELY don’t!

Therein lies the lesson in this for me, and probably a lot of busy adults about BALANCE and JOY in life. As I watched these girls and this horse in perfect, joyful, harmony and BALANCE, I realized that I could ride without stirrups, work on serpentines, transitions, and spiral in and out till the cows come home….. BUT what makes the most impactful achievement between horse and rider is a HAPPY horse and rider, enjoying their connected moments in time….TOGETHER.

Don’t forget to keep your time with horses BALANCED and just LET IT GO and have fun with your horse OFTEN! These girls reminded me that it’s a good thing to allow your horse to carry you to that fun place of joy that you both need to go to. Which is part of the very reason us horse crazy people became horse crazy in the first place and have the love that we do for our horses! Kids and horses….sometimes it’s wise to listen to them!


 
 


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