#109 That Set up for Success Thing

Molly - the renegade mule - saucy little wench .

I haven't ridden Molly for about 3 months.  One day, out of the blue, or so it seems, she just decided she is not going to leave the front barn area for hell or high water - VERY frustrating - obviously my patience was at a low ebb - and we had several battles - needless to day say, I lost each and every one of them.

So, I do know one has to ALWAYS QUIT ON A GOOD NOTE and I settled for just a puny 10 steps in the direction requested - when she did them I got off.  Did not get on her then for months - knew patience was not a strong point for me this winter.

Yesterday, it was time to get the show on the road.  Did not want to but knew it needed to get done and at least the weather was cooperating.

  

Tried to figure out how to set the two of us up for success - meaning no battles and discouragement on either end (and knew I'd best prepare mentally for the worse).

 Hit on the idea of tying one of her buddies up in the middle of the whole area where Molly would see her and had refused to ride earlier.  Ended up riding all over for about 1/2 hour including out to the road and out of the pasture - no problems - idea worked - yeah baby ! 

I decided that was enough for the day and quit on a good note.  And, a good day it was.

Set up for success - for both you and your little darling - it generally works.  At least I did have a set of brains on yesterday.

Adventure Horse Riding in NYS    Smilla13@gmail.com  (Mary Dixon)                                           www.RideNYS.com

#54 The Meaning of Crashes

#54 The Meaning of Crashes

A friend of mine (a different one than who I wrote about earlier) got thrown off or bucked off a while back.  I think she was worried that maybe she just wasn't doing as well with the darlings as she had thought.  So I wrote her this note.

What your crash probably means - it is simply a reinforcement to you that you need to stay more  aware of  the importance of communication and understanding of the prey/predator relationship between horses and humans.  We have such a tendency toward complacency and achieving goals - and the darlings always, always, always remind us that they expect more from us and will not tolerate anything less.

I have to re-learn and get re-taught on this at least once a year - always a great exercise in humility - and it sure kicks me right back to the reality of the prey animal and that I'd better have my brains on while in their company.

Remember - the darlings are MASTERS at teaching us fear, disappointment, discouragement, humility & they are also masters in teaching love, compassion, patience, partnership, and understanding
.

 And, it's the kick in the ass by them to us that reminds us of this.

Adventure Horse Riding in NYS            Smilla13@gmail.com  (Mary Dixon)         www.RideNYS.com