Trails were lovely today and the sun was shining. Our trail buddy was very tolerant of trotting up his butt, as I had little control with my phone in hand. I was lucky to not drop my gloves or phone in my filming sequences.
It was a rainy day, but I decided to get out in the woods despite my regular companions abandoning me. I do enjoy a solo ride just the same, and chose to put on the bareback pad for a quiet amble. I also switched back to my bit bridle with a slightly bigger snaffle which doesn’t pinch Qs lips. Although I enjoyed my hackamore rides, I felt that it was hard to not put pressure on his nose (and create a rub or indent) and I also felt he was starting to disrespect it on our last ride when my buddy and I practiced side-by-side canter on the way home. Ok, maybe that was an unfair test. Anyways, we had a lovely ride in the woods heavy with fog, and lots of sprouting mushrooms. Q was a gem, and I feel he does a good job of protecting me when Im bareback. He got tense when he felt a deer nearby, and did a bit of a scoot when there was some new tires lying about, but he was quite cautious of not unseating me. Things are good. Im riding 3-4 times a week, logging about 40-50 km...
After four days of despooking clinic and some reflection time, I want to share my broader perspective on what despooking can teach us. Only humans dwell - sometimes you just need to go with the flow. Horses have wonderful lessons to teach us in this regard. Their desire to be one with the herd, to establish hierarchy and rules, and to be in the present moment forces us to reconsider our thoughts and actions. Being such generous and forgiving souls, horses begin every moment as a new one. They dont dwell on past issues, they dont cry over lost relationships, they dont get angry over spilled milk. They lock in to their surroundings, feel their environment, find the path that leads to safety and grass. They are fluid. Let us learn to connect with the “herd”. Dont focus on the obstacle, focus on what you are doing. Obstacles are everywhere, physical and psychological. Some are created in our minds (“Im not good enough, Im not worthy, I cant do that”) and we fixate on them. We give ou...
I feel like I am in good company when I say that life and work has taken me away from riding these last few weeks. I finally made it back to the barn during an epic windstorm with over 1,000,000 homes without power. No surprise that I didnt ride that day. I did make it out to the woods yesterday for my first time in two weeks and boy has the scenery changed. From golden colors to barren trees, from sandy trails to muddy bogs, from blue skies to hail storms. It’s time to be well dressed, with jackets, gloves, and good socks. I have been dutifully practicing the long reins every day for 15 minutes, and Q is a quick study. We now do nice transitions between collected walk to collected trot, and during one of our teardrop turns Q offered me a leg yield to my squeal and delight. He stopped and raised his head to me, saying that if I was going to squeal that much he deserved a mint. I obliged. He also taught me a lesson today. Yesterday, I was doing our standard trick at the fri...
Being at the barn today was like putting on my favorite old pair of slippers. Chat, groom, chat some more. So wonderful to see my good friends again. Q was a bit aloof, as he usually is after some absence. The best remedy is to just hang out, no pressure, and let him observe me from a comfortable distance. Eventually he comes in for the cuddles and safety. I decided to go for a stroll in the woods and Q was happy to comply after being so sheltered for five weeks. We slowly walked and got back into sync. A tree fell nearby, he spooked then looked at me, dropped his head and sighed. Much licking of lips. Am I not supposed to be in front? Ok, I follow you! Surprisingly still spring with sparse leaves. See you again soon! Trail ride plans coming shortly. For the most part, our walk was quiet and soothing. I met some old friends on the trail, got caught up and made plans for future rides. I also observed the various fungi and looked unsuccessf...
Annual Trail Rides: 29/200 Here in Quebec, Canada, we have variable weather patterns in winter from springlike sunny days of +10C to arctic freeze of -40C. While winter officially goes from Dec 21 to March 20, we find that it really begins on November 1rst to April 30th. SIX MONTHS OF WINTER! Our other three seasons are much shorter as a result. Aside from the cold, winter also brings a new set of challenges for footing. Deep snow, sheets of ice, crusty snow can bring about dangers to horse and rider and also increase fatigue and injury if not careful. For the truly committed, a set of four winter shoes with studs and plastic snowball inserts, can make a world of difference. Particularly if icy conditions are commonplace and restrict turnouts. I currently keep my horse barefoot, and as a consequence there are a cumulative 2-3 weeks a year where turnout is limited if not impossible and trail riding is off the table. I also benefit from an indoor arena when this happens, so it really is ...
Comments
Post a Comment