This morning my highly reliable Shackleford was an emotional mess. He was afraid of everything, spooked constantly, and in forty five minutes of riding never completely settled down.
So what am I going to do different the next time I ride him? Absolutely nothing. I will set it aside from my memory and ride the horse.
Too many people worry about what has "happened" to their horse to cause him to "change." Odds are nothing has "happened" and nothing has "changed."
His behavior this morning is explained by the fact that he is a horse. He was a horse yesterday too. There has not been a change. I could create a change. I could approach him in fear and maybe even be afraid enough that I decide that he needs a few weeks without riding to settle down. I could turn his one bad morning into an anxiety event for myself and it could lead to the loss of one of my most dependable friends.
All because I refused to simply forget about it and move on.
Many readers of this blog are married and have been for some time. Those that have been happily married for a long time learn how to forget their spouses occasional bad days.
Do the same thing with your horse.
2 comments:
Or as Grammaw would say, "Least said, Soonest mended."
-Lloyd
I have never seen Holland crack up like that until today... it was really weird. He locked up his legs and started blowing noisily, and just refused to go forward. Because of some BARK. But, Steve dismounted and did a little "monster work" with him, and he was fine. Just goes to show that horses can be afraid of the oddest things... but its not the end of the world.
-AM
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