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Tuesday, December 26, 2023

The War On Wiftiness--Why Training for Endurance Events Matters to You and Your Horse


Working the horse can be more than just a facet of building strong mental and emotional health. It can be the cornerstone of growth. Whether training the horse's mind or the horse's body, success is dependent on the discipline of the trainer. 

 To be "wifty" is to be a person who bounces from one interest to another without even coming close to developing a pattern, much less a well-set discipline of work towards a goal. A wifty person lives whim to whim.

 A wifty person sees a picture of a horse and "falls in love" with it. A wifty person sees a picture of a show rider with a blue ribbon and is pulled, if only for a few moments, perhaps a few minutes, or maybe even a few months towards the show ring. A wifty person is perfectly enthusiastic about the moment's whim and remains steadfast in that enthusiasm until confronted with a need to work, a need to develop a schedule, or a need to prioritize life's demands. 

At that point the wifty person quits. Every single time the wifty person quits they take home one strong message--"I failed." 

Wiftiness allows one to imagine pleasure but to only realize pain. Wiftiness creates slow burning misery.

 Discipline allows one to imagine pleasure and provides a pathway to realize that pleasure. The effective practice of natural horsemanship transforms the imagination of pleasure into its realization. The discipline required to condition one's horse and one's body for endurance riding takes one's equine experience to a different level. The reward that one gets from knowing that one is truly improving the horse's health and happiness by building a strong heart, efficient lungs and a powerful body trumps the fleeting feeling of having someone hand you a blue ribbon or a trophy. 

People often speak of "partnership" with the horse. When the two of you work together to become as strong physically, mentally, and emotionally you two are the closest of partners. 

 Stop being wifty. 

Commit and follow through. 

You deserve better. Your family deserves better. 

Your horse deserves better.

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