When I was younger, due to the lack of horse programs on tv for this horse starved kid, I would soak up anything and everything that was on to do with horses. So when Pat was on the Burke’s Backyard program I would watch and soak it all in, keen to have my own horse and succeed in the Parelli program.
I finally got my first horse after I married and I fell in love with Tas’ sweet face when I first saw him. Love at first sight! I was a very green and had an experienced horse friend along with me, she asked if I wanted her to lead Tas while I rode as the only place to ride was on the road in front of the little house where he lived. He seemed calm enough so I was fine to ride just by ourselves, but she just walked beside us. A car went past and he barely flinched. My mounting up was fairly brilliant to how it is now, too!! Needless to say, he became mine.
This horse has made me cry… a lot! So much so that my ever supportive husband wondered if it was worth it, and I agreed on more than one occasion. What’s the point of having horses if they don’t love me??? I remember one of our very first rides, looking back on it now I had taken him beyond his thresholds and he just did a quick 180. Without me! I remember thinking that as far as falls go, it was felt pretty good for a first fall.
There’s been a few falls since then, including some where I fell of pretty hard twice in one session and ended up on his neck once, finishing the day with a slight concussion I think. All the times I’ve fallen off he’s just stood there. Except for the last time. I got up and he saw my crabby face! I couldn’t change my expression fast enough, he took off!! Oh and catching?? Yes, we’ve had serious issues with that. I have an even greater understanding now that this was all just feedback.
I’ve advertised him a few times, even sent him up to my friend for her to retrain him and sell him on. But alas he’s managed to hang around and I’m so very glad he did. My confidence was shaken a lot in our first few years, and if it wasn’t for the support of a very savvy horse friend, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
I had a hiatus from Parelli for a little while, I just wasn’t happy with the results I was getting. Then I saw a photo of Linda and Westy on the Parelli site and I thought, well maybe there is something to this stuff… So a bit over a year ago I rejoined and I’m absolutely head over heels hooked. I feel like I ‘get it’ a bit more now. I really don’t have the words for why right now, but maybe that’s another blog for later.
The day I sent in my Level 2 Freestyle Audition I was thinking about how I’d sent in 3 this year and wondered why I hadn’t done this before? Then I remembered all of the above. We’ve come such a long way. Did I mention that we’ve done a few on purpose canters this year, which is also huge for us!?
I heard something on a Christian radio station in the last week or so that just absolutely encouraged me for where I’m at. It was just a short segment, but the guy was talking about the growth of a certain bamboo. It doesn’t do anything for about 5 years, but in the last 9 months it shoots up very quickly. It’s a similar principal with people. It may not seem like there’s much growth for awhile, but then all of a sudden there’ll be a lot of growth and this is called a growth curve. I was listening to this thinking, that’s me!!!!
So don’t despair if you feel you’re taking too long in your horsemanship journey, your time to shine is coming. If it hurts right now, that’s okay because they are the birth pains of something beautiful coming.
Bless you heaps on your horsemanship journey. I pray that this next year for you and me is more than we could ask or imagine xx
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