Addendum: Reality

The funny thing about blog posts is that about the time you publish them, you get contradicted. If not contradicted, at least a new *caveat emerges.

 

My daughter and I had plans to go the equestrian area today. I had my trusty mantra: everything is going to be GREAT! I had positive visualization from loading to hauling, and so forth. 

But when we loaded Epona, she wasn’t okay with it. She pawed, held her head high, and threatened to pull back. It was also clear she was in some distress, as she was breathing hard when you looked at her flank.

Reality happened. Positive visualization is, indeed, a good plan, but part of being a horsewoman is recognizing the reality, too--the needs of our horses. And sometimes those are things we could not have predicted--especially when other people and other horses are involved.

We didn't know how long it would take, or if she'd even be okay loading, but our plans changed to address her needs. I unloaded Tweed who had been loaded in front, and Shiloh spent time with Epona loading, unloading and standing tied in the trailer. 

I decided to work Tweed by having him stand calmly at my side for the entire duration. It didn't take long for him to start doing BABY things. 

What are baby things? Trying to be in my pocket. Sniffing my hair or gloves. Putting the rope in his mouth. Etc. I am determined NOT to see him as a baby this year, so I put him to work when he did any of those things. He had to back up, come forward, (yada yada, you all know the drill) whenever he came into my bubble.

New rule: you don’t approach me unless asked. 

And yet, look at him.  He has baby written all over that face! (No! Stop! He's not a baby. Not the baby. Not my baby. Repeat.)

Since we had this big change in our plans we took the opportunity to deworm the herd. 

We taped Tweed and Epona inside the barn where the ground was level:

Epona 1150-1200 lbs and a little over 14-3 hands

Tweed 1250-1310 lbs and a little over 15 hands (we figured he was closest to 15-1

You all probably know this, but if you have a horse that is really difficult to paste (Tweed and Epona are not that horse--they are superstars for pasting, but Cowgirl is a ferocious beast at pasting time!!), well, if you have one like Cowgirl, you can mix apple flavored Ivermectin into their grain and they will eat it. Since we're no longer competing with humans for Ivermectin, it is readily available in apple flavor. As far as I know, there is no pelleted form of Ivermectin in the USA, but I did see some in Australia.

Another thing I want to mention is that I found my perfect HELMET. 

I have always hated helmets with the heat of a thousand suns. I was convinced they interfered with my peripheral vision and made riding more dangerous for me. But I wore them...sometimes. 

Well, I found the perfect one for my head, and now I love it and love to wear it. It doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything. It's like an extension of my head.

It is the Troxel Liberty Low Profile helmet with the dial-fit band. (photo above.)

I love it so much that I was telling my trainer that I should probably buy another one, just to make sure I always have it. She recommended I contact Troxel. In fact, she said she was told the 5 year helmet rule began from date of manufacture. We looked at the sticker inside the helmet and it was manufactured in February 2023, 2 years ago! That would mean it only has 3 years left.

I contacted Troxel last night, and they got right back to me. They said they cannot guarantee the date of manufacture when they send it to you. It could be 2023 or 2024. However, they said they do guarantee them for 5 years from PURCHASE, as long as it isn't involved in a fall.

So, long story short (again) I love this helmet. I have ordered a hard case for it, and I plan to keep it in the cab of my truck, NOT bouncing around in my horse trailer. I will probably buy another one and store it at home, just in case I need it or for other riders who come here. 

The representative also said that it was one of their most popular lines and they do not plan to discontinue it--or the color I love, "Bluestone Duratec".

Is there anything better than having a helmet you love to wear?

I’m Queen of the World!

Life with horses can go from moments like, “I’m the Queen of the wooorrrllldddd!” …

To

“I’m going to dieeeeee!” in one day. 

Usually, it’s in-between. 

Way back when I first started Leah on the trails, I found myself often expecting the worst, and that worry before the ride detracted from the fun. 

At the same time, I interviewed pianist David Lanz on my old podcast and asked him how he handled stage fright. He told me that he had a method of visualization before performances. He would sit for five minutes and imagine himself playing beautifully, and even imagined the kind words of appreciation after the performance. 

I decided to do the same before a ride with Leah. 

I sat down and imagined everything going great, from loading (she hated the trailer and would paw a lot) to hauling a long distance (I worried about my truck or trailer breaking down on the freeway or someone pulling out in front of me) to tacking up, riding, and returning home safely. 

The first time I did the visualization, it greatly improved our time together, and she developed into a wonderful trail partner when Cowboy was on the sidelines with equine head shaking syndrome. 

Today, I had my lesson with Regina, and it approached “Queen of the world” level, but more than that, it made me feel like Tumbleweed is a blank, but willing, slate. 

There is something different about him at almost SEVEN (yikes! can he really be seven?!!) There is more of a foundation, more maturity, trust, and willingness. The willingness is what I’m talking about. It’s a certain level of looking to, and waiting, for me. It’s a certain form of grace—horse to rider and rider to horse—where you are still getting to know each other, but you trust where you’re going.  

Regina worked us through the sticky feet issue pretty quick. On the ground she wanted me to get more of his attention, strive for less drama, engage his brain and his feet (she taught me an exercise for side passing him along the fence on a lead). In saddle, we worked on fine tuning my communication of requests and releases. 

It was a refresher from last year, but it seemed like a lot of it finally came together—in both Tweed AND me. Both of us were like mutually saying, “Aha! We get it now.”

Much of it is a case of the solids we had left off with last year, but it’s also those same solids having marinated over the winter and matured in our partnership. 

Long story short, it was fun and he made me feel like I was transcending this earth just a little bit. Floating. Flying. Borrowing his wings. 

How is that for a positive visualization?