Aurora recently said she is an over-thinker, but I might have her beat. At any rate, this is the first meeting for Over-Thinkers Anonymous.
I have been over-thinking good days and bad days, energy, expectations, visualizations, weather, and just plain showing up and doing the work.
Today is day 5 “back to work,” and we woke up to snow.
The weather is different, Katie isn’t coming, and I went out later in the day (yesterday was right after the horse’s had breakfast). New variables, different horse?
I started out in the barn room looking at old photos of Tumbleweed.
Here are some golden oldies. He is going to be eight this May.
The first thing that hit me was how his baby play with Foxy and Rosalee was comprised of the exact same moves he busted out on Day 1-3 in the sandbox. It was him feeling his oats.
But those are largely gone now.
Different day, same pose at the mounting block.
Still enjoying a good roll.
He was a little less connected, not in my pocket, but super chill and he performed all of his walk to trot to lope, to walk transitions without any excess emotions.
We also did some backing up, lowering the head, then backing nicely, and some all over body rubs, each side. A little pole work.
That’s it, because my purpose was to recreate yesterday’s warmup as closely as I could and try to dissect what kind of energy and expectations I am bringing to the sessions under different circumstances. What do they call that? Catching lightning in a bottle?
For example, if I had gone out there with the desire to ride him, would I have brought nervous energy with me?
That’s what I’m going to find out by adding one new thing to this routine everyday.
We’ve got some decent temperatures in the forecast this week, so I should be able to ride quite a bit.
And even on the darkest days, there can be a bit of sun.
Haa! Over-Thinkers Anonymous, sign me up!! If I was a betting person, I would bet a similar support group already exists. Somewhere. Although over-thinking isn't necessarily a bad thing, just consuming. With that said, there are plenty of times I wish I could just do and focus on one thing. I would get a lot more done. Let's just say I am a work in progress :)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the phrase "catching lightening in a bottle". Sounds hard. Even figuratively speaking.
Good plan to consistently work with Tumbleweed in the saddle or from the ground. So many elements factor into energy, from either of you and surroundings. It will be interesting to read about your discoveries.
Your golden oldie photos are super fun to look at! The pure joy/smiles on your face and Shirley's speak volumes. Tumbleweed is a special horse.
Thank you. He has always been such a cutey pie. I can’t believe he’s almost eight. What a fun journey it has been with that boy. The phrase “catching lightning in a bottle” means trying to recreate some elusive success. Since I have nothing but time this winter, I thought it would be a worthy endeavor to figure out what elements bring more consistent positive results.
DeleteI figured one out as I was falling asleep overthinking: working with him after he eats, rather than when he’s getting hungry. The reason he wasn’t as connected at liberty is because he went scrounging for any winter blade of grass he could find around the perimeter. Katie came early, right after he’d finished breakfast.
Oh my gosh, I just looked it up and there are podcasts devoted to over thinkers anonymous. They say overall, it is a good quality, unless it leads to inaction or ruminating about negative things. So true. That’s one great thing about horses, they focus our over-thinking to them, and it’s a great subject to obsess about.
I started this blog in 2007, and every once in a while I read a random old post on the sidebar “popular posts”. I’m amazed at how much I have obsessed for the last 19 years. 😆 Sometimes it seems like I was smarter back then, too. Actually, I think it’s just that every new horse journey kind of starts us all over.
*raises hand*. I too am an overthinker. I believe that, like most qualities, it is both my strength and my Achilles heel. I think being able to analyze a situation is very useful. But it also leads to me freezing when I should be active. The trick is finding the happy medium.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Maybe we all are. Welcome to the meeting. Yes, I think it has definitely led to some freezing in my end, too, which is why having someone like Katie is a godsend. When I hit the wall, she can get on and assess what’s happening and allow me to see my through it by watching her ride.
DeleteOh those photos brought back the memories! He was such a sweet foal as well as being a show off and very much his daddy's boy in much of his movement. Love that photo with him on the move with all 4 feet together.
ReplyDeleteYou got some great photos of him as a baby! Such a cutey. I remember wanting whatever baby was born next, and it just happened to be this gorgeous boy, Tumbleweed. It was meant to be. What a blessing!
DeleteI'm squealing over the cuteness of those baby pics!
ReplyDeleteHaha. Yes, and there are so many more that I didn’t include, like the night he was born at Shirley’s and “tumbled” into her arms.
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