I was listening to someone recently who talked about how after the Olympics, there’s so many riders looking for a happier, more compassionate way to ride for their horses sake and for themselves. What made me cry about that? See… it’s one thing to know that a joyful pathway exists and delay it for whatever reason – it’s another to be struggling away not even knowing that horse’s aren’t supposed to be nervy, that falling off is bullshit….
… and that it’s easier and even faster to be a beautiful rider on a happy, healthy, co-operative horse than it is to be in that place of struggling and feeling crappy.
So I wept for everyone who’s struggling unnecessarily and I wept for those who – for whatever reason – are missing out on the kind of joyfulness that is possible in everything they do with their horse and specially I wept for those who wanted to ride and are missing out on the sheer joy that riding can be for people and horses.
I don’t stay down in the dumps longer than to figure out what to know or do about it. When I re-read the syllabus of the program that I was sending to this bloke, along with my wish that a compassionate way to ride be a normal way of being in the horse world – I stopped feeling sad. The more I read … and hey I wrote this stuff so I’ve read it before… the more I smiled and laughed.
I’d asked Karen to describe what she’d just experienced with her horse in one of our program lessons, to describe it for someone who had never experienced anything like it – you know, that old “you don’t know what you’re missing out on” thing – cos I’m sure people who don’t know me and this work think I’m exaggerating. And Karen described the flood of joy she and her horse experienced in one of our program riding lessons, as an orga$m of happiness. It’s pretty hard to weep when you’re reading that.
The idea of … snort… orga$ms of happiness being the new normal in the horse world… Well I’ve got a vivid imagination and my sense of humor is a bit bent.
Seriously though – what would the horse world look like if compassionate and joyful riding on happy and actively co-operative horses who wanted to be around humans, wanted to be ridden – what if that was the new normal? If you’re inspired too after reading about the lessons – the practical “HOW we do it” on the link at the bottom of the page – then I’d love you to share this article.
Still laughing…
And yes… also goosebumps at the idea of spreading the joy around.
