A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Round Pen…
So this entry is about a little “life lesson” I had recently. I was reminded that horses have a knack for making sure you are 'living in the moment' and also that the universe has a way of keeping you grounded and humble. Interested? Here goes...
This last week I have been running around like crazy. I’ve been trying to catch up on office work, barn chores, and sessions from having been out of town on business the week before. I must confess that I'd been feeling rather pleased with myself. Unbridled Change had been presented an award, and I had been asked to speak on a few panels. You know the old saying, "What goes up, must go down?" Yeah. Anyway. Back to our story. I was just sitting down to finish up writing a grant when my phone rang. It was the owner of a 3 year old Frisian that I have been helping start and train. The question was simple, “Aren't you coming over to work with him this morning?” My first “Oh No!” moment of the day . . . and there were more brewing. I answered, “Why yes, yes, I’m coming. Let me wrap this up and I’ll be there in 30 minutes.” I finished up the sentence I was working on and then ran out the door. A quick visit to the tack room and I was in the truck on the way to their house. But as anyone who’s done it knows, the more you rush, the worse it gets.
On a side note – I really love helping people work with their horses. I enjoy meeting the different horses, and helping them work through various training issues. I grow as a horsewoman with each new interaction. Most of you “horse” people will know that starting a horse is so much easier when they come to you for a few months. It’s your setup, your timetable, you can work with them when you are in the right frame of mind, and so on. But in this case, I was going to them. They have 2 horses that they need help with. They are new to the horse world, and are doing an amazing job of trying to learn everything they can about them. They want their horses to stay put, and learn how to work with them, not just get a green horse back without any idea where to start.
Back to the story. I was running late, my focus still on the grant that is due this week and on the horses I still need to work for our program. You get the picture, I was NOT living in the moment. I pulled up to the house, grabbed my stuff, and jumped down from the truck. The owner was there to greet me, excited about his horse's first day in the round pen. I’ve worked with this particular horse three times in the field and a small arena, but the round pen hadn’t been available because the footing hadn't been dry. The horse had shown himself to be very curious and not spooky, but with a lack of respect that is typical in young horses.
In hindsight, this is where I can plainly see the mistake I made that day. I had assumed (and we all know what that means!) that because they had had this horse for over a year, they had taken him everywhere on the property. The other problem, which, for the record, did give me a moment of pause, was that the round pen was about 500 feet away from the pasture and not in an enclosed space. I hadn't wanted to be rude by questioning the placement of the pen. Also, I hadn’t seen any spooky behavior from this 3 year old, and so I assumed it was okay because the owner never said anything. And, yeah, I was feeling pretty confident with myself and my own skills.
Stay with me here. We (me and the horse) were walking towards the round pen. We’d just left the pasture (his happy place) behind and were walking up the gravel road. All the while his head was getting higher and higher. Part of my brain was still focused on everything on my plate, and another part was starting to hear a little alarm bell go off. I casually asked the owner when the last time was that they'd brought him up here. The answer? "Never." As if on cue, the horse chose that moment to come unglued. He reared, striking out with his front feet. Again, because I wasn’t 100% present, I lost my one and only chance to remain in control as the lead line slid out of my grasp. I had a brief thought: “I’ve got this. I’m just going to give a hard yank on his way down and catch him off balance. I’ll get him to yield his hind quarters, and we’ll be back in business.” That's not what happened. Instead, he came down, proceeded to turn and kick out with both hind legs and took off. Again, I foolishly though, “I’ve still got this. I’ll just hold on, turn his neck around and bring him to a stop.” After about 10 feet I went sailing through the air and was forced to let go.
He was gone – bucking, kicking, dragging the rope behind him and leaving me scraped up and covered in mud. Luckily, he made a U-turn and went back toward the stable where we were able to catch him. After checking him over, I took a deep breath, and said a little thank you prayer. I looked him in the eye, and back up the road we went toward the round pen, but this time, with a major difference. This time, I stayed in the moment, paying attention to his every cue, and was able to get him there without a repeat performance of that wild scene.
The moral of this little tale is this: Every session that I have with our clients, we talk about being in the moment. The importance of knowing what you’re feeling, what others around you are feeling, and staying present. About how to not get lost in your own head with worries, destructive thought patterns, and so on. On that day, as I was flying through the air, I thought, “Isn’t this ironic! My kids would be laughing their heads off right now because I should have known better.”
The universe really does have a funny way of keeping people grounded. Just last week I was sailing high – excited that Unbridled Change was doing so well and proud of what I had accomplished in less then two years with the program. A few days later – I’m sitting on my backside, covered in mud thanks to a horse that had re-taught me the importance of keeping my head in the game. I’ll remember this life lesson long after the mud is scrubbed away and the bruises have healed.
So...any good lessons your horse taught you lately???
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