(no subject)
i really just wanted to say how proud i am of my horse.
it's really very apparent how far we have come in the 3 years i've had him. i know a better rider/horseman/general all around nice person/ would have taken 5 minutes to achieve with him what i have slogged through years to even glimpse, but i dunno if that same person would have learnt as much. maybe they wouldn't have needed to & as a result, beej would have just been another horse.
I do know that i have learnt more about horses from this ONE sensitive redhead than i ever did from the years of ponies & galloways & even the educating and breaking of blitzen. i was gifted with horses that never challenged me (in a true - heart - kind of way, if you get what i mean?) and just complied. They were great horses with huge hearts of gold, don't get me wrong. blitzen was - and still is - my soul mate...
But beejay is *not* just another horse to me. He has shown me so much about myself and what i expect. he's taught me more about patience & absolute humility than i ever thought possible from an animal. He's shown me how to ask quietly, but also how to set guidelines and expectations. I've learnt about routine and structure and how essential they are for success. to some, these things may be very simple concepts, but they were just so far out of my world of understanding when i met beejay. he's shown me how to ask for help when i've needed it. as a result i think i have made some awesome friends thru him!
i've also learnt not to measure 'success' by the number of ribbons you have, but by small things. such as being willing to follow you into a black hole and out again... and on the other side he'll let you saddle him up and have a lesson at pony club with a strange instructor and with strange horses.
He is courageous and willing and brave when given the chance. he has wonderful, rhythmic movement and i'm learning to ride it. if i ask, he responds - either with a "yes mum!" or a "WTF!@#!@!?????" and i've learnt that i regularly need to re-phrase things.
he's shown me how to keep my cool & also just how important BREATHING is. He reflects my riding so if i slouch and mooch along, so will he. i can also see that skills i've learnt with him are totally transferable and make complete sense when riding & working with other horses. that in itself is valuable.
anyway, i'm running out of words. i just wanted to say that.
it's really very apparent how far we have come in the 3 years i've had him. i know a better rider/horseman/general all around nice person/ would have taken 5 minutes to achieve with him what i have slogged through years to even glimpse, but i dunno if that same person would have learnt as much. maybe they wouldn't have needed to & as a result, beej would have just been another horse.
I do know that i have learnt more about horses from this ONE sensitive redhead than i ever did from the years of ponies & galloways & even the educating and breaking of blitzen. i was gifted with horses that never challenged me (in a true - heart - kind of way, if you get what i mean?) and just complied. They were great horses with huge hearts of gold, don't get me wrong. blitzen was - and still is - my soul mate...
But beejay is *not* just another horse to me. He has shown me so much about myself and what i expect. he's taught me more about patience & absolute humility than i ever thought possible from an animal. He's shown me how to ask quietly, but also how to set guidelines and expectations. I've learnt about routine and structure and how essential they are for success. to some, these things may be very simple concepts, but they were just so far out of my world of understanding when i met beejay. he's shown me how to ask for help when i've needed it. as a result i think i have made some awesome friends thru him!
i've also learnt not to measure 'success' by the number of ribbons you have, but by small things. such as being willing to follow you into a black hole and out again... and on the other side he'll let you saddle him up and have a lesson at pony club with a strange instructor and with strange horses.
He is courageous and willing and brave when given the chance. he has wonderful, rhythmic movement and i'm learning to ride it. if i ask, he responds - either with a "yes mum!" or a "WTF!@#!@!?????" and i've learnt that i regularly need to re-phrase things.
he's shown me how to keep my cool & also just how important BREATHING is. He reflects my riding so if i slouch and mooch along, so will he. i can also see that skills i've learnt with him are totally transferable and make complete sense when riding & working with other horses. that in itself is valuable.
anyway, i'm running out of words. i just wanted to say that.