There's been so much written about courage - important stuff, from people like JFK to Stephen Crane - but I'm thinking about every day courage that relates to just about everything you do in the horse world.
Here are some of my thoughts....
1) Don't be afraid to admit mistakes because if you don't make mistakes you'll never get anywhere. Training is not a perfect process. Neither is learning, not for you - or your horse!
2) When things aren't going well, have the fortitude to simply start all over again (no whining allowed!).
3) Be yourself. Don't try to ride like somebody else. Everybody rides a little differently, that's the beauty of it all (or the art of it all, I think).
4) Be courageous occasionally and think outside the box. Be innovative - it can be liberating. Every horse is different and you must find the appropriate way of reading and working with each of them.
5) Be honest with yourself and others. Now this takes real courage! You'll be a lot further ahead if you don't try to be all things to all people. What I'm saying here is: don't lie about expertise you just don't have instead, listen and learn.
6) Do your difficult chores or ride your difficult horse first. Ride that difficult "son of a gun" first thing - just get it out of the way. You'll appreciate your other horses - or your work - so much more!
Talk to you next week, JD.
No comments:
Post a Comment