Grace full mama

Well, I have made it home from the lodge! My husband did very well at trying to keep everything together at home, but I missed keeping this little farm running like a well oiled machine. I am thrilled that I get to work with my horses and babies (young horses) again, and even more excited that my kids have all struck an interest in riding and working horses daily with me. What a great opportunity to teach them.

Horsemanship is so much deeper than any other hobby. It does something to the soul. There are a million metaphors hidden in the time spent between a horse and rider. As Ronald Reagan said, ” I’ve often said there is nothing better for the inside of a man, than the outside of a horse.” I believe they are a gift from God, and they have taught me much.

As I was working my colts yesterday, I was pondering how I am not the perfect trainer. I was having issues with one of my horses, and I got downright frustrated, which is always a bad idea. (This is one of the things that makes horsemanship such a wonderful training ground. In training a horse you have to become aware of your “stuff.” It will come out. And you will be at an impasse until you deal with it) My frustration led to putting too much pressure on my colt, thinking he was purposely being ignorant. I stormed in there like an army general and he got worse and worse. Finally I realised what I was doing. It always hits me like an epiphany to the gut when I am working with a horse. “You, my dear, are giving into fill in the blank here. You aren’t being a perfect master. Try again.” I fixed myself from the inside and backed pressure off, and I watched my colt respond perfectly every single time.

You see, I tell people I am out there training horses. But I’m pretty sure that while I am in the arena God is training my soul.

Roundpenning is one of my favorite groundwork exercises. Many people do it wrong and just chase their horse around a circle shaped pen in hopes that they will wear them out. The problem is, you might get them tired but this does nothing for their mind, or their trust. In roundpenning, you want to create a whole world inside your round pen. The first thing you want to train your horse to do is turn in towards you when you tell them to change directions. If they turn towards the fence, showing you their butt instead of their head, they are showing you disrespect, there is no trust, and you have no connection. In order to do this, the outside of the roundpen becomes the work zone. When your horse is out there they are working hard. You stand in the middle of the roundpen. After some hard work on the outside, you open your body position and allow your horse to come in and stand close to you, facing you, giving you their full attention. Sometimes they aren’t ready for that much trust and respect, so back out to the outside they go. Then begins the careful work of backing off pressure when they turn towards the inside where you are, and increasing it when they are on the outside. Eventually, if you have been a fair master, your horse will follow you around, perfectly calm, with their head on your shoulder. You have literally become their safety. You have become their rest.

No wonder stepping into the shoes of master with a horse speaks to our souls. How many times have I been on the outside of the roundpen, running blind, refusing to look towards the inside where my master is beckoning me to rest. “Just look at me, just turn towards me. This is where the rest is.” But I turn towards the outside, worried about what is going on outside the roundpen. What will it take for me to stand there, head down, sweating but at peace, with my masters hand on my forehead? How much of the hard stuff is just pressure on the outside of the roundpen? It would be a lot less stressful if I just came into the middle and let my Lord be my peace.

Let’s turn our attention to the perfect master in the centre of our roundpen.

“A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger than a man on foot.” John Steinbeck