Paying the Price
April 21, 2014 |
| Fannin Hill, 2012. Photo courtesy Holly Bryan |
We did get to go to Fannin Hill on Friday, and it was
awesome. Unfortunately, I have no photos to show for it…just some sore muscles
and good memories. And , of course, a whole lot of things to clean: my bridle
bag, Tank’s shipping boots, my saddle bag and even Tank’s bridle (at one of the
water troughs, he immersed his face up to the eyes and shook his head side to
side, sending water cascading onto the ground and turning the leather of his
bridle into a mucky mess). An outing like this means extra work before and
after, as well as stepping outside my comfort zone during. Tank gets excited
when we ride off site, and sometimes I feel like I’m on top of a rocket ready
to explode. I have to work at communicating what I want in a way that makes
sense to him and doesn’t frustrate him:
Tank: “If all the other horses are cantering and jumping
over there, why are we over here jumping over this little log?”
Me: “Because those jumps are beyond my abilities and
confidence right now—I know you could do it, but would I still be on your back
on the other side?”
Tank: “OK. I guess I
don’t want you to hurt yourself. Who would bring me carrots?”
Every time we go to Fannin Hill, we try new things and come
home inspired. This time, we practiced going up and down a small bank, which
required him to jump up to a higher level while going up, and to step down
(into the scary unknown) when going down. He did just fine going up, but was
pretty skeptical of going down. We tried several different approaches until he
hopped down like it was a non-issue.
Sometimes the best things require effort. In the past, I
tended to give up too easily when faced with challenges. Tank is teaching me to
think things through, break them down into smaller steps, and to keep trying
slightly different approaches. I still find myself avoiding things because I
either don’t know what to do, or I think it’s too hard, but I’m becoming more
willing and able to pay the price for what I want. And that’s a lesson worth
learning.
What dream are you willing to pay the price for?
What dream are you willing to pay the price for?
4 comments
I love to hear of your progress in courage & growth. And of your communication with Tank.. I'm currently attempting new challenges in my drawing process...part of it is to learn to accept my trials & errors, accept learning stages...letting go of perfectionism, etc...Learning to accept the pleasure I get from the process...
ReplyDeleteKathy - isn't it amazing how much animals can teach us. Sometimes I think they make the best teachers of all. Hope your aching muscles are starting to ease up. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteRita--Pleasure in the process...that's the key, isn't it? I look forward to seeing your experiments on your blog!
ReplyDeleteDebbie--Actually, my muscles did better than I expected! I definitely agree that animals are terrific teachers. I'm lucky enough to have three excellent ones.
ReplyDelete