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Exceptional Horsemanship Newsletter
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Greetings!
Doin' a lot of concept thinking at the beginning of this new year. Of course anyone who knows me, knows it doesn't change the rest of the year. I love thinking. With that... The contingencies of our lives - those things we were born into - are a part of who we are. The problem here comes, with not recognizing the contingencies and instead taking credit for them. i.e - It's okay to be born on 3rd base, but it's not okay to think you hit a triple. Contingencies are NOT entitlements.
How does this apply to horsemanship?
And where are you going with it?
"Cheshire-Puss," she began, rather timidly...
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the cat.
"I don't much care where..." said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the cat.
This ponder material above has so much going for it and I've had so many avenues that it has taken in my thought process, that I'm going to continue pondering it and leave you to ponder it for a month also.
Maybe you would like a question to get you started... If you go to McDonald's and get lunch, do you love the kid at the counter because he gives it to you?
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So... Are You Horseman Material????
What does it take? What are you missing? If you're missing it, how can you know it? It's the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death and I'm reading his Bio Part 1 (of 3 and it's a tome!) and also his "Words, Wit & Wisdom". Here's a good one to get this month's 'Are You Horseman Material?' slot going. "The self-taught man seldom knows anything accurately, and he does not know a tenth as much as he could have known if he had worked under teachers." Absolutely agree with him!
Just like learning a language, there's so much potential for mis-interpretation or just missing it. Even if you understand some of the language, if the speaker keeps talking and you missed an important conjugation or word... you may get the whole deal wrong. And sometimes, if you don't know how something feels, like softness, or understanding as opposed to bracing, stiff or being made to do something without the understanding and you never know what it is you're looking for or how to get it, if your horse ever was soft inadvertently, you may not even know you have it, or how you got it or how to get it.
"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly - until you learn to do it well." -- Steve Brown
How many of us are willing to do something poorly until we get it right?
Of course our horses, well, sheesh, why does it take them more than once to get what we want them to do, huff, huff!
The dictionary defines focus as: To produce a clear image, to make sharp and defined. To fix or settle in on one thing.
Many times people hit a bump in the road and want to give up. If you really are committed and focused on your goal, you'll have to work hard and plug that into your daily head game with yourself. It's easy to get distracted/dis-enfranchised when the going gets tough. That's where you really need to count on yourself and back yourself up with your commitment and focus. And this is where the journey instead of the destination comes in. Focus on getting that ONE step or movement in a soft frame and don't worry how many times you try and don't get it! It doesn't matter! The result will come and will come better if you're not concentrating on it when you haven't got understanding and softness for the start. Keep trying to find the soft way. Not the end result. Then you'll have the soft end result.
There's a difference between techniques and technique.
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Buckle down on yourself. Nail the basics. Commit to Exceptional in each step and watch your results soar. "It's the little things that make the big things possible. Only close attention to the fine details of any operation makes the operation first class." -- J. Willard Marriot
Don't forget to check the blog for more training and put in your questions and comments! Next month... The Long Short Way. Call or email to schedule a training session or lesson in person, by email or phone.
Sincerely,
ME
Lauren Woodard
Exceptional Horsemanship |
Lauren Woodard
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254
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