What's your horse's ceiling? And how do you reach it?
There's a certain feeling when you're riding a horse, and you can feel its potential, but for some reason, you just can't quite tap into it fully. All too often, not only can you not tap into that athleticism, but you also can't show it to someone else enough to get help to express it. That ability to see potential is where our farm got lucky with our coach, who used this talent to help us fall in love with the process of dressage and unlocking physical potential. The best part is that this is just a starting point. True dressage is just correct training and fundamentals with a focus on biomechanics. With that foundation, a horse can move confidently in any direction, in any career.
There's a certain feeling when you're riding a horse, and you can feel its potential, but for some reason, you just can't quite tap into it fully. All too often, not only can you not tap into that athleticism, but you also can't show it to someone else enough to get help to express it. That ability to see potential is where our farm got lucky with our coach, who used this talent to help us fall in love with the process of dressage and unlocking physical potential. The best part is that this is just a starting point. True dressage is just correct training and fundamentals with a focus on biomechanics. With that foundation, a horse can move confidently in any direction, in any career.
|
Roxii: (L) In her old career as an event horse (R) Early in her switch to her dressage life
|
|
How do you know it's time for a change?
Horses are highly intuitive, emotional creatures. It's why they're so widely (and successfully) used as therapy animals. It also means they have a whole internal and emotional life that we, as their caretakers, need to recognize. They, like us, can lose their passion for their jobs. So how would a horse show this? There are some obvious signs. We could see a horse refuse to walk in the ingate. A jumping horse might start stopping. We could see an event horse decide to stop hacking out, or in the case of my Roxii, stop leaving the start box.
Sometimes it's far more subtle. Maybe they're just a lazy, quiet type, and there's no passion for their current job. Or maybe it's doing a good job at its current job, a job it can do, but it would do a great job at the job it should do. There's only one way to find out.
I have a horse just like this. I always knew he was more than he looked like. He was honest and hardworking with no spook, and as a baby hunter that made him sweet and easy. But as a Pre-Green horse, that lack of look or spook made him unimpressive in the air. He had all the talent and ability to jump a good, big jump, but for whatever reason, it just never quite came together. Fast forward years later to him as a dressage horse and it all makes sense. He finally gets to carry his body in the way that makes him feel most athletic. And, for the first time, I'm not the only one who sees it. And he is finally in the job he loves and he gets to show it.
We also need to accept the life trajectory of an athlete, and sometimes that means changing course. It's possible for a horse to lose their love for the job. Maybe that's for a season and maybe that's permanent. Either way it is our job to help them find their way. As long as you can rekindle their love for the work by creating successful experiences, you can redirect their passion and their talent. Maybe you can even make them better than before.
Burnout is real, as any driven individual will attest. Performing to the highest levels of the sport, or even your own capabilities, takes a toll over time. And the only way to fix that is to pause, reset, and open up the options and possibilities again. Go back to babyhood when anything could happen and see if a new option hasn't presented itself. It's all about finding out where you and your horse are happiest. And worse case, no one ever walked away worse for re-inserting a little childlike wonder back in their day-to-day lives.
Horses are highly intuitive, emotional creatures. It's why they're so widely (and successfully) used as therapy animals. It also means they have a whole internal and emotional life that we, as their caretakers, need to recognize. They, like us, can lose their passion for their jobs. So how would a horse show this? There are some obvious signs. We could see a horse refuse to walk in the ingate. A jumping horse might start stopping. We could see an event horse decide to stop hacking out, or in the case of my Roxii, stop leaving the start box.
Sometimes it's far more subtle. Maybe they're just a lazy, quiet type, and there's no passion for their current job. Or maybe it's doing a good job at its current job, a job it can do, but it would do a great job at the job it should do. There's only one way to find out.
I have a horse just like this. I always knew he was more than he looked like. He was honest and hardworking with no spook, and as a baby hunter that made him sweet and easy. But as a Pre-Green horse, that lack of look or spook made him unimpressive in the air. He had all the talent and ability to jump a good, big jump, but for whatever reason, it just never quite came together. Fast forward years later to him as a dressage horse and it all makes sense. He finally gets to carry his body in the way that makes him feel most athletic. And, for the first time, I'm not the only one who sees it. And he is finally in the job he loves and he gets to show it.
We also need to accept the life trajectory of an athlete, and sometimes that means changing course. It's possible for a horse to lose their love for the job. Maybe that's for a season and maybe that's permanent. Either way it is our job to help them find their way. As long as you can rekindle their love for the work by creating successful experiences, you can redirect their passion and their talent. Maybe you can even make them better than before.
Burnout is real, as any driven individual will attest. Performing to the highest levels of the sport, or even your own capabilities, takes a toll over time. And the only way to fix that is to pause, reset, and open up the options and possibilities again. Go back to babyhood when anything could happen and see if a new option hasn't presented itself. It's all about finding out where you and your horse are happiest. And worse case, no one ever walked away worse for re-inserting a little childlike wonder back in their day-to-day lives.
New Pathways Board: $3500 (Full Board + Training)
Maybe your horse requires a multi-faceted program where they excel in different ways on different days.
Peek at our favorite grey horse below with his Grammy. Twice a week Grammy rides keep this dressage horse moving up the levels, excelling in sport one day and care-taking the next.
Peek at our favorite grey horse below with his Grammy. Twice a week Grammy rides keep this dressage horse moving up the levels, excelling in sport one day and care-taking the next.
