Grieving, hoping, waiting, playing, thinking, celebrating... How has your morning been?
Grieving? Yes, for all the lost opportunities, the lessons and horses and clinics and fun we would be having if it weren’t for this big thing standing in the way. This big invisible monster that has been rampaging around the world, causing chaos, strife and destruction wherever it goes, before it even gets there in some cases. The Mary Wanless clinic I had been planning for this spring is now postponed, and not even to the fall, but Spring 2021. The new horse Mary and I had planned to bring in is now stuck at her home barn, unable to join us, and I am grieving the lost time getting to know her. The lessons I had been doing feel distant, like they happened years ago, and I miss them.
Hoping, well yes of course, hoping the people in charge don’t bungle things further. Hoping we don’t have to live like hermits for too much longer, but willing to do it if that’s what science says is best.
Waiting, yes that’s always a thing, but now it’s like waiting for a shoe the size of the planet to drop - when it does, waiting to see if it smashes everything to pieces. Waiting impatiently for the next Bridge Club Meeting, where we can pick up our PORTL game where we left off. PORTL makes me a better trainer, and I can’t stand knowing that I could be a better trainer sooner if our meetings didn’t get postponed.
Playing - yes, at least since Mary and I do self-care for our small herd, we are able to work with them on the ground. We are rounding out their repertoires of good lesson horse skills, and building more solid behaviors that will serve them well as lesson horses in the future. I can not, at this point, let a good training opportunity go to waste!
Thinking - thinking of all the ways to cope, to talk about it, thinking about all the loose ends that now have to be wrapped up. How, though, when we all have one hand tied behind our back? Trying to think creatively in a time of great duress is like trying to balance a beach ball on the end of my nose while the unicycle I’m riding is balanced on a cliff edge.
And celebrating! The heroes of my life are pulling together, not just around each other, but me too! The feeling is amazing, and my appreciation for these people is without limits. My GoFundMe to raise funds to keep grain in the feed tub for the lesson horses is more than halfway to its goal of $3000! According to some napkin-based math, reaching that goal should get me and the horses through the next couple of months with no lesson or clinic income.
Finally, I’m planning. Planning to hang out my shingle not only as a riding coach, but as a horse trainer. Gulp. I’ve been working with horses professionally now for over 20 years, maybe even 25… but my training portfolio is small and I’m using a new paradigm that I have only been familiar with now for a few years. What will happen? I’ve been told there’s no money in training, so why bother? For quite a while now, it’s seemed like it’s what my customers are often looking for, in addition to high quality riding instruction. For some, they want to learn to train. Others fully recognize and accept their limitations, but they still need help with their horse in order to have the relationship they feel good about. Both are equally valid, and I want to support them all. Every horse deserves to have a chance at a good relationship with their human(s). Maybe I can help.
What about you? Have you had a profound morning recently? I’d like to hear from you! Comments welcome below :)