Horses have been training me for a long time. My experiences with them have shaped my life. I've made my fair share of mistakes with horses. It wasn't until I started seriously studying natural horsemanship 10 years ago that everything really started to click for me.
My past history with horses was full of ups and downs. I used to think the ups were winning belt buckles and trophies. But now all I can think about is winning a horse's heart. Life is very full of blessings and the future looks even better.
I used to think the downs were when I couldn't get a horse to do something in the way I wanted him to. But now I see these as learning opportunities to gain more savvy. Now the down times seem to be defined by moments when one of my horses are sick, like last summer when Cisco was at the vet hospital for EPM. The only other down time I have is when I see someone treating a horse in a way that I know is not best for the horse because the person is ignorant of a better more effective way.
As I look back over my riding life I've ridden fast, slow, up, down, in control and reckless. I recall the words of my father when I thought I might have knocked a barrel over. He said "Don't look back." He always told me to keep both eyes forward and focused on the next barrel because you can't fix anything behind you. When a hunter jumper hears the clunk of the horse's hoof on the rail, this same advice "Don't look back." should be adhered to because you can't put the rail back up, and you better be getting ready for the next jump.
When clunks occur in our life or in our horsemanship journey, the temptation to turn to see if the barrel or rail came down is addictive. Looking back blurs the rider's focus. An expert rider already has his eyes and attention on the next barrel as he is turning it, and a jumper is looking at the next jump as he clears the rail directly under him. Timing is critical and focus is imperative.
Good timing and powerful concentration are universal success ingredients for savvy horsemanship. There will be more ups in the journey if we prepare ourselves to do the best we can each day armed with timing and focus because they give us "feel". And "feel" is all the horse has to go on, so we have to figure out how to get "feel".
Another example when we need perfect timing, focus, and feel is when crossing a bridge, water, ditch, or any kind of obstacle. The worst thing we can do is look down or back. We need to keep looking straight ahead, in fact a mile down the road to where we are going. The ultimate horse sense says, don't look back, look straight ahead.
Metaphorically, the next obstacle is coming quickly from the future to the present and the past one is unchangeable history. So we need to learn to focus on the next obstacle with a powerful concentration which the horse reads as intention. This kind of feel is easy for him to follow. Without feel the horse is lost!
Too often, we get hung up on what has happened instead of what is happening right now. We know that we can't change history but that doesn't stop us from dwelling on it. I don't think my horse has spent a single day worrying about which barrell or jump he knocked down. He is only concerned with the matters at hand, which may be his next flake of hay. Horse sense comes easy only to horses.
Understand the importance of today, the here and now. Focus and be ready for progress. You can do it with education, hard work, support and encouragement. When thoughts meander back to "knocked down barrels or rails" from previous experiences, the chance of losing focus heightens and history will repeat itself.
Don't Look Back unless you are reflecting upon just how far you have come in a celebration.
Look forward to an even better bond and relationship in 2008 by keeping it natural with timing, focus and feel. Be patient with yourself and with your horse. You will get to your destination and it will be even better than you dreamed. Remember the horse and rider are a team that can meet challenges together, so don't let it all be one sided and the journey will be great for both you and your horse.
By Sherry Jarvis
