When will it be Spring?
Really. We had two days with
decent weather. Maybe three days where
we stayed above freezing. The horses are
sick and tired of it and frankly, it’s getting a bit difficult to stay enthused
about the coming season.
I know, I know. Spring is bound to get here eventually. In the meantime, there are plenty of steps we can take to get ready. When it’s too cold to ride, ride mentally. YouTube can be an amazing tool. Thanks to the internet we can virtually attend clinics and seminars with the world’s top riders. Research is showing that mentally practicing exercises actually helps train the nerve pathways, allowing you to perform the action more readily when the time comes. My horse may be fluffy, but my legs should be fine-tuned come Spring. It isn’t the same as saddling up, but it’s better than sniveling in a cup of coco.
“Sticking feather up
your butt does not make you a chicken.” – Chuck Palahniuk One drawback to watching all the great riders on YouTube is that we can get lulled into thinking it is easy. It looks easy. We’ve studied the mechanics. We should be able to do it, right? Not really. As annoying as it is, we still need to take our time and work back into things. Buying fancy clothes or tack and mentally practicing will not help you gallop out of the start box with a fit and ready horse. There are some things that simply take time and effort. Rushing through training may ruin your horse or get someone hurt. Putting on the clothes and pretending just makes you look ridiculous. Blood, sweat and tears, baby. I’m really looking forward to the sweating part.
Why’d the chicken
cross the road? To prove to the
armadillo that it can be done!
Sometimes we just have to be stubborn. This winter has given us all plenty of excuses. It didn’t break 20˚. The ground is covered in an inch of ice. The ground is covered in eight inches of snow. The wind is whipping across the hill at fifty miles an hour. We can let the weather keep us from our goals or we can prove it can be done, no matter the obstacles.
Sometimes we just have to be stubborn. This winter has given us all plenty of excuses. It didn’t break 20˚. The ground is covered in an inch of ice. The ground is covered in eight inches of snow. The wind is whipping across the hill at fifty miles an hour. We can let the weather keep us from our goals or we can prove it can be done, no matter the obstacles.
Daylight savings time is coming soon. Our next round of winter weather is due in tomorrow. I’ve watched every YouTube video I can find and studied videos of my own rides. I’m ready to hatch the egg and see what emerges. Right now I’m afraid we just have feathers stuck to our butts. Maybe by April we will emerge as Spring Chickens.
