On Top of the World

Rarely am I at a complete loss for words.  I make my living off of word craft, but Saturday’s cross country schooling has left my speechless, in a very, very good way.  Unfortunately, like so many others, when I’m left speechless, I simply ramble on, so prepare yourself.

Saturday was interesting.  We had absolutely perfect weather.  Rains earlier in the week made the footing superb.  Nutmeg and I were accompanied by my husband piloting Mr. Admiral Nelson around for a nice hack.  It is spring, so of course Nutmeg is in heat.  Thankfully once we get to work, she seems to forget she possesses mare parts.  We were also joined by my long time coach that we only seem to see at shows these days.  We made special arrangements just to school with her and I’m so glad.  We needed boots on the ground confidence.

I am so blessed with Nutmeg.  She doesn’t need to see every fence.  She is almost stupidly uncaring about life in general and that means we need to be a little extra careful when the jumps ask quick questions and challenge our adjustability.  So Saturday, we took some time to school “the questions.”

After being completely unimpressed by a training cabin, we had a marvelous ride down the hill and over a rampy drop.  We schooled the novice and training ditches without batting an eye.  Then we got a little greedy and tried the prelim question of a ditch, two strides up a bank, one stride over a skinny chevron.  That was unfair of me.  Deep down I knew she wasn’t ready, but I couldn’t help giving into the “we will try it and see” attitude.  Usually you can break a puzzle down into manageable pieces, but we just couldn’t get the job done.  It was a difficult question requiring a great deal of power from the hind end, not our strong suit yet.  The good news is, now we have something to work toward and a little unfinished business.

Next we moved onto the corner.  Lesson number two to be learned: just because you’ve done it before, don’t take it for granted.  Since we’d just been having run out difficulties at the skinny chevron, I rode a little farther in from the point of the corner than I usually would.  We banked the dang thing.  Most bizarre feeling ever.  It probably didn’t help that we had just been schooling a bank and this particular corner was filled in with dirt and grass.  I truly think she just mis-read the question.  We tried again and she did much better although she pulled a “classic Irish” move and pushed off the bank with her hind legs.  Again, a bit of an interesting feeling as we suddenly had after burners mid-air.  Third time was the charm.  I have to say, as bad as it looked, I couldn’t help but be so pleased with Nutmeg.  It wasn’t that long ago that she was all uncoordinated legs and we would have had a terrible accident.  She really is learning a lot about using her body and getting us out of sticky situations.  She may grow a fifth leg yet.

We schooled the training bank with no problems.  She had a little hesitation at the drop on the prelim bank and rolled the log a bit.  I didn’t realize that bit and was going to school it once more to confirm.  Thankfully my boots on the ground waved me off and we avoided potential trouble.

There it sits looking all innocent, but in real life, believe me, it's huge!

Next, it was time to face down the trakehner.  This thing is a beast.  I have an unnatural fear of it.  Just up the tree line sits a jump at which I have bad history.  Maybe I’m afraid that history will trickle down hill.  Anyway, this was the question I most wanted to tackle.  Nutmeg has never refused a trakehner, but we’ve had some very sticky rides.  It was time to beat down the beast and lay new hoof prints for future attempts.  Not much can make me shake in my boots, but I’ll freely admit it took every bit of mental fortitude to gallop at that sucker.  The first time I didn’t have quite enough mental fortitude and Nutmeg knew it.  But we didn’t die.  We didn’t slide into the hole never to emerge again.  We just stopped and then we tried again.  We did it!  Boy did she over jump, but she went and it wasn’t that bad.  I peeked on the way over though, shame on me, and so we did it again.  Pure perfection!  I’m not joking.  That was THE FEELING.  I’ve jumped so many things I think I’ve grown laissez-faire, but that was amazing.  I just cannot put it into words.  I wanted so badly to quit right then and there.  To show Nutmeg what an amazing girl she is and we almost did, but we had one more question we needed to put to bed.

Water has never been an issue, thankfully, but dropping into water tends to catch Miss Nutmeg off guard.  I’m glad we schooled the log into the water because it did catch us off guard the first time.  The second time, we landed quite flat footed creating an awkward few strides.  The third time was aces.  We did a downhill log before presenting to the water.  The jump itself may not have rivalled our effort over the trakehner, but the balance and lightness that I felt on the way down the hill to the water was awe-inspiring.  This is Nutmeg, the gangly tank that used to drag me around.  Now we are cantering and jumping downhill in balance and self-carriage.  I wanted to shout from the roof tops!

When we do thing often enough, we tend to become complacent and take them forgranted.  Saturday was such a wonderful reminder on many levels.  This is too dangerous of a sport to take anything forgranted.  We have to ride every step.  On the other hand, what these horses give to us, what our partnerships produce, is so incredible.  It has been a long while since riding has checked my balance, had me quaking in my boots and yet left me feeling like I was on top of the world.  We may not have been able to answer that one little prelim question, but I now know, that with a little more work, we can do it.  I’ve always questioned my confidence to make that leap, but with this horse and can now see the possibility.  Thank you to my support crew and to that magnificent red mare for showing me a Fresh Confident Perspective.  Next stop, THE MOON!

What If?

I recently read an interesting article about a sock.  A missing sock.  The sock the dryer ate was credited with a start up company in Missouri called, What if…?  It’s a fascinating read.  If you can find a copy of /dᾱym/ Magazine read “It all started with a sock,” by Nichole L. Ballard.  Ironically, I read the article the same day a co-worker disappeared off the face of the earth.  Talk about a “What If” scenario.

“What If?” is such a simple question, but it holds so much power.  What if I could change the rules?  What if I just decided not to play by the rules?  What if I was completely unencumbered?  The possibilities will make your head swim.

Have you ever considered just jumping in your car and driving off into the sunset?  How about quitting your nice secure job in favor of starting your own business?  “What If” can be so empowering and lead to some outcomes that would have been unimaginable, if someone had never dreamed “What If?”

On the other hand, what if everything we take forgranted was suddenly taken?  What if our safe little worlds were suddenly invaded, castrated, and vomited up on the floor?  What if isn’t always a freeing thought.

Oddly enough, one person’s “What If” is often another person’s “Worse Nightmare.”  What if I just jumped in my car and started to drive?  My husband, dog, horses, family and co-workers would be left behind with no closure and I’d like to think, a great loss.  We all know the consequences left behind by drivers who decided the rules didn’t apply to them and injured or killed innocent bystanders.

It’s an interesting brain exercise.  Can we imagine a world where anything is possible, without damaging the world of someone else?  It’s the Butterfly Effect on a mental scale.  By freeing ourselves to dream are we dashing the dreams of someone else?

I watched Spider Man for the first time this weekend.  (I know. Where have I been?)  Peter Park comes to face-to-face with this conundrum.  There is nothing that isn’t our problem.  We live in a vastly interconnected world.  Our words reach across continents in seconds.  We can’t take them back.  The decisions and policies that we enact not only affect us and future generations, but they change the opinion every country has about us.

What if, What if, What If?  It’s the epitome of a Fresh Perspective.  We cannot know the future.  We can theorize about the past.  We are all bound to one another.  What we do does last.  Dream about the future.  Learn from the past.  Remember your duty to others but never be afraid to ask, “What If?”  We can't actually control the future, but we can control how we react to it.

Incidentally, my co-worker was found safe and sound about 24 hours later.

Spring Chickens

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.

The key to everything is patience.  You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. 

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.

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.

How Heavy?

I found this on Facebook:

“A psychologist walked around a room…As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the ‘half empty or half full’ question.  Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired, ‘How heavy is this glass of water?’  Answers were called out in a range from 8 oz. to 20 oz.  She replied, ‘The absolute weight doesn’t matter.  It depends on how long I hold it’.”

Now there is a Fresh Perspective.  The weight doesn’t matter, only how long you hold it.  For years and years and years I’ve been riding around the ring troubled by my “contact.”  It is to light, to heavy, to inconsistent.  My reins are too long, my wrists curled.  I’m pulling; my horse is heavy.  We’ve been working on the idea of letting go in our dressage lessons.  I have tried wrapping my head around the concept that the horse doesn’t respond to the aid, but to the release of the aid.  Now I’ve been doused with a cup of water and it all makes sense.  My horse is only heavy if I try to hold her up all the way around the arena. 

The psychologist went on to say, “If I hold it for a minute, it (the glass of water) is not a problem.  If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm.  If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed.  In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”  What an interesting way of looking at the aids we give our horses.  It isn’t the amount of pressure used for the aid, but the length the aid is applied that makes it heavy.  That is why even with a very severe bit, you can ride lightly.  With a simple soft snaffle, you can create a very heavy connection.

The Facebook lesson ends, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water.  Think about them for a while and nothing happens.  Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt.  And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.  Remember to put the glass down.” 

Whether it is the dance we are striving for with our horses or the burdens we carry from our jobs, families, grudges, preconceived notions or life experiences, we have to learn to let them go.  Some things you have to pick back up, like working for a living, but a burden is always lighter after a break. 

We just got back from vacation.  As far as vacations go, it was fairly well a disaster, but you know what?  For that week, I didn’t think about my normal life at all.  I lived only in the moment and refused to even think about the burdens I left at home.  In spite of scheduling changes, sickness, and crummy weather I still came home recharged and ready to pick back up my responsibilities.

Happy New Year.  With this Fresh Perspective I’m resolving to practice letting go.  Whether I’m releasing my aids more quickly or spending some time each night not fretting over the days worries or planning for tomorrow, I hope to remember this lesson.  It isn’t the weight of the burden that makes it heavy.  Its heaviness is directly related only to how long you refuse to set it down.

Battling Post-Holiday Blues

Well, Christmas has come and gone.  There is so much anticipation, a whirlwind of activities and then poof, it is back to life as usual.  It reminds me of the show season.  I spend a month making lists, planning, practicing, and packing, then we spend a crazy weekend showing and back to work on Monday.  At least with Christmas everyone shares the excitement. 

I have found that the best way to counter the post-holiday/horseshow blues is to start anticipating the next adventure.  So instead of reflecting on what has been a truly wonderful year full of blessings in every shape and size, let’s look forward to the year to come.

The United Nations has deemed 2014 the “International Year of Family Farming & Crystallography.”  It is exciting that the local producer may finally be getting some credit for the tireless effort they put in every day of the year.  Crystallography studies how things are put together on a molecular level.  It’s a fascinating subject.  If you think a flying lead change is difficult, look around you.  The world is far, far more complicated than you would ever guess.

In the Sporting World, the Winter Olympics will be held in Russia from February 7^th to the 23^rd.  Rolex (the United States’ only 4 Star Event) takes place April 23^rd through the 27^th in Kentucky and the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will be held in Normandy, France, August 23^rd to September 7^th.

Technological advances are often mind boggling.  In 2014, expect to see a cure for baldness, breakthroughs in cancer treatment by either starving specific cancer cells or targeting them directly, and electricity generation using heat and light, possibly evening powering your phone without a charger.  Scientists are trying to be more ecofriendly and use nature to fight nature instead of introducing chemical pesticides.  Saving the rainforest?  They are working on that too.  Now with an environmental friendly process they can make fast growing softwood take on the properties so desired in hardwood.  Remember LaForge from Star Trek?  Allowing the blind to see using a computer may just go from science-fiction to reality in 2014.  Learn more here.

With all the events and advances, 2014 is sure to fly by, but the year will be what you make of it.  At Fresh Perspective Farm, we’re still building fence (well, any day the temperatures break the freezing mark).  There are so many projects to be undertaken.  Last year we somehow managed to find a healthy mix of progress and relaxation.  I hope we will find that balance again in the coming year.  The horses are still snuggled warm in the rugs, but dreams of the upcoming season are beginning to bud.  May you and your fuzzy friends enjoy a little down time as you look forward to the year to come.

 

Zen Horses

A Facebook friend recently posted “10 Thoughts on Zen.”  It struck a chord deep inside of me and I printed them out for future contemplation.  As with most things I print, I tucked it behind my computer and quickly forgot about it.  Thank goodness for desk cleaning!  A quick re-read revealed why I liked it so much.  It wasn’t about Zen at all.  It was a study of horses!  So without further ado…

1. Zen is not about eliminating thoughts but illuminating them. – Gerald May

Riding is not about eliminating thoughts but illuminating them.  We should not seek to destroy the horse’s spirit and instincts, but teach them to use those gifts for mutual enjoyment.

2. Zen is not some kind of excitement but concentration on our usual everyday routine. – Shanryu Suzuki

Riding is not some kind of excitement but concentration on our usual everyday routine.  This sets amazing riders apart from average riders.  Concentrating on doing the simple everyday things exceptionally makes winning an everyday possibility.

3. The ultimate standpoint of Zen is that…the peace we are seeking so eagerly has been there all the time. – D.T. Suzuki

The ultimate standpoint of riding is that…the peace we are seeking so eagerly has been there all the time.  Quit fidgeting and fixing and messing and just ride.  You cannot create peace with activity.

4. The beauty of Zen is found in simplicity and tranquility, in a sense of the all – embracing harmony of things. – Thich Thien-An

The beauty of horses is found in simplicity and tranquility, in a sense of the all – embracing the harmony of things.  If you ask any horse person where they find calm in the hubbub of their hectic life, many will say, “in the barn, when the horses are tucked in and munching on their hay.”  In that humble, tranquil setting life is as it should be.

5. The whole point of Zen is to suspend the rules we have superimposed on things and to see the world as it is. – Alan Watts

The whole point of time with horses is to suspend the rules we have superimposed on things and to see the world as it is.  They show us how the world should be, not what it is.  They are the ideal.  Forgiving, fair, centered.

6. Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water.  After enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water. – Zen Buddhism

So this one can be read as is.  Whether you’re at the beginning of your equestrian pursuits or a pro, you’re going to do a lot of stall cleaning and carrying water or posting trot with no stirrups.

7. Zen: If you try to aim for it, you are turning away from it. – Anonymous

Horses, if you are trying to catch them, they will turn tail and walk away.  Okay, maybe that’s not what they meant.  You’ve heard the saying about sand slipping through your fingers if you try and hold it too tight.  With horses you have to be a bit fluid.  Set goals.  Make plans, but don’t hold to them to tightly or you’ll lose them completely.

8. Zen is not thinking about God while peeling potatoes.  Zen is just about peeling the potatoes. – Modern Saying

Riding is not thinking about riding.  Riding is just riding.  If you get too caught up in the theory and thinking you can paralyze your ability to react to the moment.

9. The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there. – Robert M. Pirsig

The only success you’ll find in riding is the success you earn by doing it correctly every day.

10. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. – Shunryu Suzuki

I’ll admit it.  I didn’t get this at first.  I’m an academic.  I want to understand everything, but then I realized that some things are beyond understanding.  Take for example the idea of infinity.  We know what it is but we have very little understanding of it.  You don’t have to know everything about horses to enjoy all they have to offer.

There you have it.  A Fresh Equine Perspective on The Ten Thoughts on Zen.  I can make anything about horses, just ask my husband.

“10 Thoughts on Zen” originally appeared at Mind Fuel Daily.com.

“10 Thoughts on Zen.” Mind Fuel Daily. 1 Nov. 2013 http://www.mindfueldaily.com/. 

Dance Baby!

“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; One cannot fly into flying.”

-          Friedrich Nietzsche

Fresh Perspective Farm just grew a bit.  Actually, we more than doubled our size in one fell swoop!  We weren’t planning on putting out a large chunk of change for the land on our northern border, but it was suddenly up for sale and we simply couldn’t resist.  The acquisition means more pasture, insulation from neighbors, and a whole lot of work.  There is old fence to be ripped out and new fence to be built.  It puts all our other projects and dreams on the backburner, but there is no complaining.  We are very, very blessed to be able to expand.

A lack of space might be a farm owner’s biggest fear.  When you have to limit your dreams to the square acreage you are sitting on, it can be difficult to see future dreams become reality.  Now we have the space to dream a bit. 

Planning comes next.  How can we best utilize this space to achieve our dreams?  What must we bite off now?  What can we chew on later?  For dreams to come true, plans have to be implemented step-by-step.

Seems like I’m doing a lot of foundation laying right now.  We’re working on building fence and Nutmeg and I are working on building muscle.  Like a water drip that slowly builds a stalagmite, each post we pound and each transition I ride slowly carries us toward our ultimate goals.  It’s difficult to see an efficient, safe and beautiful horse farm when you look at the wild thicket we are starting with.  Just as it’s hard to imagine Nutmeg successfully competing in the upper levels when we’re spending the winter doing simple walk-trot-walk-halt-walk transitions.  Before you can dance, you have to sweat a lot learning to walk and run.

This is the Month of Thankfulness and while I’d like to say I’m thankful each and every day, I don’t always express it well.  So, thank you for reading.  Thank you to each person who has helped us along our path.  Building the barn and house and now expanding has been such an overwhelming undertaking.  We couldn’t even stand when we started.  Now we are so close to flying.  The same goes to all of you that have supported my equestrian pursuits over the years.  We’ve come a long way from a pony on the back porch with an upside down saddle to where we are now.  Flying is so close, but our dance steps still need some work.  Thank you for the daily Fresh Perspectives that keep us growing.  Thank you for showing us the steps.