What My Horse Has Taught Me

Not too long ago this was my facebook status:

“Asking a horse ‘What can you do for me?’ is backwards.” —Ray Hunt

Even though it is obvious that I 100% agree, within the last few days Sonny has done a lot for me. But, maybe not what most people would expect.

Today it finally hit me why Kristi Smith's blog is so accurately titled Life Lessons from my Parelli Levels Horse. Wether I figure it out or not, everything Sonny teaches me about horsemanship also applies to my life.

After a very successful play session yesterday I laid in the grass while he ate and I just thought about everything. I thought a lot about what my friend Deb said to me: she was telling me that she saw someone post that you have to approach your horse with a blank chalkboard every day and create everything one day at a time. That really hit home for me. I realize everyday that I go to play with Sonny I unknowingly drag along so much baggage. I always think about where we ended our last play session, how my day as school went, stress from work, and so on. It isn't fair for me to be emotionally weighed down by all of those things and expect him to be happy to play with me. In fact, it really isn't fair for me to heave any of my emotions on him and expect him to deal with it.

Just like Sonny does, I need to take our relationship one day at a time. Every day is a clean slate. Every day is a chance for me to prove my leadership. Every day is a new chance to put the relationship first. So even if I make a mistake, which is bound to happen, it is not the end of the world. It is a learning experience and without them how will there ever be improvement?

It is amazing to me how good Sonny is at reading me. As silly as it sounds, it always feels like he knows exactly which lesson I need to learn at the exact right time. As I laid there in the grass watching him eat without a care in the world, everything fell into place. Recently there have been a lot of things going on in my life that upset me and I have been doing nothing but dwelling on them. With all those unhappy faces lately, Sonny was teaching me that I need to take everything in stride. Managing a farm is a whole new experience for me and of course there are going to be ups and downs, and definitely a lot of learning experiences. There is no point in holding grudges or being upset with people; as long as I do that ears are bound to be back. Once I can take every day as a clean slate and use it as a chance to prove my leadership, then I will start to see those ears pop forward.

I am so thankful that Sonny is so patient and persistent, and especially so forgiving. Everything means something and nothing means nothing. All those unhappy faces he was giving me was just a friendly little reminder of what's important in life, which is the relationship you have with those that you love.