Spot the Horse!!

Today I took an extra dog on our walk - except she isn't a dog, she's a horse, but she goes out for walks with the dogs quite the thing.  It was a gorgeous day, sun shining, still a bit cold, but as I listened, the birds were singing the verse about spring being just round the corner - something just a bit more joyful in their voices, a bit more life, a bit more hope.  I always find this time of year quite hard - I'm fed up of feeling cold, of wading through varying degrees of mud, getting wet, having wet dogs to dry every time we go out, muddy garden - the list is endless.  But all of a sudden, just that subtle change in the bird song is enough to lift the spirits and move stagnated thoughts on to brighter days and sun induced positivity.

Sunshine!

Mooi seemed glad to go out, too - I have done precious little with her over the winter and it is time we got back to work!  I bought her when she was just a year old - after a life time of longing for a horse of my own.  Somehow the journey I had planned with her went a bit off course, and we haven't really got back on track yet nor moved forward very far!  But then, I take her out, and realise that actually, we have come a long way from those early days when neither of us knew much about the other.  Perhaps we aren't quite riding out yet, but she is maturing into a steady mare, albeit she can indeed be mareish!  She has probably taught me more than I have taught her - she has taught me to try something different if a particular method isn't working in any part of life - just a shame I don't always remember the lesson!!!  She also taught me that small steps in the right direction are still important, and that sometimes losing sight of the bigger picture is not a bad thing.

Come on Mum - let's get back on the track!

She stepped out down the road going away from the rest of the herd with only a couple of looks behind her and even when we turned off the road and onto a track she has never been on, she didn't balk.  The dogs were charging around her, jumping out of the dead bracken, chasing each other and playing - she just took it all in her stride. 

 

 

Everything around her, though, was part of the natural world - the river which we had to wade through, the sheep on the hill, trees swaying in the wind, boggy ground, a fallen tree, boulders, virtually nothing man made.  Going past people's gardens she is a little less settled - she sees zombies and spooks everywhere.  And a plastic bag fluttering?  No way! 

She has a point though - the natural world exists with balance and harmony.  The man made world is full of conflict and greed.  Perhaps I am looking too deeply at her behaviour, but as she has already taught me so much, I try to remain open to the next lesson.

My very best riding teacher, Mary, opened my eyes to the ways of the horse.  I suppose I had them in my mind as very big dogs but they are anything but.  They are prey animals and as such they live in constant awareness of their surroundings, on the lookout for anything that might want to eat them.  That she was so relaxed with me today, with the equivalent of three wolves running around her, I take that as a compliment and statement of trust.  But the deal is that when I am with her, I give her and our surroundings my attention.  If she is prepared to trust and go with me, then I have to be worthy of that trust and make sure I also keep my eyes open for tigers in the trees!

Did you see that tiger in the tree?

There are two major benefits of staying in the moment with her - one is that I notice more around me.  The other is that it gives my brain a rest.  I am constantly guilty of mulling over past events, dreaming up future plans, conjuring up all sorts of problems that only exist in my mind, and then worrying over them. 

I think perhaps I should spend more time with Mooi......