Monday, July 02, 2012

Something Happened Today.

Something very good has happened!  Remember I have been reading this book by Bill Dorrance? Well?
I took Gracie out this morning, wet and miserable though it was, I started by trying to capture the "feel" of the horse and myself, we stood for about ten minutes, a bit of TLC, with a good brush down.
After which I got tacked up and mounted.  Now normally, I would hack off down the lanes or tracks whatever, but today I decided to let her do what she wanted? Crazy eh?   Well, not quite!

Gracie started by walking off down the track towards the field next door, through the open gate and  onwards down  the hill towards the woods. I was a little concerned at first, as I felt a need to control the horse, and my own actions. I began to try and think, think about the "feel", I thought about a lope, and how we had never managed one easily. A few seconds later, Gracie picked up the pace and began a really beautiful lope, a real rocking chair movement!  Now I am not suggesting I have the ability to "mind meld" as Spock would say, but this was a real coincidence. Whats more, as she followed the track through the woods, I began to realise something, I became aware that for the first time in all the time we had been together, that she was not doing this for me, she was doing this "with" me. It was brilliant. On our way home in the rain, I began to understand just what Dorrance  meant!  I could be totally off my perch? But I dont think so, I never spoke to her while riding, apart from the odd "good girl", my entire thoughts belonged to the ride itself, even coming to a halt was smooth, less strained, and easier. There was a light touch, a softness about her. And me. Thought I`d let you know.  

17 comments:

  1. Very cool . . . It wasn't a coincidence, it was a mind meld - horses are very capable of doing this - it's we who usually get in the way.

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  2. Thanks Kate, it seems like a really weird experience. The more I think about it, the more of it I want to try!

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  3. Sounds as though you were both very relaxed with each other. Horses(and other animals)often seem to pick up on the mood of people - that could be considered a kind of mind reading.

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    1. Thats kind Patsy, we were relaxed, I was less tense, plus I had approached the ride in a different way.

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  4. How awesome to have that sort of ride with your horse ....is good for the soul must be said!

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    1. Hi Sally!
      I have to be honest, it was such a wonderful event, I really was caught a little off guard! She did a similar thing again yesterday, we had been out this time with some guidance from me, and there was a distinct easiness about it, more of a "partnership", maybe I have been too wrapped up with my own issues this year to give her more.

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  5. Wonderful! And not a coincidence at all. They can feel what we are thinking - if we let them. Isn't it cool?!

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    1. I am coming to that inevitable conclusion, I think I always knew it, but didnt allow myself to adopt the idea of "feel".

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  6. I love your main photo. Cool post and good food for thought. I think the hardest part for me would be trying to not give any unintended signals. I might need to pick up a book ...

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    1. I would agree with you there! But it really was a pivotal moment for me, just relaxed in the saddle, a float in the reins, and hey? We were away nicely calmly, and straight, no hassle or any feeling of tension. This Dorrance? Wish I`d read his book a lot earlier.

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    2. Now that is an issue, I too might do that. But I`m trying not to deliberately achieve this excellent feeling again, as I dont want to apply any pressure at all. Thanks for the vote on the main picture!!

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  7. What a beautiful experience. I think you did mind-meld with Gracie. That had to be more than coincidence. Wonderful!

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    1. I believe it was, all of a sudden, things have changed, Gracie has always been good to me, as I her, but there has always been a slight reluctance on my part to really let go? But the thing that really got me, was the stop. It was smooth, easy, and I didnt feel as though I had "engineered"
      it! I didnt give a signal from the reins, I just remember exhaling and sitting deep, and she came down to the stop! I have been looking for this for ages, it was really enlightening!

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  8. Wonderful! Feels good doesnt it!
    I have had that close connection with horses in the past.
    Am working on it with my Emma.

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    1. Hi there! yes your right! Hope it continues, I`ll persue this course, and hopefully achieve the "feel" most of the time, I know it wont always happen, but?

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  9. Gracie is probably figuring that it's about time that you "got" it! Hope you continue to advance in your new partnership through feel with her.

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  10. I think your right!Lol. Its been so long, I often wonder why she never gave up, poor lass.

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