Death and loss

It's very hard to loose a pet. I think even harder to loose a horse. Kris died this past weekend and coming on the heels of another sort of loss I found this extremely difficult to deal with. Kris was my first horse. Now I know I didn't own her. I only leased her for a year, but I still had this connection with her. She was a flighty horse as most Arabs are, yet there was no one better to listen to your problems. The time it took to groom her really well helped me to relax and let go of my own issues. There was never any judgement or pithy advice. Only wide trusting eyes and an occasional snort. Rest In Peace Kris you will be missed.

The Only Male You Can Make Do What You Want.....

Ok So that is really only true about 80% of the time. The other 20% I'm fighting tooth and nail to make him move off my leg, go the speed I want, bring his head down and in, or slow his lope down to the point where I feel like he's not going to throw me if I want to turn. The reality is that unless that horse wants to do what I want I am not going to make an 1100 pound animal do anything I want.

I was trying to canter Al and he seemed to think that it was appropriate to go left when I wanted to go right. So I made him do it again.....and again....and again...until finally he did what I wanted. This is either stupid or perseverance not sure which. Now you can't make people do what you want over and over again until they get it right....but wouldn't it be awesome if you could?!?!?!