Horsemanship: Curl Your Toes!

"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."    I Kings 19:11-12 (NIV)

Subtle communication is a hallmark of an intimate relationship...with God, with another person and, yes, even your horse.  What if you could cause your horse to move simply by curling your toes?

Expectations! Do You Have Some?

I have observed an interesting phenomenon. As I travel around the country teaching, often the same or similar philosophical principle arises in the lessons. Lately the concept is related to this Parelli-ism: Expect a lot, accept a little, reward often. Have you heard it before?

What I have noticed is as folks progress and some things start to get pretty, they stop making new, higher expectations.

Dance!

While I was driving from Farson, WY to La Porte,CO, I was listening to music and a song by Mandisa came on.  I had heard this song many times, but this time, suddenly, a particular line struck me as important:  "When you get the chance to sit it out or dance...I hope you dance."

Everyday Adventure

The ride started badly when I was saddling JoyFull.  She tried to bite me several times while saddling…something she has never done before.  Right away I had the thought cross my mind that she was telling me the ride was a bad idea.  I spent a little more time than usual moving her around after saddling to make sure she was not broncy…which she can be if it is a while since I have saddled and ridden her.  She seemed fine so Dave and I and Treasure and JoyFull set off down the only trail out of the North Fork John Day Horse Campground… Trail 3022.

Dead Wood, Spotlights and Fresh Opportunities

I have been very busy the last five months.  So busy that I have journaled very little and was beginning to feel drained physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Finally we got a chance to spend some undemanding time in the wilderness near the North Fork John Day River.

I went down to the river to get alone we God and to see what he might have to say to me.  It was late afternoon moving into evening and the sun was setting behind the pine covered hill across the river.  It didn’t set all at once but kept poking its rays out between the spires of evergreen…first here, then there, and farther and farther west.  Just before it disappeared altogether,

Trouble Overcome

We left Bend, OR around 9AM expecting to arrive at North John Day Horse Camp by late afternoon.  Stops for gas, groceries, and septic dump took a little longer than expected and we revise our ETA to 5PM.  We kept the pedal to the metal so to speak (Dave hates it when I say that!) but stopped in the town of John Day to talk to the people at the national forest office.  Not our ETA was 6PM..Still not too late to have daylight to set up camp with.  We were making good time when suddenly...

Where Have the Strege's Been? (Long)

Nancy, Debbie, Lena, and Dru in quadrille

My last update was from the Florida Parelli campus where we spent the month of March while I was teaching the Foundations of Horsemanship class.  What a treat to see this small group of students advance their horsemanship!  Each of them advanced at least one level in one or more savvies.  One was honored with her Level 4 black string (another probably would have, but her horse came up lame the last week of class before the auditions.)

Urgent...or Important?!!

It is amazing how busy life can get and how the important things in life get crowded out by those things that seem urgent!   Many years ago I read a little pamphlet entitled “The Tyranny of the Urgent.”  The concept was how the important things in life rarely seem urgent so they often get put on the back burner and rarely, if ever, get addressed until it is too late…or almost too late.  Important things like spending time with family, addressing one’s health, planning for the future (setting goals) so that dreams do come true.  Important things like getting to know God, feeding on His Word, and learning to hear His voice.