Freya and I hope you’ve had an excellent summer. Freya certainly did. She loves being part of the horse string, in the corral, being with the ‘big kids.’ She did an excellent job this summer and I am so proud of her. Something else became clear the more I worked with her. She was entirely compliant and willing, but she was also lacking context. Let me explain.
Teaching a horse is a lot like building a lego castle. There are many different pieces that the horse has to learn. For example: learning to accept the bit, different gaits, move out under pressure, leg cues, rein training, the environment with all its sounds and smells, etc. All these, plus a lot more, make for a cohesive action like a trail ride. Freya has been exposed to and learned many of these individual parts.
But I had an “ah-ha” moment this summer when I was out with her on a trail ride. She is still too young, her brain is not mature enough, to pull together the bigger picture. She simply does not understand all that is expected of her. I’m working harder, not smarter. I confirmed this with a call to Katie Pistole to ask her opinion. She replied, “I don’t start training until the horse is 4 years old.” Light bulb moment. Freya is part-draft, therefore matures more slowly. And her birthday is March 22 when she’ll turn 4.
Message from God, slow down. I need to let her age for a while. That takes the pressure off me to ask something of her that she cannot do yet. And it takes the pressure off her that she’s searching for answers her brain is not capable to understanding yet. The last think I want to do is put her in a situation where she’s forced to make a bad decision because she doesn’t understand what is being asked of her.
Bottom line, God is watching over this process, and He cares both for Freya, and for me. I am thankful.
