Photo by Margaret Chant and edited by Jessica Metropulos

Friday, July 25, 2008

Praise and Material Things...

This post may be a bit more philosophical than some of you care to read, and that's fine, but I need to express some thoughts that have been floating around in my mind for the past few days.

Humans are motivated by praise, recognition and material things, and this has become PAINFULLY obvious to me in the past month or so. I am not by any means a wealthy person. I am however a good saver for things which I want, or deem "necessary" in my life. I saved for 2 weeks shy of a year to be able to afford the saddle of my dreams. I have it now, and LOVE it. The changes in my horses are phenominal. And yet today, I couldn't get the shimming right, and I'm frustrated as hell about it. Granted, I'll take 15 minutes tomorrow, and probably get it right, but that's not the point right now.

I just spent $300 on a Parelli Cradle Bridle, promising myself that "You think Prin's light right now in the bit she's got, wait until you get the cradle" Wow...I've grossly overestimated my ability to do finesse, as well as my horse's readiness for a piece of tack of that magnitude. And why? Because I'm human...I'm materialistic...I always have to have the BEST of something. And the thing is, my horse couldn't care less! Of course she couldn't, it's really no surprise, she's a horse, they have no use for material goods, they're motivated by their safety, and comfort level! YARRRGHH! And that's what makes horses and humans so incompatible, and why it's so amazing when the two species CAN interact on a high level, it's when the middle ground is found. (Yes, I am a poet, and I DO know it!)

I am, in short, very frustrated with the Cradle bridle. Mainly because I don't know WHAT is wrong. I know that with correct use, it'll be a brilliant tool for both my horse and for me. And I know the reason I'm not getting a firework display from Prin when I use it is for several reasons, some being lack of good footing, lack of motivation (who wants to move forward with a poorly shimmed saddle and grass all around anyway?) and of course, improper preparation and settings. Now that's all fine and dandy, except that I dont' know how to correct 1/2 of that.

I wear a rubber band around my wrist, and it reads "WWLD"..."What would Linda do?" It's there for me in times like this, to provide me with a much needed smack in the face and the ability to step back and examine the situation with savvy, not with frustration. Well, "WWLD" is screaming at me "You're a student, you (AND YOUR HORSE!) are on a learning curve, and when you don't know the answer, instead of getting frustrated, either with your horse or yourself, you need to take a step back and start researching." But the question remains in my head..."WHERE?! HOW?! WHAT?! What do I research?!" Some of the answers are becoming apparent to me as I write this.

Anyway, my concerns lie in the reason the Cradle is not an instant success. And now that I've gotten that off my chest, I might be able to actually do some research. If you couldn't tell, my entire attitude just did a flip...I'm going to go sleep on it now.

1 comment:

Jen said...

Fran,

Not being frustrated isn't a realistic expectation. You set high standards for yourself and of course you are going to be frustrated. I would worry about you if you weren't! STAYING frustrated, dwelling on it and pouting about it would be a problem, but not getting upset in the first place. If you quit what you were doing instead of continuing on the same way when you found problems...if you tried to change something and used all the arrows you could out of your savvy quiver, then you did what Linda would do. Especially Linda in Level 3, I bet. :)
Now, you are thinking, looking around, searching high and low for an answer and once you 'blow out' and relax through some of this, the answer will find YOU. I guarantee it and, what's more, you will OWN that knowledge. It won't be something Linda discovered that you are trying (not to say that can't work...she is very generous to share herself with you) but this learning curve is going to straighten out very soon and you'll take time to think about what went wrong and what went RIGHT and why. I can't wait to hear that post in a couple of weeks.

I fully expect you will need that long, although you may be feeling like you are "supposed" to have it all together right now. Absolutely no one expects that from you, so breathe and love on Prin and enjoy freedom from any pressure in the world. You have YEARS if you need it, not days or weeks. :)

I hope this cheers you up if you aren't already feeling better.

Hugs,
Jen