BE PRESENT

BE PRESENT

The other day, Nate Bowers said something that really struck me: “The beauty of animals is that they live in the moment. The beauty of people is that we think ahead.” It’s amazing that we can make a plan for success and then follow through on it. As Pat Parelli likes to say, “Prior and Proper Preparation.” But animals don’t plan out their future, or dream of what they will be when they grow up. They don’t make plans for the weekend. Some, like the ant, have an instinctual nature to store away food for winter, but they aren’t planning what meal their going to make with it. So while being prepared and making plans are important, I have found it is often just as important to embrace the quality that makes animals so beautiful: living in the moment.

Go With the Horse

              We have a couple of young thoroughbreds on the ranch that I am starting under the tutelage of Nate and Amy. It’s been a thrilling experience, and very different from much of what I’ve done with horses so far. They’re now at the point in their development now where we are mounting and riding them forward to get them used to the feel of a rider. A buck is opposition to forward movement, so much of what we focus on is simply getting them to move their feet. If they are really thinking and moving forward, they can’t buck.

              For the first time the other day, we rode them in the big arena.  Before, we had only ridden them in the round corral, which is a smaller space designed to keep you and the horse much safer. In the large arena, there is a lot more space for the horse to be able to gain speed and traction to possibly run off with you. Stepping up on a young horse in there for the first time is quite an adrenaline rush.

              The interesting thing about what I was trying to accomplish was that the concept was extremely simple. I needed to keep just one thing in mind – go forward. Once the feet were moving and the horse felt safe, I just needed to relax and go with him. I will admit, this was a hard for me to grasp at first. I kept trying to micromanage the colt. My habit was to ask him to go forward and turn at the same time, but that ended up confusing the colt so much that his feet would get stuck and he wouldn’t move at all.

However, when I simplified and slowed everything down, I got much better results. By only asking for the forward, I was able to better communicate with this young horse who is still learning how to hold a conversation with me. Once his feet were moving, it took both of our frustration away. I was  just riding with him, wherever he wanted to go. As long as his feet were moving, and I wasn’t asking for any more forward, I could offer a little guidance with the reins. This simplified way of riding really allowed the colt to learn how to move freely with a rider and showed him that it didn’t have to be a fight. It was a puzzle that he could figure out with as little as he knew and come out feeling like a winner.

Go With the Cow

              Recently, I was able to watch a lesson on working cows. I noticed a lot of similarities between starting a young horse and starting a horse on cows. The first rule of cow work is to never turn your horse away from the cow. Cows are very curious creatures, and if they start to come at your horse they could scare it into running away, which often leads to the cow chasing you. When starting a horse on a cow, you always keep his nose pointed directly at the cow. As you push at the cow and the cow turns to move away, all you do is simply follow. It’s like a little train where the butt of the cow and the nose of the horse are connected with the horse’s body following on the same track as the cow’s. The horse and cow stay at the same speed as well, so if the cow trots or canters, you trot or canter your horse after it.

              Eventually, you will want to teach your horse to push and block the cow, but to start you simply go with it, not trying to control the cow at all. This exercise does so much to build your horses confidence as he gets to chase the cow. It doesn’t seem like you are doing much just following a cow around, but your horse is gaining more than you realize. Again, it’s setting up a simple game so that your horse can feel like it’s winning.

Know Where You are in Space and Time

              Something I am always trying to remind myself is to know where I am in space and time. Everyone takes up space, whether it is a little or a lot. When I practice yoga, the teacher will encourage you to stretch even further and take up more space. You are taking up space right now, wherever you are sitting reading this blog. And l don’t think anyone needs to be reminded that the clock is always ticking time away! But sometimes we forget where we are in the timeline. In a movie, wouldn’t it ruin the effect if someone from the end of the story showed up and said their lines at the beginning? Time is tricky, because things always happen when they are supposed to, but often we try to push too fast. We try to force something to happen now, that really shouldn’t happen till later in our story.

              I hear this saying often when I am helping to work cows, “Know where you are.” You need to know what is happening, when it is happening, and where you need to be to in order to do the work well. If you are in the wrong spot by just a couple feet, or pushing a cow too early, or not paying attention to who you are working with, you often find yourself behind the action making more work for yourself.

              However, knowing where you are applies to so much more than just cows. I needed to know where I was while I was riding that young colt so I didn’t try to ask too much of him. I also need to know where I am when I’m starting a horse on a cow, so I don’t start trying to work the cow and end up frying my horse’s brain. Sometimes in life, knowing where you are in space and time, means slowing down and going with the flow.

Be in the Moment

              I’m a big supporter of learning how to relax and just be. We are called human “beings” not “doings” for a reason. Often times, when we relax and stop trying to control how life goes, it takes a lot of our frustration away. It also allows us to find thanksgiving in a lot of things that can get overlooked in our pursuit of the bigger and better.

              I have found this very apropos in my life. For years, my husband and I dreamed of moving to Colorado. This time last year, it didn’t seem like it would ever be a possibility. Life was not taking us in that direction. Instead of trying to force it to happen, I chose instead to trust God’s leading and enjoy the space and time He had blessed me with. Then in April, I attended the driving clinic where I met Nate and was invited to come and intern on the Bower’s Farm! Imagine if I had blindly forged ahead, making my dream of moving to Colorado happen on my own timeline? I would have missed out on such a huge learning opportunity, one that is setting me up for all my future goals.

Final Thoughts

              Learning how to relax and just go with the flow is never as easy as it sounds. We often find ourselves doing just what I did with that colt, trying to micromanage every step and winding up stuck in the same spot. Or perhaps we barge ahead, trying to do too much too soon and leaving our brains fried. It really is a beautiful thing that we as humans can plan ahead, but what a wonderful reminder from God’s creatures to learn to enjoy the moment that we have right now. Relaxing may not feel like it gets you anywhere, but as the Parelli saying goes, it is so important to, “Take the time it takes.”