SIPPING NOT CHUGGING

SIPPING NOT CHUGGING

Something that can be hard for us as humans is to take the time it takes in certain areas of life. Horsemanship is often one of those areas. I recently heard it said this way: there is no elevator to success – you have to take the stairs. But just because the stairs are difficult, doesn’t mean you should give up on the journey.

Direct Line

Our brains are designed to be forward thinking. This is often described as being “direct line.” When we have a goal in mind, we try to reach that goal as quickly as possible. This can be helpful in certain scenarios, like administration and other organizational positions, but when you’re working relationally with another person or a horse, you simply have to take the words of horseman Pat Parelli to heart, “Take the time it takes, so it takes less time.” We see an end goal, the picture of how we want something to look, and we try to cram in as much as we can as quickly as possible to achieve it. Often it’s much faster to think laterally, and see that the fastest route to a goal isn’t always the most direct.

I recently overhead Nate talking about this with one of his customers., His advice was to think about sipping instead of chugging. Chugging can often make you sick, and so can trying to cram too much of your goal into one session. However, if you just take a sip of what you want to achieve each day, you will slowly take it all in while enjoying each drop.

Balance

The hard part about executing this properly is finding the balance with progress. Although you do not want to overwhelm your horse, you also want to be aware of when they are ready to move forward and learn something new. It’s important to go as fast as your horse is ready for, but not faster than they’re ready for.

Amy spoke about this as Sweet Water has progressed in her training. Asshe continues to learn, Amy stays in tune to when the mare is giving her “green lights” so she can teach her something new or intensify something she already knows. Some parts of her training have progressed rapidly because she is learning those things quickly. She is still a little sticky about being saddled though, which tells us that she has a “yellow light” in that area and that we need to proceed with caution. Learning to read each situation is important in order to tell what signal your horse is giving you.

Recognize Success

Something that has personally helped me along this journey is to set clearly defined markers. When you are sipping along, it can feel like you aren’t getting anywhere. The progress in my horsemanship this year, as well as in Gabe’s physical change over this past year, has been very slow. But because we showed this spring and at intervals through the summer, I have been able to look at my tests and clearly see how we have both improved.

This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with how we have placed in the shows. It has to do with how we executed our tests and courses. I can look at photos of my form and see clear improvement. If I was not setting those markers, I would not be able to see that I was making progress or realize that my development was appropriately timed. I started out this eventing season in the Beginner Novice division, and by the end of the season, I will move up to the Novice division.

Final Thoughts

This concept is crucial in your horsemanship. By learning to look at situations laterally, instead of trying to charge directly at a goal, you’ll find more success with horses and relationships. Realizing that small sips at a time make the whole experience more enjoyable allows you to appreciate the journey each step of the way.

As well, “sipping” applies to every relationship you are in. Knowing that change happens gradually over time, and encouraging others to become their best selves happens slowly too, helps you maintain healthy relationships and grows you at the same time. Trying to get someone to change in one “chug” often destroys any rapport that you may have grown. This is true in my marriage. As my husband and I have grown together over the last five years, I see how we slowly continue to sharpen each other.

Setting goals along the way holds you accountable to checking in with your progress. You can assess how well you have read the traffic signals, whether you have taken advantage of every green light, or perhaps pushed too hard at a stop light. Being able to take full account at each touchstone lets you know what improvement your “sips” have brought you.