Certainly, when hooves are flying and the threat of death is imminent the thought isn't usually present in our mind that this could be a positive opportunity… but that is what hindsight is for!
There has been a lot of ups and downs going on for me since I can remember, and I would like to believe that we all experience this and it isn't just me, but nonetheless there are moments in-between when I am also able to see the pattern of ups and downs. There are times when I am able to move ahead at a rapid pace, and other times when it seems like I've slowed to a crawl in my progressions – maybe even stepping backwards for a short time. And as much as my mind likes to dwell on the depth of negative progression I cannot deny that these are essential components to improvement. No one moves forward without a second of ‘negative' feedback.
No, I haven't been kicked in the face – thankfully and knock on wood!
But I want to pay tribute to the opportunities that may exist in the seemingly terrible, unfortunate, miserable or frustrating moments that we can all get stuck staring at and shaking our heads over.
Everything happens for a reason, and I honestly believe it. If it wasn't for my unhappy situation at a boarding barn over 10 years ago I would have never worked hard to move out to the country and keep my horse in the backyard, which then developed into a short-lived-successful breeding operation turned training and instructing facility which I cannot even fathom a ‘job' which could bring me more joy and happiness!
I could certainly dwell on the things which unfortunately didn't work out as I had wanted at the original boarding barn, but then again I would still be there and would have missed out on many amazing experiences that have developed into a career rather than fermenting as a hobby, or even fizzling out and dying away slowly.
When I work with my horses and hit a road block; and don't let any professional equestrian tell you that they never have these at times; I've found it to be extremely beneficial to be thankful for the challenges. Without them I would never have to find solutions, I wouldn't have to ask questions or discover answers, I wouldn't even have to communicate with my horse but instead just deal with him as though I were driving a car. I would miss out on the amazing opportunity of creating a complex and vivid relationship with an animal whose intelligence and sensitivity is off the charts. I might also miss out on the opportunity to interact with other people who could help me to come up with a solution, or later who might benefit from my own experience with finding a solution.
Opportunities are just around the corner, sitting in the barn or hiding in the hay room, they are sneaky and devious and can pretend to be frustrating difficulties, impossible mountains to climb.
Even the blind have mastered Mt. Everest… and flying hooves can sometimes inspire us to reach out to others when we might have chosen to try working it out alone.
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what a great article – during the last couple of years I’ve become a firm believer that everything happens for a reason – both career, personal life and with horses – if i didn’t end up with a broken shoulder i would not have time to dedicate myself to ground and liberty work and just hanging out with my horses, i’d still believe that the only way to enjoy a horse is to ride…so thank you Musik for bucking me off!! you made me a better horseperson…
What a great example Petra! 🙂
Having actually been kicked in the face back in April, I love this post. The incident inspired me to look deeper into how horses learn and what causes behaviors to be reinforced and how to prevent/avoid such situations in the future. My perspective has totally changed(for the better) and I’ve learned so much. All because someone else’s mare took a good swipe at me for not listening in the first place. Love your blog!