Pause for a moment...

Pause or a moment and try something with me...

I want you to close your eyes, focus your mind on what you love about your horse, and take 10 deep breaths, then come back here.

What do you see?

In my herd I see love, I see family, I see resilience and strength, vulnerability and compassion.

I love riding horses, and I used to think riding was the best thing about them – But if I’ve learned anything over the years it’s that they have so much more to offer us if we can just make the space to really see and hear them.

I almost laugh about it now, the thought that riding is somehow the pinnacle.

So if it isn’t riding — what is the pinnacle? The ultimate goal?

When I talk to my clients, my friends, when I think about this myself, it always comes back to connection.

Connection, emotional attunement, 2-way communication, trust. The words we find to describe that *feeling* that words can’t fully embody, but you know when you feel it.

It all comes down to partnership, friendship with an animal that speaks a different language and lives a very different lifestyle.

Riding is easy, training behavior is easy – Listening to a different perspective, respecting a different opinion, finding common ground and walking away from a disagreement in a way that leaves both parties feeling better about it and not worse…

That’s the challenge. That’s the pinnacle. That’s the ultimate goal.

And maybe… just maybe… if we can learn to do that with our horses, we can learn to do that with each other, too.