The Major is coming along nicely. His rehab has consisted of resting his leg while he eats the wonderful plentiful grass that is now growing. He has been getting red light treatment twice a day. The first couple of days he was very tender, however within the week his sensitivity decreased.

Needless to say, with my main partner under the weather, my emotions have run the spectrum from sadness, anger, joy, and disappointment. Let me explain! Sadness that my partner was hurt. Anger that I wasn’t more careful when I loaded him. Joy when he made improvements. Disappointment when I realized that I wasn’t able to ride him in the workshop. Here is how the week went.

Friday, I rode Lady K and Star to determine which horse would be best for the workshop. Things didn’t go as planned. Both horses were very emotional, so I just kept riding them. Six hours later, 3 hours for each horse, I was finished. Very disappointed that neither horse was up to the challenge. Several hours later, the realization hit me. Lady and Star did very well, yes it was me who needed to slow down and get friendly. I needed to stop comparing Lady and Star to Majik and accept them for who they are! Emotional fitness was back, now to repair the confidence and trust that had been broken.

Sunday, I really slowed down with Lady and Star. Went back to riding them with one rein in a halter. It was a good decision because, I regained there confidence. I rode until each horse was calm, connected, and responsive. Then I took them out to graze. I sat on a log and they happily munched away.

Tuesday, I rode both Lady and Star again. Lady began to really respond to my new found emotional fitness. Star was still very emotional however I was accepting little improvements. Once Star relaxed, I quit. Both horses were licking and chewing.

Wednesday, I saw Majik trot and canter up from the pasture. I thought, maybe I can use him after all. I made a decision that I would ride Lady in the workshop. I would continue with Star, however I needed to keep in mind that Star was in charge of her timeline. I should not force her. I was excited that Lady and I were really making progress and the thought of riding Majik on Saturday really got me pumped.

Thursday, Lady and I had a little bit of a melt down to start. I was seeing and feeling progress. I pushed a little too hard. Lady responded the only way she new how. The way a left brained extravert would respond. You are not the boss of me and she really argued. I then became emotional. Two days before the workshop, and I don’t even have a horse I can ride. I blamed Lady. At least I had enough sense to get off and take some time to calm down. I remounted Lady with a sense of emotional fitness and we had a good ride. We practiced our spotlight twice more and really rested between sessions, just standing where I would discuss leadership to the participants of the workshop.

Thursday evening I rode Majik bareback up from the pasture. He felt pretty good, although I could still feel a little hitch in that left hind. I was excited! I thought, even if Lady was not spectacular, Majik would just be awesome as he always is!!!! Oh my, why did I think that of Lady. Luckily, I regained some sense of emotional fitness before Friday!

Friday saw Majik cantering down the pasture to eat his favorite meal which is grass. I new I would be able to ride in the workshop on Saturday. I rode Lady that morning. We practiced our spotlight and stood where I would discuss leadership. Lady was calm and so was I. I thought that was improvement from the day before. We left the arena and rode to my neighbors barn to talk about hay! Lady was really connected. I ended the ride with some grazing time!

Friday evening I trimmed The Major’s feet in preparation for the workshop. After finishing on his left hind, Majik couldn’t walk. It seemed like his leg locked up! So it was decided that I shouldn’t ride him after all. I was disappointed! The stress of the next day caused me to again have a melt down. Emotional fitness out the window.

Saturday came! Preparations were running behind schedule. I kept calm, and thought of all the good things that were going to happen. I warmed up Lady. Saddled her and tried to keep the routine as similar as possible. Saturday was day seven. We walked out of the arena to greet people and park cars. Lady was amazing, so calm, so connected, and so responsive. We performed our spotlight with precision. All the while not thinking of anything more than the moment. I didn’t hardly notice the 33 people that had gathered to watch. Lady was simply amazing. She has never given me a ride like that one. We ended and walked calmly over to the spot we rested each day for the last five days. Lady’s head was low as she stretched and blew. I just kept thinking of how proud of her I was. We both scored high on our emotional fitness.

During lunch on Saturday, I moved Majik to a pasture we use to graze the horses after a ride/play. He trotted to the gate to greet me. Then he cantered into the pasture to be with Lady K. So I decided to ride Majik during the afternoon session of the workshop. He was really great! It felt really good! My legs wrapped around his barrel felt like a great pair of boots, just so comfortable.

The whole day was absolutely amazing. I made some important realizations about my relationships with my horses, family, and friends. I’m sure you will recognize these sayings. A horse doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care. Take the time it takes so it takes less time. The horse is in charge of the timeline. Calm, connected, and responsive also applies to me!

As I finished the day, I remembered one of my mentors saying, that you should end your day focusing on three positive things that happened. You can’t go to sleep until you can identify those three positive things. At first it can be really hard, however the more you practice, the easier it gets.

So I would challenge you to practice being positive in every aspect of your life. And when life gets a little to hectic and you feel your emotional fitness starting to slip, be even more positive and slow down and get friendly.