Horse Wise

I didn’t learn to ride until I was an adult. Predictably, I wasn’t exactly the smoothest rider at first. In fact, I was a downright nerd at the barn. If there was a wrong fashion choice to make, I made it. Rubber riding boots. Giant bright sweaters. Oversized helmets that made me look like an uncoordinated motorcycle cop. You name the worst equestrian fashion faux pas — and I embodied it. I longed to be rugged, tough and world wise, like the pro horse trainers I knew. But over time, I came to realize that my nerdy perspective was actually a positive thing. It gave me a fresh and completely non-cynical approach to the horses. My “beginner’s mind” was open to many possibilities that experts would never consider. Because of that, I became aware of small things in the horses’ behavior and expressions that seemed significant to me (and to the horses). I was more receptive to learning — and the horses were happy to teach me because of that.  I owe this insight to an early experience at a Ray Hunt clinic. It wa