Are you riding for now or forever?

The glory of horse riding is felt by many. But are you riding for now or forever?

The question I pose is pretty obvious – of course we want to ride forever. Right Now.

But I put it to you this way. What is your ultimate goal with horse riding?

Do you want to enjoy the luxury of the wind in your hair as you gallop through the paddocks? Perhaps you dream of taking gold at the Olympics? Or maybe, you are in it for the love and partnership of the horse.

There are no wrong answer to your desired goal, but there is a right and a wrong way to achieve it.

One of my desires with riding and horsemanship has been to compete at pony club dressage. Maybe even take home a ribbon. Not grandiose, given, but still, it's my goal.

I could choose to achieve this in one of two ways:

1)      Now, or

2)      Later

If I choose now, I could easily take my boyo to a  test, place him in an award winning frame that looks like self carriage and take away the prize. But the simple fact is that right now he isn’t physically capable of maintaining that frame, even for short spurts, in a healthy manner. His previous training means he will instantly arch his neck when I ask, but he can't engage his core or hind end when he does.

If I choose later, I have time to develop his musculoskeletal system to be able to support true self carriage. I still can take him to dressage tests, but the expectation is not for prizes, but for improvement. It will take months, nay years, before I would hope to win a ribbon.

Choosing the now may result in my win, but will end up my horse’s loss.

I choose later.

I choose to work with my horse to improve his physical capabilities at a pace that will allow true musculoskeletal developments.

I choose a partnership of growth and development based on true trust and honest, hardcore work.

I choose to let my horse win his physical achievements before I win a ribbon.

I choose forever.

What will you choose?

Sarah