At the horse show in-gate of the new year
Here we are, at the gate of a new year – it’s like approaching the horse show ring, walking up the chute, through the in-gate… and into the unknown – do you feel your heart pounding??
Here we are, at the gate of a new year – it’s like approaching the horse show ring, walking up the chute, through the in-gate… and into the unknown – do you feel your heart pounding??
If your horse trailer tack room door is jammed closed and bulging, you’re in good company. We never did get around to the annual pre-show cleaning… no horse shows…. It’s shaping up to be a grey Christmas – in the grey zone of a lock-down, things aren’t as they’re supposed to be. Our rituals and routines are as messed up as our trailer tack room…. Funny how the story of Christmas is about the birth of a child in the middle of a mess.
A predictable environment for a prey animal is a safe environment. Horses thrive on a predictable training system and feeding schedule. No surprises.
I guess in many ways we’re the same, don’t you think?
Anyone who’s goaded and zig-zagged their horse away from the barn only to have him beeline back; anyone who’s experienced their circle bulge as though magnetized toward the arena entrance or the break-of-gait at the show ring in-gate knows…horses have a homing instinct.