Happy New Year folks, it is a stunning day to start 2015, and the horses are making the most of the beautiful green growth still on the ground.
I was able to enjoy a great ride on both the boys, and the old girl got to sit this one out as her rider is off at the beach enjoying the sun in the lovely Coromandel. It is days like today though that remind me of just how lucky we are to live in such a stunning country and to be blessed with the company of our wonderful animals.
Whilst riding today I had the JVC camera out and took some footage of my rides on both the boys and when reviewing the clips I filmed, I realised that seeing yourself and your horse while you are riding is not something that every one can do, but is something that if given the chance we all should. There are so many things that you see on film, that you don’t while actually riding. You get a clear picture of what the horses body language and movement is like, what your posture is like, and what you are doing whilst communicating with your horse. So from now on, I plan to make it a regular part of my riding, taking video and then looking over it straight after our ride. That way I will be able to make slight changes and improvements so that both the horses and I are getting the best out of our time riding.
So that is all I really wanted to say for today, and please remember, have fun, cherish your time with your horses and be safe. If it is going pear shaped, tomorrow is another day, leave it till then and you might just find that it has all melted away and things are all fresh and great again.

All the best for 2015 from the grazing chestnuts

A random thought that I seem to have often, “my horse loves…”, usually this statement if followed by, jumping, trecking, dressage, hunting and the list goes on. But really do they? For the most part, No they don’t. I mean, OK they seem happy in what they are doing when they do these things, but do they “love” it, would they normally without a human, do these things? No. The problem that I find when I say this to people though, is that they think that I am saying that really their horse “hates” what ever it is that the person has said they love, but that is not it either. What I am getting at when I disagree with the “my horse loves…” statement, is that horses naturally would not do any of what we humans ask them to do and though many will with training, willingly do what we ask, does not mean that if given a choice they would rather just wander off and graze, scratch on a tree, have a drink or maybe roll in some dirt. My point is, that though we can get our horses to do many things that they likely would not without us, does not mean that we are making them “happy” or that they “love” it. All it means is that we have found a way to get them to do what ever it is that WE want to do, and IF we say, don’t have time to do what ever it is we’d normally be doing, in all honesty we are likely doing them a favour letting them just be a horse. So, my random thought for the day is, next time we think, “my horse really loves…” just take a second to break that thought up and take a look as if you were the horse and then decide if your original thought is what the horse does feel. The more we think about things from the horses side, the more we will find a success and balance in our relationship with them and both lives will be all the better for it. Have a great day people, Grazing Chestnuts.