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Live Your Dreams

Have you ever been in love?  Do you remember those first days when everything about your beloved was exciting and each day was an adventure?  Did your heart beat faster when you were together?  Did every little discovery you made about each other just make you more enraptured?  Did the time drag until you could be together again?

That’s what has happened to me. With Mountain Man away and long days to myself, I’ve fallen in love.  The object of my affection?  A formerly cranky Morgan mare named Khrysta.  With the help of one small device that delivers a click, we have turned around our relationship. 

I started with little hope this method would work but every day has been a miracle of progression.  I’ve taught her how to say yes and no.  She can smile.  She can dance the cha cha and even count to three.  We’ve been on walks in the woods.  Every day, we refine what we’ve learned the day before and build on that foundation.

Today I decided to take her down the driveway and over the brook that terrifies her.  The water was rushing loudly from the recent storms and the wind was gusting.  But, I decided to try it.  I wouldn’t push her.  She could run back to the barn.

I set up the cones she loves to target; pink sentinels leading the way to the brook.  I led her from the barn and started towards the driveway.  Gusts of wind buffeted her and she became rigid and her nostrils flared.  I held still, was silent and waited.  She held her panic and walked forward again, I clicked and gave her a treat and on we went.  Next, she spotted the cones.  Out of place to her, she tensed again.  I could see her thinking about her options.  She walked on and when she realized they were her play cones, she got into the game of picking them up and handing them to me.  So involved was she with our games, she failed to notice we were on the bridge and crossing the hated stream. 

Live your dreams, it’s the motto of my blog.  But I’ve learned that all dreams come at a cost.  My dream was to ride again and I thought all I had to do was hop on a horse and start riding.  I’ve had many setbacks.  I purchased a horse that was way too green for my experience level and age, I worked with incorrect training methods and I became further removed from what Khrysta was trying to tell me she needed.  Mountain Man wanted me to sell her and for a moment in time, out of frustration, I agreed.  But then, I realized there must be a way.

If your dream is important to you and you are struggling at the moment, take a break, do some thinking and then approach it from an entirely different angle.  You’ll be surprised at the joy you find in perservering.

Here’s one silly horse video: