Everyone has heard the saying, “when one door shuts another door opens”. Although almost everyone is familiar with this saying, most of us have trouble putting it into practice. After all, it can be really hard to look at disappointment in a positive light.
With horses we are constantly needing to remind ourselves that goals are flexible, plans are tentative, and there is a way to learn and grow from every situation. Let’s look at a few common scenarios and how we can turn them into opportunities.
Imagine you are prepping for a show and your horse comes up lame a few weeks before. It is easy to feel bummed that you won’t make it to the show and upset that you put all that hard work in for “nothing”. Now look at it from a different perspective. You have more time to prep for your next show so your horse will be even better prepared. Any rush or worry you might have felt about being underprepared or not having enough time to prepare won’t be an issue for your future show since you were already basically ready for this one and now have loads more time before the next one.
In addition, you gain the opportunity to spend some quality time with your horse while he is laid up without feeling guilty that you aren’t working towards that goal. This takes some of the pressure off your relationship and allows you to connect with your horse in a more personal way instead of approaching your horse in a productive, business-like manner. You can use this time to build a better foundation of relaxation with your horse. Often the rush of training makes us forget about the principles that we started with. What a great opportunity this is to get back to them!
Let’s look at another scenario. Imagine your horse turns out to be unable to do the work that you wanted him to do. Maybe he suffered a career ending injury, maybe he didn’t like the job you were asking of him, or maybe he is simply too old to continue to perform his job. Whatever the reason, this can be an excellent opportunity for you to learn something new. Try a new discipline that your horse is able to do or does enjoy. Maybe explore some trails and take a break from the show world. Take the opportunity to learn some groundwork that you never had time for. A lot of groundwork can be done at the walk for older horses who need low impact activities. This will make you a better horseman for your future equestrian endeavours.
Along the same lines, even if your horse ends up needing a full retirement for whatever reason you can still find value in the career that you did have together. Think of everything you learned from your horse. All of these skills can be applied to your next horse so that you can be even better and get where you wanted to go even faster with less, or at least different, bumps along the way.
At the end of the day you have to remember that regardless of the situation life is a journey and that holds even more true with horses. Even if you have goals and dreams you have to remember to enjoy each day along the way and take each set back or roadblock as it comes. Remember not to get too caught up in your plans and be flexible enough to enjoy the twists and turns of your journey. Maybe life has different plans for you that are better than you could ever dream of. After all, even our imagination has limits and so very often we miss what we really want when we are so busy trying to get there.
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