To me, you are perfect

Today was our second day of the Confidence in Riding course and boy have I learned some big things! And I can't believe it's only Tuesday!

Since my trip began three weeks ago, a major theme that has stuck in my mind is that "perfect practice makes perfect." It has made all of the difference in haltering my horse, preparing to saddle my horse, actually saddling my horse, and the list goes on and on. The difference in my connection with Kucha has been incredible. Taking the time it takes so that it will take less time is really what everything is all about.

Yesterday, I prepared Kucha to ride and we were both acting like partners so I decided to mount and go to the indirect/direct rein focus station even though the other ones sounded like more fun! Something deep down told me that it is important to start from the basics and make sure those were in order. I was riding in a hackamore and began practicing my lateral flexion, IR, and DR. I asked one of the instructors if they could watch to make sure I was getting full disengagements, etc. Their response was that my horse was braced and leaning and that it was time to put the snaffle bit on...

For those of you that know a bit about the relationship between Kucha and me, you know about his tongue chewing. And you also know how much it upsets me to see him chew his tounge. It seems to happen when he feels any sort of stress and it is an emotional displacement. Since we began PNH the amount of chewing has decreased significantly, but it still creeps in from time to time. When he was wearing the hackamore, we would do what I thought was an IR and he would chew his tongue afterwards. An instructor explained to me that I wasn't getting the message down to his feet and he was left with emotions in his head. I have had fears of putting a bit back into his mouth since he hasn't worn one in two years. But when there is a brace in the body, that means there is a brace in the mind.

So today, we played in the snaffle bit and it killed me to see how he would chew his tounge during lateral flexions, etc. But one of the course assistants told me something that really touched me. She said that I should observe his tounge chewing, but not to get upset about it. Think that he is perfect, because he really is perfect, just as he is. I just need to let him know that I am there for him in those times that he does feel like he needs to go inside himself. And today, that is what I did. We rode all around the playground and played with lateral flexion. Even though we mostly walked and trotted a bit, I felt we made a huge change. I played with lateral flexion until he was able to put slack in my rein quite quickly and he even began to exhale and relax during it.

I'm proud that I was able to trust myself as a leader and trust that my horse would respond and that I was able to stick with him and give him what he needed until we experienced a change. After we were done, we went back to the pens and I gave him a shower and he yawned the entire time. I truly felt it was important to him to take that time - to show him that a release will follow but not on a brace. He doesn't need to worry about rough hands anymore - and I am committed to proving that to him. It is the release that teaches. Tonight, I said goodnight to him and told him "to me, you are perfect."