My husband works shift work and so we have had to be very intentional in how we connect as I have picked up more teaching work over the last few years so we can address deferred maintenance on the house once our son got to college age.

I was thinking about my relationship (and connection) with my horse, Sahara recently, and how my riding has changed since doing your courses. I have learned to slow down and smell the roses, so to speak. Well, spend more time on the ground with my horse, hanging out with her, without this go, go, go mentality. Catch, groom and ride, ride ride. I have learned to love the connecting we have, be it scratching, grooming or jumping on bareback for a ride around the paddock, out with friends, out on walks together. Sometimes she doesn't want to be groomed, or want a saddle pad or saddle on. Sometimes she doesn't want to be ridden, either.

Lockdown last year was such an eye opener for me. I had quite a few kids that used to ride her to help pay for my horse bills. I was aware that sometimes she used to bite when a child got on, or when I was leaning over her to open up a gate so we could ride through. During level 4 lockdown last year I noticed she had stopped biting and I realized that she had been showing anxiety. She didn't like all those kids riding.

About the same time I also realized that her excessive shying when I was riding out on my own was due to my subconscious fear of falling off ( I had been dumped by her in the paddock three years prior during our first Spring flush), so I stopped riding out and about for a while and focused on building up our trust.

Since doing that we are having lots more special connecting moments. My favourite times are when I float her to the beach . I let her graze for a bit and if I can take her off the led to this she loves it even more. Then eventually she heads down to the beach and takes me for a walk. It is wonderful. I clip her lead on only if I need to (lots of dogs around, etc). If she is happy for me to jump on, I will enjoy a ride as well.

I only kept one of my riders on after level 4 was lifted last year. We have both learned together how to bond with Sahara on the ground. I get so much pleasure watching them connect with each other.

Thanks Teddie for your courses. I am slowly working through "Recess with your horse", as our winter weather allows and look forward to deepening our bond much more 🙂