Fake it 'til you make it

Fake it 'til you make it. Did you laugh? I did the first time someone said that to me. But you know what? Everyone should do it. It sounds silly, and sounds like it will make you look silly... but it doesn't. If you've ever read or seen "The Secret" or have read any of Wayne Dyer's work (or the numerous positive thinking/holistic lifetsyle approach literature), you'd realize it's all the same; thinking positive, and thinking of yourself a certain way, until you actually become that way. Pretend to be happy for long enough, and you will actually become happy. Pretend you are a professional horseperson and real estate investor, and you will actually become so.

Now, I don't know if it's this crazy, awesome weather, or what, but things are really coming together for me. I remember during my last year of university, people asked me (my lord, how many times??) what I was going to do when I was done school. I told them I was going to ride, train and coach, and work flipping houses, both part time, and see which would take off first. It sounded kinda of silly, and I wasn't sure I even believed in myself. The last few months, I've been doing both sort of half-ass, yet not letting myself believe that either dream was over, either. All of the sudden (seemingly), I feel like a professional in both occupancies.

Between horses, I'm on the phone making appointments to see houses. I check out potential projects, or check up on current projects, sometimes throw on the painting clothes and paint for a few hours. Then I go home and spend the rest of the night working on budgets for potential projects. Today, I was told just how appreciated I was at my riding job, and that everyone was really happy with me. How nice is that?! I spent so long pretending to be a professional at both jobs (why else do you think I started this blog?), that I now feel like I've earned it. Would I compare myself to Ian Millar or Scott whathisface from Income Property? Hell no. But it's definitely a start :) Fake it 'til you make it, people! It's what I'm going to keep doing, and maybe one day I will, truly, "make it".

The Importance of the Leg Yield

Oh, the leg yield. Seemingly so simple, it's included in the First Level dressage tests all over North America. Many people take it for granted, and I used to be one of these people until the last few weeks. After spending several weeks trying to teach certain horses to bend to the inside AND keep the outside rein AND respect my leg, I am now a true believer.

The point of the leg yield is not, as one might think, to just go sideways. Yes, that is the final result, but it's not really the point. The point is that, in doing a leg yield correctly, you have achieved some of the most important goals in your riding.

A proper leg yield needs several things to happen cooperatively. The horse needs to move away (and therefore respect) your leg, use their inside hind to step under himself and into your outside rein, softly bend to the inside, giving on the inside rein, and accept the outside aids as guidance.

In my (very humble) opinion, as soon as a horse understands basic forward and steering aids, it is never too early to start teaching the leg yield. Not only does it strengthen the horse, but it softens them to your aids. If a horse respects your leg enough to move away when you softly ask them to go over, you can bet he will also respect your leg when you ask him to go more forward, or even push him further into your hand. Likewise, if the horse understands how to bend around your leg, you can bet your circles and corners will be much nicer.

The impact of working the leg yield is practically exponential. So get practicing :)

Moments

I've always enjoyed teaching, whether it be teaching people on horseback, tutoring in school, or helping horses underneath me understand what they're supposed to do. I've always gotten such great satisfaction from the results, but especially when my student has that "lightbulb" moment, that moment when I realize that I actually made a difference. That, to me, is the sweetest moment there is.

Amazingly, I've had a few of those these past couple of weeks. The barn that I'm riding at had a rider who was, I guess, too "controlling", a push and pull type, which is why I managed to get the job. It's quite obvious when I started riding there; I'd put my leg on to try to push them into my hand a bit more, to try and get just a bit better of a connection, and many of them would pin their ears, stick their neck way out, and pullllllll. My response, at first, was to relax my hand and leg. I didn't want them to get away with it, but  more so, I didn't want them to think I was trying to trap them. I just wanted them to relax.

One of these horses was also extremely unfit and, when cantering, felt like he was pretty much scrambling around on his face. Being 17.1h, it was a tad scary. But, last Friday, I felt the change. Cantering around the ring twice each way is an accomplishment on its own with this horse, but that day, not only did he keep the canter, he was round and soft, not pulling me around the corners and down the long side. It was amazing, and I was so proud. I've had a few more of those "moments" with those horses, most notably with a 4yr old who, when I started riding her, wouldn't go forward if a bomb went off under her tail. But something has clicked and I actually noticed myself needing to half halt this week.

I could keep going on and on about those moments, but I promised to update everyone on how Flora was during her first jumping clinic. One word: spectacular. She did her first trot poles, and eventually her first grid. It took a LOT of leg to get her to actually jump and canter away from the cross rail, but by the end of it, she was cantering all the way through the three jump combination. SO PROUD! It was honestly amazing to see her come so far in just one lesson. Waylon said she just needed to get some confidence, and today, I think she found it. I did trot poles to a cross rail, 4 strides to a small vertical and then HER FIRST OXER EVER!!! I was definitely more excited than her... I don't think she really even noticed. BUT YAY FLORA!!! I went and got all my memberships in preparation for show season... it's gonna be a good one!

One last thing... I'm sorry to anyone who actually reads this for how long my blogs are!! I just can't help it, I love my pony :)