Jumping the Moon

Well my friends, I’ve still been laid up quite a little bit. Hoping for good health to return very soon.

Meanwhile I have had some wonderful, very short rides with Grace. And as always she wows me with her willingness.

If you have followed along, then you know the toughest transition for her has been the lope. For several varying circumstances Grace has held back or at least not ever recognized her full potential in this area. So we worked to get everything around the lope really good, while always leaving that door open for her.

My teacher said, “ It’s never better than when it’s their idea”. And oh my goodness has Grace proven that to be true.

Recently, we have broke through the barrier of her resistance. And when we did, she showed the most beautiful, smooth, balanced, and thoughtful lope, I’ve ever felt on a colt.

The first time she offered to lope with me on her back was going to the left. We built on that incrementally and it took no time at all for her to build the desire. Now she asks to lope even before I think of asking.

The other night I rode for 15 minutes. The last lap around the arena at the trot she suggested a lope to the right. I thanked her and appreciated that suggestion and that was it for that night.

Last night I had the pleasure of riding again and this time within two minutes of being on her back and the second lap around the arena she loped to the right.

Sadly, the video pod was not positioned to record the transition , but if you listen, you can hear the softness of her footfall (VIDEO LINK). We went around again, and she loped again down the long wall.

Each and every time it has been through her desire to lope. She can hardly wait to offer it. This brings me such joy. Not because of what loping means but because of how much she had to get through to find that desire.

One time, some months ago in discussing the idea of her resistance in loping, someone asked me, “How do you know that you can trust her?”

I pondered this question and finally had decided that a more important question for me to ask is, “How will she learn to trust me?”

I feel that whether it’s a human or a horse relationship trust is a very shaky limb to hold onto. While faith is something that is inherent in love, trust is often built by conditions. Conditions change. And that leaves trust in the dust.

To have faith in the unity that I live is the bedrock from which all my life experiences are built. Had I pushed my will, and pressured Grace beyond her process I would most certainly have given her just cause not to trust me.

Now she gets to be the hero, in the very thing she resisted. She overcame her own beliefs about “can’t”. And found she could. This is her success. And I simply applaud her every try.

This is what relationship means to me. I’m not here to fix anyone. I am simply here to see the world through the light of my own faith in it.

I had faith that we didn’t go beyond what she was ready for. And that in doing so she developed a desire that would far exceed getting us out of a tough spot.

I saw what we were doing as preparing us both for jumping the moon.

And just between you and me, that’s exactly what last night felt like.