Have you ever made plans, been looking forward to them, and then at the last minute those plans change? Or planned on getting a lot accomplished and then things changed and nothing got checked off your "to-do list" for that day? Or maybe you planned on achieving a goal and then realized that your goals may have changed? Just because we plan for something doesn't mean that it will happen, but we should still make a plan. Maybe plans are meant to be flexible? We sometimes have to follow are instincts, our gut, our hearts, or just listen to others to figure out if our original plan will still get us where we want to go. Does our current path fulfill our purpose? It is always good to proceed with a plan, but be willing to allow it to change. You never know if maybe that was the path we were supposed to take in the first place!
As we start to get our horses ready to ride again this spring after their "hibernation" for the winter, I go into each session with a plan of what my horse and I are going to accomplish. My goal would be to be able to just get on and ride off down the trail. I start with grooming (ok...let's stop there...it's shedding season so sometimes brushing might be all we have time for...but that at least gives us wonderful bonding time!) and move on to getting all saddled and ready to go. My plan is typically to do some groundwork that we have continued to work on all winter before actually getting in the saddle. After the refresher on the ground, once in the saddle then we would work on establishing softness and making sure that the horse is responding to my cues before we head off down the trail. Depending on many factors, this plan often gets derailed and we never make it to the blissful ride down the trail. As I lead my horse to the mounting block, he can't seem to get focused and stand still for me to get on. So back to the groundwork we go! Not only is the horse's focus not on our communication, but maybe my focus isn't where it is supposed to be? Am I worried about how this ride is going to go or if I'm up for the challenge if my horse isn't responding to me? And once we start riding, does he want to go faster then I'm asking him to go? Can I achieve the goal of getting my body and mind and the horse's body and mind to communicate and understand what is being asked? My goal now has changed from going on a trail ride, to getting to that point where my horse is focused on what I'm asking of him yet for him to still be able to be aware of his surroundings and trust me to lead him. My plans didn't go the way I wanted them to and I never got that nice trail ride that day. But what my horse told me was that he wasn't ready! What would have happened if I stayed with the plan and went for a trail ride? I'm sure if my horse wasn't ready, it would have been a less then relaxing ride!!
The trail you take may not be the one you expected to ride on, but that doesn't mean it won't be the trail you were supposed to be on. I'm finding that with all of the changes going on in the world today, my original plans are continuing to adapt to what our family's needs are and I'm trying to learn to be ok with that. You never know what amazing things are waiting for you on the trail that you never planned on taking! Life is full of surprises, so keep riding and we'd love for you to share places that your trail rides have taken you!
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