Patience....hmmm, definitely not my strong suit! I have found I need to be patient when working with my horse while he searches for "the right answer" to what I'm asking of him. It sometimes seems to take him a bit to think through what to do. When he is learning, if I'm impatient and don't pause to give him that moment to figure out what to do, then he gets frustrated and impatient with me. That never ends well! If given that moment to make a decision, then if he makes the wrong move it should be met with pressure, and if he makes the right move then the pressure is released. It's that simple. But I have to remember to be patient and give him that chance to make his move. When things go wrong, and at some point they always will, or my horse makes a bad decision (like giving me a taste of some rodeo moves!), then we make a correction and move on. We need to learn to forgive and forget. Our horses are very forgiving, especially considering all of the things that we ask of them. We can learn a lot from them. Patience and forgiveness definitely top the list.
Horses keep me calm and focused probably more then anything else in my life. Maybe that's why "barn time" tends to be endless - it truly is a type of therapy. Patience and forgiveness, although still a struggle for me, are so much easier when working with horses. Can I be as patient and forgiving in other parts of my life? We can only control our actions and not that of others. So having patience can allow things in our lives the time they need to happen. Every aspect of our lives can benefit from doing our best and trying, and then having the patience to give it all time to work it's way out. Like training a horse, it takes time. We have gotten so used to getting immediate results and instant gratification for so many things in our lives that sometimes we forget that some of the best things take time - a good dinner, starting a business, a relationship, the healing process....Great things come to those who wait.
And let's not forget how important it is to be patient with ourselves. I find that I'm often frustrated with myself for not "getting things right" or not accomplishing everything I feel that I should have. We need to be patient and forgiving of ourselves. Just like when you have a "bad ride," sometimes you'll have a bad day. Forgive yourself and move on. If your horse can forgive you, then so can you. It seems that horses make life a whole lot simpler. I guess that's why I love to spend so much time with them, they make us better. The patience we have while we train our horses allows for us to build that trust and enjoy our ride with them. The patience we have with others and ourselves allows us to enjoy our trail ride of life.
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