EAT: Taking It In | RES 039

Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship and Personal Growth with Van Hargis

Sometimes we can find ourselves either overwhelmed or underwhelmed with information and what to do with it. There’s so much advice available to us at the tips of our fingers that it’s easy to absorb lessons that don’t quite work for us. Or maybe there’s so much out there we shut down and stop ourselves from being receptive to good information. This can lead to boredom. Doing the same old routine day in, day out. It can get to the point where you might just want to sell your horse and pick up a fishing rod instead. But there is a way out of these kinds of ruts, and that way is to eat. Take in something new, learn more, and put some new fuel in your tank, so to speak. This episode is dedicated to giving you a few steps to help you grow in your horsemanship. You have to take stuff in to make progress, you have to EAT.

Key Takeaways

Taking it in. If you feel yourself stuck go find something new to stimulate some excitement. That could be reading some articles online, or watching some videos. They don’t even have to be about aspects of horsemanship you’re familiar with. In fact, finding something you know nothing about can help show you what direction you do or don’t want to head in.

There are so many opportunities to learn and experience new things, even in our own backyards. Eat it up! It doesn’t make sense to wallow around and starve. Go see if there are any events happening near you that you’d normally gloss over. Go check them out. Talk to people. Make connections. Try something new.

We need to pay attention to what we take in as well. Is the information we’re getting appropriate for what direction we want to head in? Make sure you evaluate your goals in horsemanship and don’t stick around in paths that don’t seem to be taking you in that direction.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been approached with the following line: “Well Van, I was riding my horse and all of a sudden, for no reason, they did…..” At this point they lose some credibility with me. You need to be aware and alert of your horse. What are they saying to you? What’s their body language communicating, their eyes, ears, nose, and tails. Learn what the horse is trying to tell you and find a way to use that information to communicate back.

Ask yourself if you are trainable. If you’re transformable. Are you being receptive to others when they try to teach you? You need to be open to new information and not blow others off when they try and help you. Ask yourself if you’re willing to put forth the time and energy it takes to change and grow. Can you commit to making new, better habits to get rid of your old ones?

These lessons apply not only to our horses and growth as a rider, trainer, and leader--remember, horsemanship is an opportunity to practice humanship everyday.