The gentle art of saying "YES"

This is Piglet, my 6 year old standard bred mare. She represents a number of things, my love of horses and my dream to ride - and my fear of loosing control and of failure (or in this case, falling). She is my challenge, and in many ways, my saviour.

In my last post I spoke about waiting - waiting till I lost the weight, waiting till I had more time, more money (the list of excuses is long and varied). And whilst I was "waiting" aka living in fear, I was missing my life. I have had Piglet for 2 months now, and and only riden her for approximately 10 minutes, and that was in the paddock with my partner leading her. Each day I would go out and feed her, talk to her and tell her how much I loved her - but I didnt honor her by putting my trust in us and what we could do together. I was scared, and overwhelmed with the whole riding process. I told myself that although I am able to ride, and have done so with others at a friends trail riding place, that I was still a beginner and that she was too confronting for me.

Yesterday everything changed. With a friend's help, not only did I ride Piglet, I rode her independantly. Baby steps, didnt leave the paddock, and we didnt canter, but the whole experience was empowering and I cant wait to have another day off work so I can throw the saddle back on. Yes we had a few minor issues - Piglet can be very stubborn LOL, but we worked through them.

Now I know that many of my fellow team-mates are not horse mad, but this experience has given me insight into other areas of my life. For example, running. Now I know Michelle is a real pusher for running, and well I do not see myself as a runner. The excuses (weak ankles, back pain, too old, I will look stupid in front of others.........) are going over in my head, but like the situation with Piglet, its about letting go and trusting. Trusting yourself that you can actually do this, and putting the fear aside that you will fail.

I have no doubt that I will never be an olympic rider, nor will I be an acclaimed runner. But I dont care. Because I will do it for the love of it, for the experience of it, and because I can.

(PS - for those who have noticed Piglet's shabby oversize coat, this has been corrected and she now has a new winter coat that fits her perfectly LOL)