Some Inspiration to Staying In Sync
/On a brisk, dryish December day in WNY, I went for a ride to clear my mind. My most trusted mount was of course the best choice for a trail ride alone in the forestry with poor cell service. My horse calmly walked out on the soggy leaves covering the gravel truck trail and I settled into my stirrups. The tree trunks were shiny with moisture, almost sparkly in the low winter light, but not quite.
The smooth greens of the mosses and rough textures of the stones played counterpoint to the soft light, grounding us towards the earth in winter. As we walked, I felt the cares of running a business slip away, the little family emotional stuff floating off, just breathing deep and touching on my inner most self. I let the reins drop on my horse’s neck and started some arm stretches, finding flow again, with only the eyes of the universe upon us (I think, as this was a public trail).
Emily and minah in sync, feet and soft smiles
I tapped into my yogic union state, finding it physically in the engagement of my toes, in the softening of my hips, the light grip of leg and lift and expansion of my chest. That smooth feeling of not just being on top of a horse, but truly feeling them viscerally. My mind grew quiet, yet hyper aware and observant, taking in my horse and the forest simultaneously like a good herd leader should. I took a full breath in, with a slight lift of my center of gravity and straightening of my reins, and let some vibrational energy shine though us both, and my equine partner responded into a nice trail eating trot before I reached the top of my inhale. We floated along together, he was happy on an adventure, I was able to explore our depths of partnership. We were ‘in sync’.
This state of riding a horse is easily observed by experienced Horsemen and Horsewomen and coveted by many. It doesn’t happen all the time, throughout each ride, or even with a horse and rider that are riding at a very high level. It doesn’t even need to be felt while riding but can be most fascinating and easily visually confirmed as ‘real’ during routine ground activities. It ebbs and flow, and is most beautiful when there is no audience, no pressure to perform, in fact the more it becomes a performance, the more this state of being is lost. Ask most artists, musicians, and dancers about their most inspiring creative outputs, and they will usually respond, my best work just ‘came to me, spontaneous, in a jam session.
We and horses can be in sync at the beginning stages of our learning and advanced; horses prefer this state over all others as it offers the most comfortable herd dynamic. If your horse does not want to sync with you, it’s up to you as herd leader to figure out why. Maybe riding in circles has bored him to the point where he feels ignored, so he closes his energy to you. Maybe the rider’s insecurity has created a block or tightness in their shoulders, so the horse can’t feel the rider or vice versa, hence the union state is blocked.
Caroline and Leah with legs and expressions in sync at an endurance ride
More likely as riders advance, a rider will fear this joined state because it means relinquishing a fair amount of control. You want to be in flow? You have to let go…Being in sync also carries the responsibility of recognizing the power of each other, and respecting it, and finding ways to channel it without doing each other harm. I ride out alone in the woods in full recognition of the risk I am taking, in full knowledge that I could end up with significant damage to myself and my horse from something out of my control, and I make the conscious choice to accept the consequences my choices have on me and my horse. If I didn’t, we would not find our ultimate partnership out there or anywhere. Such a skill is quite useful in non-equestrian pursuits, like living everyday life ‘in sync’.
How ‘in sync’ are you with your day-to-day life? Can you move through your day, meeting coworkers, driving to the store, preparing meals, and finding these little moments of flow, of being in sync with your tasks and surroundings? Just thoughts to ponder, I know away from a horse I tend to struggle much more!
These 3 pictures were all taken within 6 months of each other, all with different horses and owners. In sync groundwork happens often enough I didn’t have to hunt very hard to find these photos, and I am grateful for the visual feedback that my teaching is actual taking hold!
Mom and Willow in sync on her blind side, by energy and intention.