How Life Feels

Morning Mantra: “I’m way more interested in how life feels to me than how it looks to others.”So, our trip to the horse show yesterday definitely didn’t go as planned.  I had to make a tough decision for the benefit of my horse.  A decision that felt right but probably looked to others like I was letting my fear run things.When we got to the show my horse was “up” but still looking to me for guidance and listening to me.  He has overcome a lot of his track trauma with tons of ground work and two years of gaining his trust.  He schooled perfectly in the ring that was supposed to be where we showed.  I was thrilled and excited for the next day and soooooo proud of him (and me).Unfortunately the next morning he was inside out.  He normally lives out 24/7 and had to be in a stall at the show grounds overnight, so he was full of energy and anxiety.  When I walked him around he wasn’t listening or connecting to me.  He was clearly overwhelmed.  I thought he might settle though, so I went to pick up my number for our classes.It was there I found out that, due to all the rain, they had moved his division to a make shift ring up on the racetrack! I went back and got him to take him up there so he could see things. When he saw the racetrack he lost it.  My sweet boy that normally listens felt like a time bomb.I made the decision to scratch our classes and focus on calming him down instead. It took hours. But it felt like the right thing to do. And that is more important than how it looked to others.I felt bad for him, I felt mad at myself for not knowing better, I felt disappointed in myself for causing him so much stress. But these feelings are why I know the decision to scratch was the right one.Next time I’ll borrow a trailer and haul him in for a day.  No overnight.  I’ll make sure I know what ring we are in.  I’ll give him even more assurance that I am there for him.Many people would have done things differently.  Many people would have made him tough it out.  Many people might look at my decision and judge it.  But I am way more interested in how things FEEL to me than how they LOOK to them.#BeALifeFeeler #BeHappy #BeHorsey #BeHippie #HorseHippie #MorningMantra #inspirationalQuotes #MorningMotivation #Equestrian #HorseLover #QuotesToInspire #HorseHippieBrand #HorseHippieBoutique