06/02/2026
š«Changing Frequencies š«
Have you ever wondered why, at times, it's easier to make progress with other people's horses rather than your own?
This is something that had me baffled for years.
I'd often find it easier to make progress with schooling horses than my own. With my own horses, I'd find myself frustrated; the progress was always slower. At one point, I had convinced myself that it was because "my horses were more challenging". I found some clarity in believing this, because I had no other answer at the time...
But... eventually I figured it out.
My horses didn't progress slower than other horses because they were more challenging; they progressed slower because I expected more of them, I expected them to do better, be better, learn faster. I thought, because they were in my constant care and I was always working with them, that they should be the perfect example of my training and philosophies- it was exactly this expectation that held them back.
Why?
Because everything in this world is energy, you and I, our horses, all that is around us, visible and invisible.
The stuff you can't see, that's the stuff you get feelings about. For instance, when you meet new people and you get a "vibe or feeling" from them about who they are.
Sometimes feelings can change as energy is fluid.
My horses were progressing slowly because my energy was full of expectation toward both them and myself to be a certain standard and way.
The feeling for them, when in my presence, was one that said, "You must hold up this standard all of the time to be accepted".
Often when working with them, rather than rewarding the small improvements with positivity and praise, I would ask for "just a little bit more, first".
I can only imagine they must have felt like it was never good enough, and in feeling that, they actually tried less because living up to the standards I expected was exhausting.
Then, on the other hand, there were my schooling horses (owned by other people) and my students.
I always tried to, and still do, meet them where they are at. To reward even the smallest tries and to keep patience and understanding that progress is never linear and takes time.
Understanding and acceptance operate at a higher frequency than expectation.
It offers encouragement and love without condition.
My schooling horses felt safe and understood, they always tried harder than my own horses because no matter how small the try, it was always acknowledged.
Their progress was always faster, and working with them was more effortless. My students are the same.
As time has gone on, I've learnt to find more patience with both myself and my own horses.... however, sometimes the patience with self is the challenging one!
But with my own horses, I have realised that working with them can be so subtle and slow because, after all, they are my own horses. Unlike schooling horses, I literally have all of the time in the world.
And of course, now that I have dropped all of my expectations, working with them is much more subtle, effortless, and they are the mirrors of my work and philosophies that I always imagined them to be.
