The three first assignments in ST Mastery are completed. Check! :) But of course I´m still processing the topics in my mind and I will for sure do so for a looong time. It pops up new insights every day and it´s really developing. I love it! :)

My current "Wheel of Mastery" (first assignment) - oh dear, I can´t get very far on the road with that one I can tell... Interesting is that when I tried to do my first wheel two weeks ago it looked quite different from the one I did in the assignment last weekend. I guess it means I´ve learned some important things about myself during this course.

About the personal goals. Of course I could set a lot of goals like "Within 4 weeks I will be able to ride shoulder and quarter in with collection" or "I want to update my squire-test within a year" and so on. But these goals are just about the riding part. Why don´t use the results from Wheel of Mastery and work even more on them? I surely want my "wheel" to get round as quickly as possible so I don´t bump off the road... So, I simply took my weekest areas and let them be focus for some of my goals. It felt like the right thing to do, this time.

And finally the Natural Asymmetri report. It really took some work... I mostly had an electric horse every time I tried to study her movements in freedom. I put her in another paddock to avoid deep mud and of course she got excited. She offered me shows of joy and beautiful movements. We had a great time but it was quite hard for me to evaluate her asymmetri :))
Well, at last I got some pictures and reflections. On the whole my horse still has the same asymmetri as four years ago BUT it´s much less and she moves in so much better balance! Her asymmetri is also not a problem when I´m sitting on her. It is just there, will probably always be and we can handle it. This also makes me hopeful about my own crooked body :) Some day I will find an even better balance, I just have to give it time and work on as I do!

Oh, it´s really bumpy on the road going on this wheel...
 

A bit excited? Oh yea :))

#Ridkonst  #ArtofRiding  #StraightnessTraining   #Dressyr 

"Ah, interesting!" That will truly be my new catch-word :) 

I joined ST Mastery wanting to help my horse Venus with her "spiritual" area. Well, already in the first assignment I understand what will probably be the biggest challenge for me personally in this program, namely to overcome my gremlins -  the negative thoughts in my mind creating a lot of negative emotions...

It´s not easy for my horse to feel comfortable when I´m on her back thinking "It won´t work", "I´m so crooked and unbalanced in my body", "Now we failed again", "Maybe we will never get to the art of riding", "So, now she flipped out, I will never be able to just relax on her back". And it´s of course not easy for my horse to relax and feel joy when I feel disappointment, when I don´t trust her and don´t believe in "us". I wasn´t aware of how much negative thoughts I had in my "helmet" and I wasn´t aware of how much these thoughts affected me, my feelings and disrupted my riding. It´s not nearly as bad in groundwork, handwork or longeing, but when I´m up on the horseback my helmet really turns red...

Ok, a new era has begun and it will be hard work :) From now on I´ll foremost focus on having a good time, being the best leader and support I can be to my beautiful white lady.  I´ll enjoy the small improvements and I´ll  also be nice to myself. I´ll choose my thoughts and when things doesn´t work as expected I´ll think "Ah, interesting outcome. Why did this happen, what can I learn from this and what shall I change to get a different result? "

Early early, yesterday morning. Just "being" and having a good time. The ground was still frozen so we managed to pass the waterlogged valley and to get out into the forest. The first forest walk this spring :)  
 
#StraightnessTraining  #Ridkonst  #ArtofRiding   #Dressyr

Have decided to once a week try to write about my thoughts and experiences in Straightness Training AND to write about this in English (!). In that way my English speaking friends might have the possibility to read some of my blog posts. My English isn´t the best though, sorry for that, but hopefully I will learn :))

Well, let´s get started. It took three weeks before I noticed I´ve joined the wrong ST course (typically me)  but a week ago I joined all the other enthusiastic members of the ST Mastery program. It´s really a great community I must say with an allowing and very welcoming social climate. The main reason for participate in the ST Mastery is my wish to find a better "togetherness" and harmony with my KWPN horse Venus. I also want to be a better coach to my beautiful horse so that her more nervous personality "the Flying Dutch" can rest as much as possible... I´m curious about the liberty training but I also am very curious about ST in general. I´m (understandably) a little delayed in the program, still working with the first module which deals with the fundamentals (characteristics, needs, senses of horses and about how they communicate and learn etc.) but I´m already impressed. Everything seems to be so very organized, comprehensive and structured. As a nurse anesthetist (= control freak) I like that very much :)) There´s a huge library with documents and films and Marijke is fantastic to guide you through the material. I want to learn more! :D

Next week I´ll try to do the three first assignments in the ST Mastery program and tomorrow I´ll take photos to make an analyze of Venus´ natural asymmetry. 

 #ArtofRiding   #StraightnessTraining  #Ridkonst  #Dressyr