Maximus: Shortly After He Left

Maximus: Shortly After He Left

December 15, 2022Posted indressage, dressage horse, farm, goodbye, hobby farm, horse farm, horses, letting go, life lessons, personal growth, retired horse, teachers, tribute4 Comments
I’m at the month mark now and I’m honestly a bit surprised at how resounding the grief feels. Don’t get me wrong, I knew it would be hard, but I thought knowing that we had saved him from suffering would be at the forefront and my rational brain could hold onto that and make it through the hardest chunks. But again, the hardest chunks have nothing to do with rational thought. I miss his presence, his soft eyes, and his gigantic head insisting that I scratch it. I miss the night checks and belly scratches, and the slow way he did everything.

Dahlia

July 21, 2022Posted inhorses1 Comment
I’m telling you, dressage is not for the faint of heart. It’ll expose you. And all of your flaws, not just in your physical riding but in your demeanor, your mindset, your head space. And a horse like Dahlia, she just tells you louder than the other ones typically do. She doesn’t agree with “should” and takes issue with me bringing tension to our time that has nothing to do with riding, ie. the rest of my stressful life. She absorbs that tension and then throws it back to me as if to say, "No. I refuse to keep that for you. Deal with it so that we can actually focus on this now and not the cacophony of the rest of your life."