Making the change!

Change is something that can be both scary, or exciting, or both!

My greatest change came from shock and incredible sadness…

Our lives are full of change, and while some of us accept it, others try to fight with it, similar to the way horses react during different periods of their training.

Some people spend their entire lives TRYING to change, and some people spend their lives trying to change OTHERS!

A dear friend of mine smokes like a chimney, and a do gooder attempted to heal him through acupuncture.

I asked him if he thought this would work…

He just smiled at me and said, I don’t think so, I like smoking, I don’t want to stop!

I agreed that she probably had her work cut out for her, as the main ingredient in most life changes is DESIRE~!

My change of location has been driven by a strong desire… to train and ride in the native land of my dream horse, the LUSITANO!

And this change has been both rewarding and interesting, as I have gradually come to know and adapt to the Portuguese way of life.

It took me some time to learn the lingo, as often even the most simple day to day phrases had me confused…

A typical Portuguese answer to “How are you?” is mais ou menos…meaning MORE  OR LESS.

I would often be left wondering, more or less than what? More happy than yesterday, less agitated than you were before???

Another good one I discovered was the answer to “How do I get to ???” when asking directions…

The Portuguese reply is sempre na frente…meaning ALWAYS IN FRONT!

Again..Always in front of what?

I soon figured out that they probably just expected you to keep walking forward… until you either got bored, or realised they had no idea where you were talking about, whichever came first!

But aside from life change something equally as difficult to change is someone’s OPINION!

Being a stubborn country girl I tend to give my opinion readily, abruptly, and often when it’s not wanted!

I have learnt that when people ask you for your opinion on a personal matter, they actually don’t want to know what you think, they just want you to tell them it’s fantastic… that their hair looks great, that they don’t look a day over twenty, that you barely noticed the sunglass outline that has been permanently  tattooed to their face!

In terms of animals, giving your opinion is even more dangerous, and telling someone their chihuahua looks like a rat, or that their beloved bunny is roadkill, is like telling a mother her baby is ugly.

It does not go down well AT ALL!

Horse people are no exception, and when someone asks you if you like their horse, I have learnt to be very careful.

There is no good way to answer this question constructively in terms of criticism, and the only answer the person is really looking for is “Yes he is simply beautiful!”

Futhermore I have found that even a clever diversionary comment on the voluptuousness of his tail, or the sparkle in his eye, will only warrant further investigation.

Changes once in the saddle come in many shapes and sizes, but currently Batialo and I are making a particular change….the FLYING one to be exact!

Click here to read about training the Flying changes from this young rider’s view!

Training the Flying change 

Thought of the day: IF someone tells you you can’t do something, don’t argue…

Just really enjoy proving them WRONG!

Photo by COUDELARIA ANTÓNIO CORREIA DE MENDONÇA