Training Journal
Quiet side: It is wonderful to be walking our horse.
Competitive side: Yes it is. When are we going to trot?
Quiet side: We trot. And canter.
Competitive side: Pffft. A few minutes on a long rein is not trotting. Well, technically it is trotting. But it’s not working. Circles. Contact. Basic stuff. Canter more often than once a month.
Quiet side: It’s all about anxiety management. He knows how to do everything already. As soon as his brain is online, the body will follow.
Competitive side: Interesting how the sensitive horsemanship answer is the same as the weenie answer.
Quiet side: That’s rude.
Competitive side: Yup. And may I also point out that he is 20 years old. That’s a whole new level of starting late.
Quiet side: May I point out how how far we’ve come.
Competitive side: Jumping. Remember jumping?
Quiet side: —
Competitive side: I thought so. Ain’t gonna get ready for jumping by walking around on the buckle.
Quiet side: Festina lente.
Competitive side: Lots of lente; not so much festina.
Quiet side: It takes the time it takes.
Competitive side: Life is short. Yolo.
Quiet side: We are smelling the flowers.
Competitive side: We are wandering around aimlessly.
Quiet side: Potato, potahto.
Competitive side: We have the chance to own a fantastically talented horse and this is what we chose to do with him?
Quiet side: Are you trying to help or trying to crank up the guilt knob?
Competitive side: Whatever it takes.
Quiet side: Be quiet. It is wonderful to be walking our horse.
~~~
And there you have my brain.
Discussing the Dichotomy
[Is Your Horse A Dog Or A Sailboat?]
[Split Personality]
[Countdowns]
Does anyone else’s brain send mixed messages?
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
No more on horses – no more horses – but mixed messages, oh, yes.
1. All the time.
2. You write so well.
3. More.
Every. Single. Week:
Practical mind: I should bring my horse home.
Frivolous mind: And ride (safely) where?
Practical mind: We are surrounded by state forests that have served fine in the past.
Frivolous mind: Winter? Rainy fall? Wet Spring? Buggy summer?
Practical mind: Nobody takes care of him like I would.
Frivolous mind: He makes easy-keepers look complicated.
Practical mind: He could get better trail experience from home.
Frivolous mind: Boarding barn dumps into the same state forest.
Practical mind: He needs to meet the home team at some point.
Frivolous mind: You forgot you own a mare and two senior geldings?
Practical mind: He would be so much happier living outside 24/7
Frivolous mind: At a barn that’s already one horse over your two horse limit?
Practical mind: I’d save the equivalent of a mortgage payment every month.
Frivolous mind: ….
Reminds me a bit of the conversations I sometimes have with the “cranky art teacher” who lives in my brain.
Nice to know I am not alone.
“Practical mind: Nobody takes care of him like I would.” Yup. Yup. Yup. I can’t imagine boarding again. I would be the boarder from hell, particularly at a training barn.
“cranky art teacher” Oooooh, I don’t have one of these, but I can imagine how it would be. Fancy that. Something I don’t have in my head.