Stop, Pivot, Turn, Go

Jubilee’s getting a much-deserved reward for practicing  “stop, pivot, turn, and go” over and over, so we can safely and effectively work cattle. Building this muscle memory helps us change direction quickly and efficiently.

She’s small and athletic, so it’s easy to “cheat” by making fast, hairpin turns instead of solid stops and pivots. This can cause regrettable mistakes, so there can’t be any cheat days. For horse and rider to really work a cow well, it takes discipline, flow, grace, and grit. It’s like a rare, beautiful dance.

Practicing this is important in life, too. Stop and pivot away from bad habits. Turn and go toward good habits. It takes mental and spiritual muscle memory, created by over and over practice, and likewise, cheating can cause regrettable mistakes.

I haven’t mastered these things yet, but keep working at it!

Somewhere I read that when the time it takes to recognize we’re on a wrong path, and then change courses, happens more quickly, it’s a sign of maturity. This encourages me to keep persevering, because that’s how we grow, even when we’re all grown up.

That’s why i stay in training, and that’s why I keep my horse in training – so we can do the things we need to do, when we need to do them, in the arena and in life.

Stop, pivot, turn, go. Flow, grace, grit. No cheat days. Goals.

#horsemanship #cowhorse