Never underestimate the power of small changes.
Cut 100 calories a day and you will lose 10 pounds in a year without noticing.
Save 5% of your income and before you know it you have savings.
Get organized so you don’t spend time looking for things and you will find more riding time.
Be patient with your progress with your horse and one day you will ride out and easily be doing the maneuver that was so hard 3 months ago.
If you could make just 1% progress with your horse everyday in 100 days she will be 100% better.
SMALL changes=BIG differences
I decided to take a huge leap and move my Basic Level horse up to Level 1.
We had all the Basic maneuvers down but in moving up we had an entire new group of maneuvers that were required for the test.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed or discouraged on all the new things we had to master….. I took the hardest maneuvers for this particular horse to focus on.
For him, it was unlocking the hock and being able to cross over behind with more movement in the hock joint.
So I focused on the leg yield as a crucial move up element we needed to get stronger. He liked to try and lead with the front end and shoulder instead of pushing and leading from behind.
I could have gotten frustrated, irritated and discouraged with this horse…..but instead I focused on each ride getting just a percent better at his cross over behind. This kept my training softer, and him happier as I did not get upset or ask for too much from him at all once. That would have made him frustrated and caused a fight with his personality.
Each ride he got just a little more supple with just a slight increase in his hind leg step.
Now when I ask, we are getting a great sideways leg yield initiated from his inside hind leg with no leading of the shoulder. It took time, patience and the mindset of just a small percent better every ride.
Your Turn
Today make a quick list of things you want to get just a little better.
Think about small things you can do, so they feel easy.
Examples: Drink one glass of water a day. Walk one lap around the kitchen. Get one more crossover step at the pivot.
Make them small, attainable goals.
Check back on these every day and within a month you will notice a difference.
Going for the 1/2 percent,
Kristin & Jenny
