5. Bruised but Healing

Blog 5 “Bruised but Healing”

Breacon and I wonder what we've done!

By now I had a super busy livery yard and growing number of freelance clients to teach.

Chris was running himself into the ground with his furniture manufacturing business and together we had a wonderfully monstrous toddler (Noni), a needy Weimaraner dog (Breacon), and a derelict farm cottage to demolish and rebuild while we lived in ratty old caravan.

Noni and her first love Breacon

It was tough and it was wonderful.  There was always going to be an end to it and at the end lay a family home and wealth of opportunities to explore and enjoy together in the years to come.

Toddler Noni and (not so) "CoziCot", now Ashen Cottage.

I was quite relaxed about finding my future event horse, I needed to save my pennies, I had plenty to do, lots of lovely horses belonging to clients to ride and maybe I needed some time to get over parting with Emily, although I don’t think I acknowledged that, even to myself at the time.

I was also determined that positives were going to come from my experiences with the ex-client.

Firstly, I was going to learn how to take a more professional and approachable attitude with my all of my clients and I have never looked back. 

And I was going to learn how to be a decent riding coach.

I remembered that after having had our daughter my non-horsey but very supportive Mum had given me a book entitled “Ride With Your Mind” (author Mary Wanless).  

Bearing in mind that I had ridden almost up until my due date with Noni my Mum was convinced that I would ride as soon as I had given birth (she was right) and give myself a prolapse womb (fortunately not). 

Never usually one to judge a book by its cover in this instance my Mum thought the book was for people who wanted to ride in their mind and not with their body.  (It isn’t, and if you haven’t read it please do, I recommend all of Mary’s books.) 

Being dyslexic I had never really got in to books before, but this one spoke to me.  
I read it again and again, I started exploring the techniques in my riding and noticing profound change.  

I started looking at other learning resources and found that not only did I have something tangible I could teach my clients, I was, for the first time and ever since really enjoying coaching.

I knew that I wanted to train with Mary Wanless but then I allowed life, a horse called Gazelle to put that on hold. 

Next time (16th Feb) "If you can catch it you can buy it."

For those searching online for more “instructional” resources than offered in these blogs please make use of my video downloads www.ashenec.co.uk