CEGA


Discover your ideal relationship with your horse

CEGA creates an atmosphere of openness and trust in which to explore your own special horse-human bond. We want to help you remove blocks, deepen your awareness of the power within, and help you achieve your goals.


Thursday, March 24, 2011

The wonders of life-coaching

I was recently asked to give a talk at the University of Vermont on Equine Massage, to a group of pre-vet students. I was flattered, but one of my first thoughts was, “Oh no!  How am I going to get through this?  I hate public speaking!”

See how we can sabotage ourselves?  This was a golden opportunity, gift-wrapped and handed to me on a silver platter, and all I could see were the possible pitfalls.  How did I get through it, and even more, turn it around to be a really positive experience? CEGA, of course!

There are lots of different coping skills we can use in such a situation.  Here’s what I did.  I made a list of all the positive things that could result from this clinic, such as increased business, greater recognition, the chance to share something I really love, and working on an area in which I’d like to improve—public speaking.  Some of these benefits I came up with on my own, some of them were pointed out to me by friends with whom I shared my anxieties, but really, what helped me most was “channeling” Barb Torian, professional life coach and one of the founders of CEGA.  I could hear her, helping me to turn my thoughts around and take control of the situation before it was able to take control of me.  Allowing myself to step back and look at it from a different perspective enabled me to focus on the positive aspects of the UVM talk.  I’m not saying that my days of feeling anxious about public speaking are over, but what if they ARE?  What if I just allow myself to imagine that I really like public speaking, having the chance to talk to a roomful of people about work that I truly love?  Suddenly, that adrenaline rush I’m feeling is excitement, not nerves. Wow!  Thanks, Barb!

Haven’t had a chance to work with Barb yet?  Do yourself a HUGE favor and give her a call, send her an email, and get started!  Your possibilities are endless!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Heading to UVM




I’ve been invited to teach a class at UVM today, on Equine Massage.  So excited!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Spring "house cleaning"

As we enter spring, with hope and excitement for the upcoming riding season, it's important to remember that we need to get back into shape gently. As the weather gets better, it's easy to get carried away and start in too vigorously, when both our horses and ourselves need time to get back into shape. Even if we ride all winter, the level of intensity is not the same, and it can be easy to overdo it. Take schooling sessions easy at first, gradually building back strength and stamina.

So how can we channel our energy so that we don't over do it on our horses? Spring cleaning!

Pour some of that energy into emptying out your tack trunk, and reorganizing it for the new season. Replenish supplies, clean stored items so they are fresh, and make sure it is packed neatly so that everything is in easy reach as the season gets busier.
Go through your medicine cabinet--make a shopping list. Throw away outdated meds, including wound dressings. Get a full complement of bandages and other items like vetrap, gauzes, duct tape. Make sure your thermometer has survived.
Get your clippers cleaned and sharpened, pull your horse's mane, and clip his goat whiskers, if not all of him.
Clean the barn and tack room--move things and sweep from underneath and behind; get the cobwebs and wash the windows and mirrors.
As the temps go up, get those winter blankets washed, repaired and stored, and make sure your coolers and sheets are ready to go and in good repair.
Check all your tack--daily used items and stored tack. Make sure everything is clean and well-oiled. Make a pile to sell at your local tack store or eBay, and create a list of things that need replacing and repair.
Look ahead in your calendar. What events do you want to attend? What do you need and level of fitness is required to get there? Then organize your training time backwards to set a systematic approach to get ready. Do you still need to get shots, teeth floated, tests done? Now is the time to get all your ducks in a row.
Include making sure your truck and trailer are ready--make appointments for them, too, to get brakes, wheels, floors, and engines checked and running well.

Focusing on being prepared will help us spread our energy around, and prevent us from jumping into riding too hard too soon.
Once the season gets into full swing, there will never be time to do these things--and any time spent on "house keeping" then is taking away from riding!

Happy Riding!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Sometimes I don’t take care of myself, I am always willing to help someone else and in that process somehow, I put myself low on the totem pole. How many times do you try to fit in with how you think others want you to be? I have spent most of my life wanting to be liked by everyone. I compromise and side step my desires in order to “MAKE” everyone else happy. I am here to tell you it does not work. I can not make anyone else happy or can I make someone else like me. Imagine how you would feel if you knew someone liked you because you made them do it.

When we actually allow ourselves to be who we truly are inside, people actually like us more. They know where we stand and they don’t wonder who we are from day today.

It seems so clear when I start to look at it from this point of view. Yet when I function from my standard operating procedure; that I learned when I was about 5 and didn’t know any better, I can’t see how true it is. I didn’t know I had a choice.

So…. now that I know I made decisions when I was little in order to survive, I can begin to change how I operate and understand that we all just want to be accepted, understood and loved. I am beginning to stand up for myself and figure out what I want. The really cool part is I was the one stopping myself and now I get to decide how to move forward.
Childhood dreams that I decided couldn’t happen are beginning to show up as possibilities.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Great clinic!

Yes, that’s right—another great CEGA clinic today!  This one was at Dalneich Stables at Hibernia Farm in Cornwall, VT.  Our intrepid participants braved a truly “interesting” day of Vermont weather, for a fun, enlightening afternoon full of learning and connecting with their horses.  Watch our website (CEGAVT.com) for details on upcoming clinics, and reserve your place!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Of dogs and ponies

Those of you who know me, know that my favorite breed of dog is the Border Collie.  I love everything about them—their intelligence, their work ethic, the way they look and move, the close bond they form with their person, and their unbelievable energy. I have a lot in common with Border Collies.  I love to be busy, don’t do well with idle time, and my mind is always going.  This is great for me, and my interactions with my two Border Collies, but can be more challenging for those around me who don’t operate on the same high frequency.  

Take my three horses, for instance.  Sid, my Standardbred, is happiest when he gets worked no more than 3 or 4 days a week.  If I try to work him more than that, he responds by simply walking away from me in the pasture.  Monarch, my Thoroughbred, would love to be worked every day.  He is a lot like a Border Collie—intelligent, sensitive, great work ethic.  And he acts out when he doesn’t get enough work.  

And then there’s Simon.  As we have been struggling with some soundness issues with him, (strained check ligament, abscess, some arthritis issues), I have been struggling with not super-imposing my needs and work ethic on him.  Simon is 22 now, and has had a very active career, mostly with other people.  I asked him yesterday what he wants—does he want to be retired?  He let me know that he isn’t ready to retire yet, but that winters are hard for him in this climate, so her would really like to have winters off.  This will be a hard one for me—I am a firm believer in keeping older horses moving as much as possible, to keep them limber.  Also, riding is something that I really need to help me get through the winter, and I find the prospect of trying to get an older horse back into condition in the spring after a winter off to be daunting.  

But we’ll try it.  Simon will have the rest of this winter off (yes it’s still winter here—below zero this morning), and we’ll see how he does over the summer.  And if he decides that it’s time to retire, that’s what we’ll do.  This old dog is trying to learn a new trick.

CEGA clinic

Only 3 days left until our next clinic, at beautiful Hibernia Farm in Cornwall, VT.  Still a space or two left! Sign up and see why everyone is talking about CEGA!