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.


Saturday, April 23, 2011

Spring Energy

As the spring comes, it brings a magic of warmth and new beginnings. The flowers are making their way out of the ground into vibrant colors. I find myself wanting to be outside and there are always more things to be done as I move from inside to outside. I often get distracted by what ever project or task happens to present its self in the moment. As I make changes in my life and begin to create more of what I want. I look for ways to keep myself more focused, instead of allowing myself to be distracted by ............ whatever.......... comes along.
So... If I want to be more deliberate in how I create my life I need to find a way to keep track of and prioritize the things that will move me closer to what I want, not just the things that need to be done. There are the usual things like: cleaning, cooking, shopping and then there are the things that move me closer to my dreams. Having more: clients, time to ride, order, money etc.
Last night I began the process of creating a list of all the things that I want and need to do. The list became very long as more and more things popped into my head that needed to be done. I quickly became overwhelmed by the numbers of things to be done. Until I realized that my mind was actually getting quieter as I began to see how I could prioritize and make choices much more clearly by having everything out in front of me. I began to divide things into categories of importance to me. Many things that I often spend my time doing were not as important as I thought. I began to look for the things that would move me closer to my dreams.

What dreams have you put aside or given up on that you could be resurrecting? What one thing could you do today that would move you closer to what you want? Listen for the voices that have an opinion around your dreams. The chatter of doubts or excitement. Who do they belong to? Are they true? Are you willing to do what it takes to get there?

Remember it is not about beating yourself up for not doing something, it is about making choices and finding what works for you.

How many shoulds are you beating yourself up over?????? Shoulds are the things you think you ought to do and don't really want to do. I should clean house instead of ride my horse. Which one would bring me more joy? For me it is about being more aware and making a conscious choice. From a riding point of view it might be school your horse or go for a trail ride. What is right for you today? Lounge your horse or just get on and go. Trust your inner voice of knowing what is right for you.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Choices in action

With construction projects ramping up around the farm, I've had opportunities to watch people's reactions to change.
While everyone is excited about the work and what it will bring, the changes it causes in routine show how inconvenience can equal opportunity--if you want them to.

The indoor has been temporarily shut down in order to resolve a pipe leak issue. Now, most folks didn't notice any problems caused by the pipe. They sure would have if it had been allowed to go on long enough to blow the water pump (no pump, no water), or to flood the barn.
Now they need to deal with the closed space, and that directly affects them.

The simple answer? Ride outside, of course! But, this is spring, or rather mud season. I watch their decision-making with interest, empathy, and a bit of incredulity. Some just keep riding. Wind, a bit of rain, cool temperatures, puddles in the outdoor--it's all fine, and they just get on with it. Some hedge their bets, trying to work in the half of the indoor that doesn't have an excavator in it. And some just stay home.

I think about the year I spent at my old farm with no indoor. Each weather challenge created a new situation for me to work my horses in. Sure there were days when--for me--riding was out of ths question. But for the most part we kept going. When deep winter snows and ice meant riding int he field was pretty impossible, we stuck to the plowed and sanded dirt roads. Hacking, logging miles at the trot, or schooling voltes, leg yields and half-pass. Some days we even put a jump in the road!
Muddy spring roads meant riding in areas where the sand was showing in the outdoor, or taking to the woods.
A little drizzle meant business as usual. Ever ride in a show outside in rain and puddles with a horse that has been cloistered in an indoor all year?
Stormy days meant tack cleaning, clipping, planning the year's events, de-cobwebbing--all the things you don't want to be stuck inside doing on the nice days.

So when you come across an obstacle that feels like is is going to stop you, think again. Someone else has a different perspective. Where you see "can't do" they may see opportunity :)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Breathing the fresh air

With the return of milder weather, I have noticed more smiles on people's faces, and everyone--indeed everything: us, the horses, the earth--seems to be taking deep breaths.
And at the same time, there is a rush, a release of energy to start now, get up and going, moving toward whatever goals we have at hand.
In northern Vermont, this spirit and rush of the season continues all through the summer, perhaps with a small break when we slow down a bit for our local county fair. We feel the time we have to get things done in the good weather is brief--and it is, since frequently our season gets abridged even further than normal with occasional snowstorms in May or even June, that can return as early as late September.
Remember these times. Take a break to just look around as each day passes. Getting caught up in the rush is fun, but all too often we hear "Where did the summer go?"
Our joy should remain deeply rooted in being with our horses and realizing how privileged we are to have them as partners, not in how many shows and scores we get in a season.
Backyard barbecues with friends for no reason, days spent sitting in the yard listening to birds and watching the horses graze and swish their tails are so very important, as is the mindfulness to appreciate where we are and what we have in those moments.

My favorite summer time activity is sitting on my glider, watching the sunset over the Adirondacks while the dogs play in the yard and my horses graze in the pasture in front of me, and the sounds I hear are finches arguing over trees and the frogs and peepers in joyful chorus in the streambed at the end of the pasture.
Sometimes it is hard to quell the feelings of guilt that I am not riding, or cleaning, or fixing. But I also remain aware that these moments are exactly WHY I spend the rest of my time doing those activities. It is hard to relax, and to make myself stop and enjoy.

You know what? At the end of the season, and all winter long, what I remember best are not the horse shows, and how much I fixed or painted or the number of horses schooled each day. What I remember are those summer evenings when I was sitting in the yard, surrounded by the true fruits of my labors glowing in the light of sunset :)

The peepers are back--time to get to work and start enjoying what we have!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Fun Day!

Just had a most fun ride on Burnished Monarch!  Now I’m off to UVM’s Healthy Horse Day, where yours truly will be giving a talk on the Center for Equestrian Growth and Awareness’ programs.  Check it out!

Friday, April 1, 2011

The hawk outside my window

The other day while I was putting in some time on my treadmill, in hopes of getting in better shape, shaking off the winter sedentary-ness that sometimes settles in this time of year. (Being from California, I sometimes decide that I don’t want to play outside in the winter) Any way the point I was going to make before I got distracted by the weather was that I was watching a hawk outside the window. The Hawk outside my window would wait in quiet readiness for the precise moment when its next meal might be appear. The athletic ability to go from stillness to top speed in the wink of an eye; The ease with which it moved. There were no thoughts getting in his way. (I can’t do this or what would happen if.) He or she was content with being present in each moment, happy to be exactly where and how it was. It could choose at any moment to move or stay. I was reminded how often we humans try to be things we are not. We try to be how we think other people want us to be. We hang on to things from our day and let them affect what we are about to do next. I thought about those lucky people who are truly able to be who they are without the worries of fitting into someone else’s idea of how they should be: The ones who seem to move through life with ease. I decided I wanted more ease and grace in my life. I want the ability to soar through my life creating more fun. Don't let "those thoughts" get in the way of enjoying your time with your horse. Choose to pay more attention to your self and your horse. Just because life circumstances may have been challenging, does not mean we don’t get to choose how we want to live our lives. It just means we have to be aware enough to make more choices and be willing enough to say and see what works for us.