Gracie Girl Blog

“She could never have done that a few weeks ago,” I heard my instructor say as Rain and I finished a short jumping exercise. Most horses understand the point of these ground pole and jump combinations which are used to fine tune horse and rider’s skills for bigger jumps. Rain, however, had never seen one before. But she jumped it very well. We jumped it very well.

After losing 2 of my favorite horses, Rain has been my healing horse.

My instructor and I have been working with her constantly. She’s learned so fast and in a short time. She really is a sweetheart, has the cutest jump. She has quickly become my girl, and I am so proud of her.

Jumping is so much more than getting over jumps. It’s an art, it’s a science. In many cases, you want the horse to move  a certain way. Short stride, long stride. Collected, moving off their hind end. Balanced. You can get a horse to jump. But it’s harder to teach a horse the correct way to jump. This is a new world Rain is learning to be a part of.

I can feel confidence in her. She’ll take a few warm up jumps hesitantly, then go over these same jumps without even looking at them. She gets excited, she doesn’t like standing still. We haven’t taken her over anything moderately high yet, but I know that once she gets going, she might jump anything.

She learns to respect. A huge part of horse training is putting them in their place. Much like a kid, horses will test you in more ways than one. Many horses seem to operate with the mindset of “what can I get away with today?”.  I have to often put Rain in her place. Remind her to listen the first time. Usually by the end of the lesson, she’s super responsive. A responsive horse is so much easier to ride.

Rain has taught me so much about teaching a horse. Most of the time, the horse is teaching me. So it has been a different experience. She responds to a lot of voice cues and still acts very much like a trail horse. In fact, walking down the driveway to cool down, she perks up her ears and adds a little pep in her step. She loves it outside.

Rain has taught me to trust God for opportunities to come. He placed Rain right in my lap, and it has been so rewarding. Ever since I began riding, I’ve made an effort to trust God through everything. This sport comes with a lot of changes and factors. God has never failed to lead me where I need to be, at just the right times. ❤

Take delight in the LORD, 

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

-Psalm 37:4