Round Pen Magic

I've been an avid watcher of Heartland for 15 seasons now. I stopped for a while after my dad died because that was something we did together and I just wasn't interested anymore. Than I house sat at a friend's house this past summer and she had Netflix so I took advantage of that and caught up on Heartland. Now, I have to wait a while for it to come out in America so it's time for some reruns! 

I swear there's a point to this. 

On Heartland, they do a lot with round pens and joining-up and connecting with your horse. I've always been fascinated by it and now I'm learning new techniques and skills to help me better connect with Pepper at the barn. So when the barn that I ride at got a round pen, it was like real-life Heartland Ranch! Just without the added drama and cute cowboys (yet, I'm still not giving up hope on that).

I couldn't wait to get out to the barn and experience the Round Pen. Yesterday, I finally got that chance. I started out in the paddock with Pepper to work on some connection exercises that I learned from my Warwick Schiller videos (and that's another blog because it was a whole learning experience in itself) and, with some input from the knowledgeable and amazing owner of the barn, eventually headed up to the round pen. 

My plan was to just turn Pepper loose and sit on the mounting block and see what she'd do. She hadn't really wanted anything to do with me in the paddock (again, that's another blog so you'll have to come back, bwahaha) so I wasn't expecting her to really hang out with me. No expectations, remember? 

We went into the round pen and I took off Pepper's lead rope, turned away, and went to sit on the mounting block. Pepper took a few laps of the round pen, watched another horse, Frigg, be lunged at the other end of the ring, and snuck a few mouthfuls of grass. I sat and I watched.

And it.was.magnificent. I had never just been with Pepper when she was loose before. She was always either on a lead rope, under saddle, or far off on the other side of the paddock as she'd been a little bit before. Now, it was just me and her, her and me. Together and yet separate. I was able to truly appreciate her beauty and her grace.

I had no expectations. I didn't really know what I was doing in the round pen. I was just kind of playing it by ear. Taking my cues from Pepper. So I sat and I waited. In just a few minutes, Pepper came over and stood by me. She nudged my arm and snuffled at my watch (which she really enjoys snacking on haha). I was sure she'd wander off at any minute. After all, not only was she not on a lead but this was a new experience for her. Surely, she'd want to check it out.

But no. She just stood by me. Bumped my head with her muzzle a few times. Let me pet her. I talked to her, told her what a good girl she was. Took some selfies and sent them to my family with a text that said my view was better than their view - my sister-in-law responded with a truly adorable picture of my nephew. I was forced to concede that she might win that debate.

Not my best angle, haha!

After a few minutes, I decided to just get up and walk away and see what Pepper did. At first, for a minute or so, she just stared at me, like "hey, lady, where'd you go?" Then she moved and walked towards me and came to a stop at my side. I took some steps. She did, too. I stopped. She did, too. I'm pretty sure my grin was quite large at this time. We began to walk around the arena and I took care to match steps with her. She did a "lick and a chew" as Warwick says. It was just a peaceful, relaxing time.

I didn't ask anything of her. She didn't ask anything of me. I had no expectations of her. She had no expectations of me. We were just two beings in the universe, connecting. It was exhilarating.

While I'm sure that I didn't do everything correctly, and we had a bit of an "oh crap I dinged my hoof on the bottom bar of the round pen as I exited and I'm going to die" moment at the end of our time, it was a start. It was a beautiful beginning. Because sure, riding is great. I enjoy it as much as the next true equestrian. But it sure isn't all that there is.

Being with my horse, present with her in the moment, staring out at God's amazing creation, - not only the beautiful mare in front of me who trusts me with her hoof (see previous post) but also the brilliantly changing leaves, the wind whistling gently in my ear - just being still, it reminds me that life is good. 

Life is good.