Never before in horsey history has an equestrian had such access to the abundance of information regarding horses, their care and the art of riding them. The internet has put forth many voices and all sorts of tools to further one’s equestrian experience and education.
With my own personal journey I’ve gotten the opportunity to speak with a myriad of people from all over the world. Even the writing of this silly little blog has opened up learning opportunities which have me surprised by virtue of the sheer magnitude of connections.
Sometimes there is no way to predict in which direction our attentions will be directed. One of my latest discoveries is the existence of the webinars I found on Facebook and so far, I have found them most enjoyable.
The other day I was taking a break from life and its responsibilities and was watching television. Showing on my nice big HD screen was one of the four billion replays of a Lord Of The Rings movie, “The Return Of The King”. In it, the wizard Gandolph rides a magnificent horse, the king of horses, by the name of Shadowfax.
I found myself watching not from a mere entertainment aspect of the movie, but specifically focusing on Shadowfax and the scenes he was in and what he had to do in those scenes.
In one part Shadowfax (whose real name is Blanco) was galloping up steep rocky steps, bridleless, with the actor playing Gandolph grasping a piece of mane (or maybe a neck rein) and going along for the ride. A few thoughts crossed my mind.
First off, was the fact that were it me I would be half scared to death of my horse slipping from the unprotected sheer drop side of the stairs and both of us plummeting to a sad end. This is mostly because my horse has the tendency to be a klutz.
The second was that my horse would probably trip over his own feet trying to pull of such a move. A mountain goat would have the necessary agility to pull off the move but I have no doubt that my horse does not. Agile, he isn’t. Athletic yes, agile no. In fact, when he was a young horse if he ran too hard in the arena he would promptly slip and fall on his side. I witnessed him doing so a handful of times. Thankfully, with age and increased balance and a maturing mind he hasn’t done such silly things for just about a decade now, but his lack of agility still sticks out in my mind.
So there was the beautiful Blanco – Shadowfax pulling off all these stunts and such, (bridleless) yet with a look of splendid grandeur and nobility. He looked just like you would imagine the King of Horses to look. If only our show horses looked so grand!
Well lo and behold the next day or two I’m doing my Facebook thing and whom do I come across but Shadowfax and his trainer’s page. I clicked “like” and left a message. This began a little bit of conversation and now when opportunity presents I’m going to listen to the lady and see what she has to say.
If I had to guess, I’d probably learn a bit, but realize a lot. Sometimes, you can know something horsey but not put two plus two together until some light bulb moment graces upon you. I’m thinking listening to her will provide some great light bulb moments and I look forward to it with great enthusiasm.
If you too are interested in checking it out do it ! And whether it’s this person or someone else’s webinar you should always take advantage of the opportunity to increase your own education, no matter who you are. You should hunger for it, thirst for it.
The equestrian life you save just might be your own.
