Count Your Blessings!!!!

I’ll bet you have heard someone say, “If you have never fallen off your horse you don’t ride very much.” There may be some truth to those words, because you just never know what might happen. Any way we look at it, horses are risky business, which may be part of the lure for some thrill seekers. However, I am a firm believer that by using our natural powers of observation with the knowledge we have gained through study and experience and the better we develop our skill and relationship with our horse the more likely we will be able to avoid catastrophes. Many so called accidents are caused by our own lack of awareness, laziness, ignorance, or attempting things without the prior and proper preparation necessary to perform the task. But other times something happens which can qualify as a freak accident. It may or may not have been avoided. Horses, while predictable the majority of the time, are unpredictable the rest of the time. In a split second things can change, therefore we need to be very diligent at paying attention.
I recently read that Linda Parelli had an accident on her horse Remmer. She was supposedly cantering in a pasture when he tripped and fell head over heals. She ended up in the hospital for a couple of days. It is reported she is at home and recovering well and Remmer is also fine. From all reports it sounds like this could have been one of those “freak accidents” that may not have been preventable. One never knows. I had a gal come to one of my clinics this spring who told me a few months prior to coming to the clinic her horse had stepped in a hole and went down landing on her. From the information I have both of these horses tried hard to save themselves and their riders. But the force of gravity was too great for them to overcome, once the unbalanced movement had begun. I am not writing these things to put fear in anyone, but rather to remind us all to count our blessings and ride with as much wisdom as we can, continue our education and stay alert so we can reduce the risk, stay safe and have more fun.
Hope to see you on the trail this summer or fall! There is still some room in the Sept. Women’s Camps, so sign up now!
Thank you for celebrating with us the love of horses. Thank you to all the new people who have taken lessons from me this year, the people who have entrusted me with their young horses, and to all the regular students who have stuck with me over the last 4 years so faithfully. It is a real blessing serving all of you and helping your horses feel better about what we are asking them to do.
Until next time,
Sherry Jarvis
"Hope springs eternal" --Alexander Pope
"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."--Will Rogers