Take the time to see yourself as your horse sees you

 

Being a female rider, and especially a female one, creates a different level of self-scrutiny. Plus-sized cowboys can jump onto quarter horses to cut rope, rein, and rope their way to championship runs, without having to think about the watermelon-sized stomach hanging over a belt. Women, however, may worry about a little more pudge and, God forbid, a muffin top. A woman who goes up in size is not willing to admit to failure or a personal weakness. This is especially true in the show ring.

You ask me why? What can we do about it? What can we do to change how we think about our bodies? Do our horses care if we are healthy, fit, and strong?

Jenni's story is told in Riding Through Thick & Thin. It is a great example of how we can accumulate garbage about our bodies and the joy that comes with overcoming it. Jenni was raised by a family of women. Her grandmother was a strong believer that "being thin" is the key to success. Jenni wrote, "I was never small enough to meet her expectation." She also noted that many of the habits that were ingrained in childhood can be carried with them for the rest of our lives.

Jenni spent most of her childhood believing that she was "an obese monster who will never succeed". She met Mary at high school, who is a friend who rides horses. Although Jenny wanted to ride horses, she was scared. She was not afraid of riding horses or riding, but she was afraid of how the extra 15 pounds would affect her. She says that she was afraid of how she would look in breeches because she was so overweight.

Jenni claims she can remember Mary and laughs at her. Literally. You need to get over yourself. The horse won't care if you aren't fat.

The horse won't care.

Jenni states, "And he didn’t care." "And you want to know who else didn’t care?" The instructor didn’t care. And all girls at the barn felt funny wearing breeches. NOBODY noticed how fat I was.

Jenni believes that, while she is not an Olympic-level rider, she was a very good one. Even more important, Jenni says that riding has helped her get rid of all the body issues she was having. "

There are many Jenni and Grams stories, and I'm sure you have heard them all. But the body angst is remarkably similar. Part of the reason I wrote this book was to find out what drives this type of body angst. We have to question what makes us do it, whether or not we are able to self-criticism or criticize others. How can we set ourselves free?

Spoiler Alert! The first step is not losing weight or removing the muffin top. We must learn to accept our bodies without judging or making plans for change in order to break the cycle. Allow yourself to feel the emotions you are feeling, without trying to change them. Imagine yourself, perhaps for the first times in your life, with an open, kind, loving, and generous heart.

I would love to hear about your horse's interests! You can reach me via email, Facebook, Twitter, or on my website. I look forward hearing from you.