I’ve just had a wonderful weekend. Perhaps I was motived because it was the last long weekend before school opened for another school year. I finally made a point to get out and go for a ride. I went for a short one (about an hour) on Saturday and Sunday each. Then, on Monday morning I was gone for a good three hours touring the river valley with a couple friends. I came back refreshed and feeling completely incompetent.
I unloaded my frustrations on my wife is also my informal riding coach. She is the real horse person in the house. She’s read the complete works of Bill Dorrance and Ray Hunt. The more I ride the more I’m aware of the little things that are wrong in the relationship Chiquita and I share. My wife has given me many things to try to get the proper feel and proper respect. I find little of the advice helpful. I understand the theory but the practice eludes me.

The problems began to make sense latter that night when I snuck under a blanket with the reading material I have to go through for my online course on counseling skills. The course is about creating a working alliance and how important it is when working with clients. I’m taking this course to gain some skills. I love to help the students I work with but I run short of strategies quickly. This is where my realization came. Chiquita and I have a working alliance. It is strong right now on transference with little real trust and rapport.

My wife smiled and commented on how teaching is making me a better horse person. It seems that working with horses is beginning to make me a better teacher.