I was so angry. I was so angry with my friend and I told her that it is all her fault and that she really needs to take a look in the mirror. I threw the dandy brush on the floor in the stable and walked out from the door.
Normally another person would have told me to piss off, but my friend looked at me, asked me if I am alright and then took me in her arms. She told me that she knows that I am going through a tough time but that she is always there for me. And no matter what I do, she will always have my back.
You see. Friendship is not really about the good times. They are the cream on the cake and fun to have, but real friendship is measured when the going gets though. Real friends are the ones that stand by your side no matter what. They are the ones that take you in their arms when you get angry (because they know that the anger really has nothing to do with them). Real friends are the ones that open the door even in the middle of the night when you have had that last fight with your other half and you finally decide that it is time to move on. They listen to you month after month and year after year. Sometimes they listen too much, but they always do. Because friendship is really not measured on how often you speak or how many fancy dinners you have together. It is measured on the fact that for once in your life you know that the other person is always there. You never have to doubt it and no matter how imperfect you might be or how crazy or foolish anyone else perceives you, they always have your back.
We have had an amazing autumn together with Thor. As Katja Ståhl so well puts it in her writing, Ehjästä hevosesta iloitsee koko perhe.
We have had a great time together with Thor and I have been able to ride him and attend dressage and jumping lessons regularly. I have done much less hacking out than I thought I would have (then again who knew it would rain for one month almost every day), but a lot less lungeing and running around the forest together work since he is so relaxed and on such a good mood. His muscles are also much more supple when he moves around a lot and his mind is much more settled.
Since Thor is more relaxed I have been able to concentrate more on my own riding and seat and especially on correcting my crookedness. I have mostly been thinking about my upper body and how I want it to be more straight and not fall down as much. I have also been working on a calm hand and mind and a supple hip but stable core.
In the video Jumping on a circle you can see that it is possible to adjust the stride length in the middle of the fences but it is much easier if you come to the first fence correctly (as we do on the third and last round). Then you can just sit down and enjoy the next fence.
My long-time friend and trainer Mia Kainulainen was so kind to let me ride her gelding Rampe a few weeks back and it did really good for my seat. After that it has been easier for me to ride Thor since I got the feeling of a straight upper body and I have also been working on it away from the stable. I have been doing a lot of yoga lately and last Monday I went to see Kuldip Khalsa, who does something called Tayo Therapeutic Bodywork. I want go more into detail here on the treatment methods, but it sure was amazing and I felt my spine lengthen about five centimetres. I have already a new time booked for my daughter Ella since she grows so fast and I will go for my next treatment as soon as possible. It is funny how much our mind affects our body and how much our body affects our mind.
Mia Kainulainen has always been talking about activating the lower part of the spine but it really helped when Tiina Karkkolainen gave us our first lesson and she told me to activate something that we call the Mula Bhandain yoga. She did not use those exact words but told me to contract the muscles at the bottom of the pelvic floor, behind the cervix. By activating that area I was able to turn my tailbone naturally more forward and I became more straight in the upper body. Tiina told me to use it in order to sit more straight but also when the horse is not listening or I need to slow down the pace. Tiina however told me to be relaxed in the body at the same time and even if I would activate the core area of the body I should still have a relaxed back, knees, legs and neck area. It helped a lot when Tiina told me to think about drawing my tailbone toward the horses shoulders. It not only straightens the back but also straightens the hips and the sides of the body.
On Sunday's we usually have a jumping lesson. I go there with the teenagers and we mostly have a lot of fun. I am not getting as much out of them as I do from our private lessons during the week with Henna, but it is always good to practice and the more we jump, the more routine we get and the easier it seems to become.
Today was that kind of evening where it all felt almost magical. Thor felt so supple and good. He was not heavy on the fore at all and he had a very good and stable rhythm. He did whatever I asked for and you could almost see him smile while doing it. I also felt particularly supple and straight in my own body and it is so much easier for me to ride when I am more in my own power and I am able to follow Thor. I am just so grateful to have a horse like him in our life. I was so happy when I was driving to the stable today so after talking to my friend Auli Nissinen I went and bought a weekend yoga retreat in Hanko (Tee tilaa uudelle vuodelle MeriMind joogapäivä) for January. A little Christmas present for myself and some more magic waiting to happen.
"Olin vaikuttunut pihan siisteydestä. Hevosilla oli iso alue, jossa liikkua ja se siivotaan päivittäin. Pihatto-alue oli laaja ja ruokinta-automaatti sijaitsi parinsadan metrin päässä pihattorakennuksesta ja heinästä (hevosilla on vapaa pääsy heinään). Fredrika, tallin omistaja kertoi, että hän on laskenut, että hevoset liikkuvat noin kuusi kilometriä vuorokaudessa kävellessään ruokinta-automaatille ja takaisin. Mahtavaa hyötyliikuntaa."
Thorin koti!
Ja niin se vaan on. Hevoset liikkuvat paljon ja voivat todella hyvin. Thor on rauhoittunut silmissä ja kaikki huonot tavat ovat kuin niitä ei ikinä olisi ollutkaan. Vaikka on satanut ja satanut en vaihtaisi tätä syksyä mihinkään. Meillä on kaikki todella hyvin. Ollaan päästy treenaamaan säännöllisesti ja olen koko tämän ajan pystynyt keskittymään kunnolla omaan istuntaan kun aikaa ei ole mennyt turhaan hötköilyyn tai siihen, että mietin mihin Thor hyppää seuraavaksi. Ehdoton suosikkituntini on torstainen yksityisestetunti tallin omistajan Hennan kanssa. Teemme paljon haastavia tehtäviä, joissa pidennämme ja lyhennämme askelia, ratsastamme voltteja ennen ja jälkeen esteiden ja keskitymme suoruuteen, hyvään tahtiin ja siihen, että ratsastan Thoria istunnalla enkä kädellä. Henna ratsastaa Thorilla kerran viikossa ja se on selvästi toiminut. Thor on aina hyvän tuntuinen Hennan jäljiltä ja on erityisen nautinnollista päästä hevosen selkään, joka on hyvin läpiratsastettu.
Jack on ollut mukana tallilla jo aika monta kertaa ja tänään oli ensimmäistä kertaa sellainen olo, että ei tarvinnut koko ajan miettiä minne pikkuinen juoksee. Jack pysyi hyvin vieressä eikä tällä kertaa yrittänyt mennä ison lauman pihattoon nukkumaan olkien päälle.
Tänä syksynä loimia on kulunut enemmän kuin osaisi ikinä kuvitella ja välillä on ollut päiviä, että ei muista tehneensä muuta kuin kantanensa märkiä loimia yhdestä paikasta toiseen.
Ruokinta on pysynyt ennallaan ja hevosilla on suurimman osan ajasta heinää saatavilla heinäverkon läpi. Olen ollut erityisen tarkka väkirehun kanssa, jotta Thor ei vaan laihtuisi kun liikkuu enemmän ja kuluttaa myös enemmän kun on kylmiä öitä. Thor on kuitenkin pysynyt hyvässä kunnossa ja heinän ja väkirehun lisäksi olemme nyt siirtyneet parivuotisesta suosikkituotteesta, Blue Hors:n E-aminostaChia de Gracian täysinluonnolliseen E-vitamiiniin.
E-vitamiini toimii antioksidanttina, joka suojaa soluja vapaiden radikaalien haitallisilta vaikutuksilta ja sitä tarvitaan erityisesti lihaksiston ja hermoston normaalin toiminnan ylläpitämiseen sekä imuunipuolustuken tukemiseen (lainaus CDG). Thorilla olen huomannut E-vitamiin vaikuttavan karvan kiiltoon ja erityisesti siihen, että saamme hyvän lihaskunnon ylläpidettyä. Eli E-vitamiinilla jatketaan taas talven yli ja rakennetaan lisää lihaksia kevättä kohden. 200 ml Chia de Gracian luonnollista E-vitamiinia maksaa vain 30,90 euroa ja nyt joulun ajan saatte 15 % alennuksen verkkokaupasta Chiadegracia.fi koodilla kia17
Olen todella onnellinen päätöksestä siirtää Thor kokonaan pihattoon asumaan enkä oikein osaa kuvitella pitäväni Thoria karsinassa enää. Ehkä tästä vielä mahtavampi vaihtoehto olisi saada Thor omalle kotipihalle vielä joku kaunis päivä.
