The Whole Enchilada

by Jane Zubia of Satin Gaits

Why do many of us riders think we can have “the whole enchilada” when we haven’t gone through the process of truly learning how to do something?

I have a local client, Mr. Salsa, who thinks he should be able to have the whole enchilada because he has seen his horse do something with a more experienced rider. Do any of us expect a child to drive a car well just because for years he has been sitting in a car driven by his parents?  I hope not! I think we all agree an inexperienced driver needs to learn and get a “feel” for the car while going slow and driving in light traffic before he/she takes on the challenges of big city or freeway driving.

Mr. Salsa’s horse is in the middle stages of learning the opening and closing of a gate but the rider still has to help position him correctly or he can get off balance. When he gets off balance he ends up moving some part of his body too much making it more difficult to maneuver the gate. When I have tried to slow Mr. Salsa down and tell him to move his horse a step or two at a time, he’s thinking, “I have seen my horse open and close a gate before so he should do it.” He doesn’t realize he is trying to go too fast too soon. As a rider, he needs to learn to crawl before he walks not vise versa.

I know there are a lot of riders out there whose thinking is similar to Mr. Salsa. I encourage riders to slow down and take the time to “feel” the subtle steps it takes to get “the whole enchilada”. If you do slow down you will achieve what you are after much sooner with less confusion between you and your horse. You will sense when your horse understands what you want and you will perceive when he is able to perform what you are asking him to do.

The whole enchilada can be achieved one bite at a time instead of stuffing it all into one moment. We seem to be conditioned to live in a fast food society rather than enjoy the experience of eating a meal consisting of numerous courses. Working with your horse should be more like eating a 5-10 course meal where you savor the flavor of each moment while opening and closing the gate. Eventually you and your horse will be able to open and close the gate in what seems to be a slow continuous flow of movement that will have a lot of eye appeal and cause other riders to be envious of your skill.

Mr. Salsa is a work in progress (like the rest of us) but he is becoming more aware of how important slowing down really is to having “the whole enchilada”!

 Jane can be contacted at www.janezubia.com or 307-254-0666