Annoyingly Repetitive

 As the famous golf coach Hank Haney says: "I keep teaching the same lesson over and over again, I just find different ways to say it. But the student has to be ready to hear it - to actually hear it. So I keep talkin till they get it."

  

Credit: Unsplash Dan Congdon

 

Wouldn't you love to ride on that golf course? :)

It's great how this principle applies to so many different aspects of our lives. I even have an art coach right now talking about the same thing. How it's a good idea to look at something again with 'fresh eyes' and more knowledge.

3 More... 2 More... 1 More

  Humans need to hear and do something more than 1 time to really get a new concept. I remember watching my reining tapes over and over again. And then I'd go to the riding pen and practise over and over again. I also filmed myself (as I didn't have a spotter) so that I could review it and see what I was doing.

  That's why I think participating in a clinic is a great idea. If you know that type of learner you are (I believe there are 5 types) then hands on or kinetic is invaluable.

 It's interesting how looking back and redoing some art lessons from a few years ago, I have a different perspective. More experience. Better questions.

  Is this annoyingly repetitive? Maybe for the instructor. Not sure about the rider. I would think so for the horse.

 Putting My Spin on Repetition!

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners

KISS Principle: Simplification

 KISS Principle:  Keep It Simple Self

   We all know what the KISS principle usually stands for but I don't like it when people call themselves or someone else stupid so I changed that phrase to Keep It Simple Susan. Others can use the phrase Keep It Simple Self.

Credit: Pexels Barbara Olsen

  I sit and wonder over a cup of coffee sometimes about how society got so full of stuff. My mother was born at the end of WWII and she didn't have much growing up. Have you heard that story of people during the war save that piece of tin foil and use it over and over again? My grandmother did.

  How Much Time Do You Really Have to Maintain Stuff?:

    Now we have so much stuff to maintain. My old printer finally broke the other day. I tried to fix it (since I was a computer professional for 30 years) but printers and most stuff is not made to be repaired but rather to just be thrown away. A 'throw away' society.

 As I get older (being 65 this year), I like to simplify life to make it easier for me to maintain things and keep things clean. I don't have as much energy as I used too. Friends laugh when I saw that I don't mind paying garbage dump fees as I say "better in the dump then at my house cluttering things up".

 Do you have areas of your life where it would be good to do a clean out? To simplify things. Have you heard of Marie Kondo who created the KonMari Method of decluttering. I wrote a few articles about it on my website. It's a good idea to apply it to that part of our life relating to horses, IMO.

  Here is how you can apply the KISS or simplification to your life.

   1. Home life: Do you really need 20 coffee cups in the drawer for 3 people? Discounts stores make it so easy to indulge don't they. Lol. New cup in, old cup to the barn.

   2. Horse life: Do you really need 20 bits in the tack box when you only use your favorite 2 or 3?  That's an accomplishment btw, that you have figured out the 2-3 bits that fit your skill level. They make lovely wind chimes don't ya know.

   3. Tupperware Life: LoL. Remember in the 70's and the tupperware home parties craze? I was a kid then but I remember kitchens had tupperware all over the place and all over the globe from Japan to England to Atlanta (according to goggle AI).

  4. Horse Life: Do you really need all those saddle blankets or other blankets? You get the idea.

  It really is freeing. My friends thought it strange that 3 years ago I did a huge clean out of everything. I took 7 loads to the dump and 7 loads to Value Village. It felt great!  And time for another declutter.

 I encourage you to try it! Right now I'm simplifying my art supplies and gosh, that's not easy. :)

  

Putting My Spin on Making Life Easier

Reinersue

@KISS

Standard Issue for Riders: a Western German Martingale

  A rider sometimes needs equipment that will make their life easier when it comes to having an enjoyable ride and not mess up a horse's rideability. I believe in using specialty equipment like the western german martingale as it makes it easier for the horse to understand what it is that you want them to do.  If you're familiar with my TheRider.com column and website, you will know that I am a BIG proponent of this piece of equipment.

Western German Martingale

 Even Ebay sells it.

                     

   

Why a Western Martingale?

  Larry Trocha has a video titled: "Horse Training Using the German Martingale, part 1"  (https://www.horsetrainingvideos.com/german-martingale.htm) which explains why it's his favorite training aid. "If I had nothing else to use, this would be my primary training aid". He goes on to say that he likes it because it does several things that are critical and one of the most important things is that "it helps teach the horse to give to our hands and flex at the poll... Any kind of performance horse, the #1 control factor is the horse flexing at the poll." This is also important for a rider and it helps with control and therefore safety.

History of the Cowboy German Martingale
 I have to think back to how many years I've been using the western-style german martingale. I bought my first one from Larry Trocha over 20 years ago. I have several articles about it on my website (dating back to 2009): Reinersuehorsemanship.com back when I was training other people's horses (I'm retired now). The information is still noteworthy for riders if you're interested.

Al Dunning and myself, March 2015, London

Speaking of Trainers.....
  I had the privilege of listening to Al Dunning at the 2015 All Equine Show in London, Ontario speak about bits and the cowboy german martingale. You can see the martingale in the photo of Al and I.
  In my article "A German Martingale Is Like a Calculator", Al "mentioned how he uses the german martingale a lot for setting a horse's head and helping to remove resistance."
  Al's website: aldunning.com, mentions that the martingale is their best selling item in their tack shop.

 In Horse&Rider, Aug2016, Al Dunning writes about the martingale. "To help a high headed or pushy horse get into a better frame." There is a good description of how to use the martingale.

Now for Some Uses:

1.   Helps the horse understand what the rider is asking the horse to do. ie. a rider aid.
2.   Shows the horse where they need to keep their head automatically, while the rider is working on other things. ie. Another pair of hands.
3.   Riders, who are not yet at the stage where they want or can work on a horse's headset, will use the german martingale to keep the horse's head set properly as they learn. ie. The horse's head is set properly from the beginning though through the use of the training aid. It can be removed later.
4. It's used for collection and flexing at the poll for performance horses and I would suggest, for all horses.
5. Can be used temporarily when a horse tends to flip their heads. It removes resistance and teaches the horse not to do that.
6. Teaches the horse where to keep their head, while the rider is learning a new event or sport.
7. A rider is working on headset and/or collection before a show.
8. Fixes horses that are chargey, roots on a bit, or are high headed.
9. It's great for when you just want to go for a ride and not think about head set. Trail ride anyone!

Last But Not Least (a story):
  I had some students (a long time ago), who rode recreationally and were not very good riders. They just wanted to ride safely. And they wanted to use the cowboy martingale like some riders would a tie down. ie. a regular piece of equipment. I was hesitant. I don't like people using a training aid like a rider aid. I didn't want them to become dependent on it.

But I kept having an idea that I didn't to think about that some more. So, I had some mirror time and really wondered why? I realized and told them- why not? These people were not into serious lessons. They just wanted a 'quick fix'.  So I thought, why not? If it meant that these riders were going to be safer (due to the horse's head being in a better position and therefore more control by the rider) then both the rider and horse would be happier.
  So that is another use: safety for horse and rider.

 Putting my spin on the cowboy german martingale!
ReinersueQ
@KISS Reiners

Love Rainy Days

 I've grown to love rainy days (and winter days for the same reason but since winter is over, I won't focus on that! As a side note, my area had a total snowfall for 2025/2026 of 14ft! according to google AI). I must mention this to my sister-in-law Diane at least once a winter. And this is what I said...

I'm Stuck Inside Frustrated:

   Since I no longer have an indoor arena to ride in bad inclement weather, I had to think of other things to do indoors. That's wasn't easy for me to do at first (but now I love it). I remember even as kid that I would get a little frustrated that I couldn't go outside to ride and to the barn to go be with the horses other than to do chores.  I didn't like being inside the house. My parents didn't have an indoor arena. But I did like playing in puddles. 😄

Credit: Pexels

   Fast forward to the last 20+ years. There is always so much work to do outside on a farm and I would still get a little frustrated that the weather was not cooperating to go outside to get my chores and yardwork done. I have things to do you know! 😏 OF course we all learn to work with the weather and get done what we have to do - but still.

Riding in the Rain:  

   There are times when we need to ride in the rain - rain slicker et al. But seriously? Who loves to ride in the rain if you can help it. I feel bad for these 2 guys (in the photo) who look to be riding in the rain in a parade. My snowplow neighbor who plows my driveway had quite the job this past winter and I helped him with that by giving him a bottle of Bailey's for his coffee. 😉

   

Credit: Pexels

What to Do - Along Came the Arena:

    I remember when I was a kid, how I was in awe of those horse owners who had an arena.  I vowed I would have one one day and I did - but not until my 40's.

The Complete Opposite:

   Nowadays, I'm the complete opposite. Seriously, I actually look forward to rainy days or wintery days where I can stay inside, warm and guilt free while I work on other projects. I've made staying inside during very inclement weather very productive and enjoyable. I hope you do that too!

Putting my Spin on Inside Productivity.

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners

What Patience Will Get You

 Patience

One of the things that horses teach us is patience. Though most people will admit that patience is not their greatest strength. I turned 65 this past February and I got hooked on watching those Cop body cam videos. Wow! Is the younger generation especially Gen Z not very patient. Society has taught them to want instant gratification. Patience must be hard for them to learn. That's where horses could help.

Def'n:  Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Patience   Credit: Pexels

   What They Teach: (A brief list)

  We know that horse owners especially from when we were young, that horses taught us patience along with steadfastness.

 What Else?

 - Patience with Time: Like growing a garden or gaining trust with your horse, it takes patience.

 - Patience with Newness: Like leaping into a new unknown project, horses teach us patience when we work them on something new.  A new sport perhaps?

 - Patient Listeners: I like this one. Really learning to listen to horses. We are blessed.

 - Emotional Resilience: Horses teach us not to expect instant gratification. Horses take time.

With horses, we learn to drop the cell phone, be in the zone with them and learn patience.

Patience is a virtue for sure these days!  Get a horse!

Putting MY Spin on Patience

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners

Do You Feel Stuck?

  If you feel stuck then go back to the basics but in a different way.  

How Appropriate for January.    Credit: Pixabay

Here are some tips I found on the internet. You'll notice that they are from different industries.

Back To Basics:

1. Focus on simplifying, consistency, and focusing on foundational health rather then complex, trendy solutions (from Coach Shawn on Coffee Talk).

2.  Choose 1 simple skill and let the subject be whatever is in front of you. Skills build quietly over time.  (Ian Fennelly, Urban Sketch Course).

3.  AI Overview of Shawn Florida's (NRHA Hall of Famer) going back to the basics of reining emphasizes creating a willing, independent partner through consistent, quiet, and repetitive, yet not excessive, training. Flarida's approach focuses on the horse's mind, body and heart, ensuring they understand the maneuvers rather then being forced into them..  

AI further summarizes:

  1. Focus on the Mindset and Willingness:

     - Prevent Boredom and Resentment -> Don't drill a horse to death. Train to the point of understanding and then give the horse a break.

     - Let them work-> Allow the horse to perform maneuvers independently rather then micromanaging every step. The goal is a horse that does the job on its own, making the rider smoother and more impressive.

   2. Return to Fundamental Maneuvers (ie. Back to the Basics).

    - Too Fast or Anxious on the Rollback -> return to basic walk-throughs or simple repetitions until they wait on you. 

    - Circles are Too Rushed-> focus on control and balance, keeping them relaxed and not pushing on the inside.

   3. Refine Your Aids:

    - Lighten Your Cues -> If the horse is doing the maneuver correctly, let them do it.

    - Consistency is Key -> Use the same, subtle cues for every maneuver to avoid confusing the horse.

    - Positioning -> Keep your shoulders over your hips and your weight in your heels to maintain balance and avoid becoming crooked which hinders the horse's performance. 

   4. Proper Groundwork and Foundation: Whoa!

      My Take on Proper Groundwork and Foundation: 

Well this is a big one for me! My training business was called Foundation Reining Training. It was all about proper groundwork and foundation. I believe it's applicable to all disciplines. I put a basic reining foundation using a lot of groundwork for many different breeds of horses.

Credit: pixabay

  If interested in more back to basics articles and information, I still maintain my website: www.reinersuehorsemanship.com.

 Nothing compares to going back to the basics!  

Putting My Spin on the Basics

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners 2026

A Box of Miscellaneous Screws

   I was reminded the other day from someone I follow on youtube about the multitude of instructional youtube videos out there about every subject.   I call youtube my youtube library.

 I've watched videos from fixing my garage door opener to fixing my riding lawn mower to art and current events. It's amazing really if you think about it.

 Too Many Choices:

    I also found that one of the negatives with all these videos as it can be confusing when there are so many videos of the same subject and especially conflicting information.  I'm finding the AI algorithm doesn't help. Could be just me. 

    One instructor I have talked about the fact that it would be easy to grab a bit of information from 1 video, another bit from another instructor and so on. In other words - piece meal.  Like a box of miscellaneous screws.  I have a box of misc. screws that I use for various things and that reminded me of what my instructor said.

Random Box of Screws photo credit Pixabay

 It lacks harmony and coherence.  There isn't an easy understanding of how it all fits together. 

  Training Advice Long Ago:

      I got the same advice literally decades ago.  I was watching some training tapes on reining and a famous trainer said something similar.  To learn a program completely from start to finish first and then if you want to incorporate other things then that's fine. 

    Made perfect sense to me and that piece of advice worked well for me in my reining. Of course, it applies to life as well. My art instructor was making a pitch for his training program but Hay! Why Not!

credit: pixabay

  Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Everyone!

  All the best in your horse endeavours for next year.

  Reinersue

@KISS Reiners

Pumpkin Spice Coffee While Examining the Cold Hard Truth

 I love this time of year for many things - the fall leaves, the cooler weather, pumpkin spice coffee or tea, yadda yadda yadda.  The show season is done for a lot of people. The fall fairs are wrapping up and well - you didn't do as well with your horse as you thought.  The pumpkin spice coffee needs to have a dual purpose....

Photo Credit: Pixabay

  It Happens In Other Areas as Well:

    I wanted to give an example. A couple of years ago I mentioned in this column how I was embarking on a big, new non-horse related project that I was hoping was going to make it big.  I made a big investment like we do when we decide to make the commitment to get a show horse or buy a horse and set big goals. It's a big deal.  Well it didn't go as I expected. It was devastating.  This can happen in the horse world as well. 

   I remember many years ago I bought my first reining show horse named Tex. My beginner year didn't go so well and I was very discouraged so you see it can happen in many aspects of our lives. Pumpkin spice coffee comes in handy when we need to take a look at the cold hard truth of why some projects don't go as expected and more importantly how to fix them.

  After the Pumpkin Spice:

    The experience in my beginner year of showing Tex and how I dealt with it afterward was good experience for how I deal with my big non-horse related disappointment recently.  Tex got sold and I bought a better show horse. And I took responsibility for myself and doubled down on learning, attending clinics, lessons and learning the politics.  I can't believe I'm mentioning politics! :/

  What Do You Mean Politics?: 

   I learned that politics plays a big part in things. I'm doing much of the same things I did to correct my horse showing problems many years ago.  I'm continuing to learn, practice, taking lessons, switched art instructors, and learning the politics. I'm also taking responsibility for my part in what happened. I believe in my supportive friends and their encouragement a lot but I also needed an objective point of view for a more accurate assessment of talent.

  It's important to be street wise and know when to go elsewhere. It's also important to know what we ourselves contributed to the problem and fix that too. 

    

  Putting My Spin on Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Introspection

  Reinersue

 @KISS Reiners

Bit Me Series: Q? Does Changing Bits Help The End of Summer Showing Slump?

 Time for some Problem Solving: 

We are on the back half of the show season, everything is slowing down. Your show results aren't what they were at the beginning of the season. What to do? I remember when I was showing, I was getting a bit burnt out from showing and there were still shows in September (and beyond if I wanted to). I needed a pick me up. The horse wasn't responding as well as they did at the beginning of the show season. Time for a change. (Pictured below: an artistic frustrated horse, IMO).

  

Photo Credit: pixabay SrigleyArts

 A Much Needed Rest:

   Of course the common course of action was the give the horse more down time. Always a good idea. But it didn't always get you back to the beginning of the show freshness.

 Do You Change Bits? - Yes and No

  Some regulations won't let you change the bit much - perhaps the mouthpiece. Just to refresh, the mouthpiece is for the horse and the shanks (or lack of) are for the rider. One of the many things I learned while studying under Dale Myler of Myler Bits in Marshfield, Missouri.

 Our first thoughts are to get a tougher bit. I've seen that many times at shows.  This is a case of short term gain. Might not get you to the end of the show season in good shape.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

  What I Would Do: Getting Back to Basics

    My suggestion is to use a different bit at home - not at the show. In other words, I would do more 'getting back to basics' while training or practicing at home. Freshen up the horse's response to the bit you normally use in the show pen. This could entail some groundwork exercises (I'm thinking of trainers like Clinton Anderson's groundwork program which I did for years). More focus - less time. Gives you a perhaps a much needed break as well.

   Most if not all of the famous reining trainers I studied from will tell you to use a different bit at home to tune the horse back up again so they're quite responsive in the show pen - just like at the start of the season.  And giving the horse more time off is a good combo, IMO.

 Best of luck to those still showing this year!

 Putting My Spin on Helping The Latter Part of the Show Season

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners,

Bad Paper Teaches Bad Habits

 

  It's interesting how life in one area helps with other aspects in our life. Can the same be said for AI?  Some lessons I'm learning in fine art remind me of the lessons I learned with horses. Direct hands on experience - not through AI. 

Photo Credit: Pixabay by Get2gether

 

 Bad Tools Create Bad Habits

   I recently joined a fine art school from a nice lady in Germany.  She teaches the type of fine art that I like to do.  It reminds me of the time back in the '80s when I first started in reining. There wasn't much here in Ontario. It was just starting to grow as a sport, IMO. My first reining horse was a 'dud' named Tex and I traded him for a better horse after the first season. Tex went on to be a great barrel horse, from what I understand.

   It makes sense for us to get as best of a horse in our desired sport that we can afford. I know we've heard this before. Some of us learned the hard way.   I couldn't believe when I first started out in reining how much it was going to cost. I had no idea.  My new German art instructor gives the same adage to get the best art paper that we can afford even if it's just a sketchbook. Did you know that 1 artist grade coloured pencil costs over $6.00! Sounds like the horse industry! lol

AI

Photo Credit: Pixabay by pencil parker

   A big controversy right now is the infiltration of AI in the art world. I won't get into detail here but it's causing some problems with illegal stealing of people's art work.  And those who use AI for online painting are pushing to get recognized.  I'm watching closely.

   I have no interest in online painting. I prefer my tactile art - the physical holding of a pencil or paint brush. Thank goodness horses and the horse industry will not get that way.

But wait! I decided to check Google AI and sure enough there's AI in the horse industry! Well look at that! A quick look will show you that the University of  Arizona is looking at "Transformative Applications in Advancing Horse Racing". Horseproperties.net talks about AI enhancing the way we do many aspects of horse management etc. Every time I hear anything about AI, I think the Terminators movies. Yikes.

Am I Old Fashioned?

  I guess you can call me old fashioned when I still prefer to be hands on with my horses. Nothing beats the smell and a hug from our horses. I'm going through the difficult time of looking after my old mare whom the vet has said won't last till Christmas so I'm spending as much time with her as I can.  I will get as many hugs in as I can, while I can.

Putting my spin on a paper zebra.

Have a great summer!

Reinersue

KISS Reiners

Getting Over the Fear of Failure

 

Getting over the Fear of Failure

Q? What Does that Even Mean? Isn't failure bad enough - never mind the fear of failure. I was looking for an emoji to place here and on Pixabay  there was such scary options that I was about to give up until I found this little guy in orange. 

We hear this statement often enough. Sounds important and yet I dismiss it because it doesn't make sense to me - at least initially. Unless I look into it to understand.  Are we afraid of failing or afraid of criticism by others or both? If you were unfortunate enough for example to grow up in a family where criticism was over used as a parenting strategy for control (as an obvious bad parenting skill), then criticism can definitely be something to only have in small doses or avoid.  And what do we do about it? 

An Unlikely Source

  

I was reading one of my art instructor's newsletters and there it was! She was dealing with a broken foot and how she described the challenges with life on one foot and the "striking parallels" with struggles she has seen her art students saying "particularly the tendency to convince ourselves that something is too difficult before even trying." And we know that happens in the horse world as well. It seems universal.

?Are you hindered by your fear?

She goes on to say that her responsibilities hadn't changed and even though she dreaded how she was going to get her chores done of feeding her animals, "But when I finally pushed past my doubts and just did it, I realized it was manageable." 

The Key to Getting Over the Fear of Failure

 Pushing past your doubts. Now she knows that she is quite capable of feeding her animals with her broken foot. She explains: "The key was getting out of my own head, trusting I'd figure it out, and taking action."

Trusting I'd Figure It Out

Horse goals are the same way. A big goal of competing in a big provincial show or even a national can be daunting for sure. In closing, my art instructors says: "That mental block holds us back. Instead, we need to step up and try. Then try again, refine our approach, learn from mistakes, and keep going. The belief that something is 'too hard' is the real obstacle. Don’t waste time stressing over daunting tasks... Dive in, do your best, and you’ll go further than fear ever allows."  Couldn't have said it better myself. Great words to live by. Thanks Lisa.

My you have great success in your horse endeavors and non-horse endeavors.  And tell the critics where to go. ;)

Putting my Spin on Overcoming Fear of Anything

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners

Spring Forward - Please

 

Where is Spring?!  

 As I'm writing this in early April/25, the forecast is for snow for 2 days. WTH? I'm so tired of all the snow we got this past winter (the highway people had to bring in a special machine that ate the snow on the shoulder of the road and spit it out onto our lawns) that I changed all my towels to spring towels and put up my spring horse shower curtain. Have you seen all the different horse shower curtains available on amazon? Wow :)

Spring Horse Curtain (see Amazon)

Spring Forward
If you are fortunate enough to have access to an indoor arena then I'm sure you are getting your horse(s) ready for the current show or riding season.

The general gist of my article today is the principle of starting early to achieve your goal by the due date (so to speak). It just takes developing a new little habit if you're not familiar with the strategy. And of course, it can be applied anywhere.

I'd like to give a couple of examples.

Springtime Schooling - Colt Starting a Yearling

One of the things that I wrote about several years ago (2019) was the ground training and colt starting a filly by the name of SusieQ. (SusieQ Tinseltown). That's a great thing to do in between snow showers. :/

SusieQ 2019 - a yearling

Using the same principle of doing a little bit every day on this filly had given this horse many skills in her yearling year. Plenty of skills before colt starting - another springtime venture.

Fencing - A Big Job

    I've been here 8 years and this is the first time I've had to really repair my pasture fence. I had to restring several lines and I had 6 fence posts down. Crazy winter.

     

Damage from Winter 2025

  There is certainly no end of things to do in early spring. It's nice to see the crocuses in the spring grass and the lack of mounds of snow.  Best of luck to this year's projects to everyone.

Putting My Spin on Spring
Reinersue
@KISS Reiners

Benefitting from an Unavoidable Pause

 This is going to be a very straight up, honest from the heart article. I gave myself permission to take a pause on a big project I started almost 2 years ago and that wasn't easy to do.

A Big Project - Now Paused

  I mentioned in this column about an exciting new project in 2023. I didn't want to mention it in case it didn't work out. It involved my fine art work. What does it have to do with horses you ask? Well, I like to paint horses and landscapes. And this pause I'm doing has happened to me in my horse showing years as well so I thought it was a good idea to mention here to horse people in case someone else is going through this - having to make the difficult decision to pause something that they didn't really want to pause.

 

Sable Island Horses. Oil over Acrylic. 20x37" 2024

 Why I Had to Pause

  Briefly, I made the commitment to join an art school here in Ontario and I worked tirelessly towards getting really saleable realistic art. Things were going great until I ran into a snag a year ago. Doesn't that sound familiar? You're going along fine with your goal of getting a horse ready to show in time for the start of the show season and you run into a snag. Darn! :(

   I requested a critique from my art instructor a year ago and wisely he gave an honest - though hard to take analysis of my work. It's really hard to take as an artist. You're really quite vulnerable. Just like a riding student who puts themselves out there for a critique from a riding instructor. They provide very valuable information but it can be hard on the self.

  So I wasn't the same after the critique - I can tell you. I stopped painting for a while. I won't go into any more detail as you get the point. In my defense, I didn't have any problems with the technical information, just the way he delivered it. He did apologize more than once. So I paused my goal and kept learning and practicing.

And That's the Point - To Pause and Practice

  And that's my point - to do yourself a big favor and pause. It takes guts and strength to pause. It would only be worse to just ignore the signs, plow forward, only to find out the same thing later. Time to step back, pause, reevaluate, keep learning and practicing and redo the plan.

"Gavin", Colored Pencil over Ink, 11x16", 2021

  I've had to do pauses in my learning with regards to riding horses too. It made this pause a little easier knowing the experience I had with horse plans.  I'm sure others have also. It's hard. It takes guts. But it's worth it.

P.S. My sable island horse painting hangs proudly in my home.

 

Putting My Spin on Unavoidable Pauses

Reinersue

@KISS Reiners