Meet Ruby Red Dress

I have to say...last year did not go so well, mostly due to my having a horse fall over on me and breaking my ankle in several thousand painful places.

 

As I near the one-year anniversary of my injury, I'm still not 100%. Moral of that story? Be careful.

 

The other thing I've learned over the last year is that our brains are very connected to our health. Simply put, if I wake up thinking I'm in pain and will these tendons ever heal and oh, I hurt...the result is that I get exactly what I think about. I start out in pain and I spend the day that way.

 

However, if I wake up and spend 10 minutes (or 30) focusing on health and well-being...that's what I get. I truly feel like a completely different, vibrant human being. I feel in charge of my pain, instead of the other way around.

 

If you are coping with any kind of pain in your life--be it physical or emotional--pause for a moment to imagine yourself as you'd like to be. In my case, I envision myself standing atop an enormous boulder, strong and completely free of pain, with my arms raised in triumph.

 

I feel the emotions of that vision, and let strength and wellness flow into me. When I am tapped into the emotional feeling of energy and power, I repeat this thought:

 

"I am healthy, feeling energized and pain free."

 

I say it over and over in my mind, continuing to pull positive energy from the vision of wellness I've created for myself.

 

And as a new Standardbred comes into our life, I am also saying, "My body can easily support me as I mount up and ride."

 

I needed this mantra the other day as Best Husband in the World and I spent our first day with Ruby Red Dress, a 9-year-old chestnut mare who has never before been ridden.

 

Ruby was a winning harness racer until a minor soft tissue injury derailed her stellar career. For the last four years, she's been doing a fabulous job raising babies.

 

And because her owners want her to have a full and interesting life, they sent her to me so that she could learn to be a riding horse.

 

I'm already in love with Ruby and tomorrow I'll tell you why. But first, here are a couple teasers...some "before" and "after" shots as Ruby, who's lived in a pasture for the last four years, spent Day I in the beauty salon.

 

 Ruby Before

 

Ruby After