Ricco is my yearling. One of the great pleasures of the past year has been to watch this amazing creature grow and develop. I had to laugh the last couple days when something ~finally~ clicked in Ricco’s head when he learned how to take … the big step. Anyone who has been challenged by what seems like a huge obstacle in front of them may be encouraged by this story.
I’ll explain. Ever since Ricco was just a little wee foal he has been confronted by the ~big step~ outside the barn. I have a cement aisle way. The stalls have rubber mats but the aisle is textured cement which creates a step down of several inches out the back of the barn leading to my paddocks and pastures. All the horses know its there and just step down from the barn as I lead them in and out … except Ricco.
Ricco has been challenged and frustrated by this step of maybe 6 inches from day one. He also has maneuvered this step almost every day, often twice a day (in and out) with success. But he seems to still feel the same frustration each time he faces this step. Ricco would gather all his strength and courage, coil his little body and LEAP over this 6 inch step like he was climbing Mt. Everest every single time I had to take him in or out of the barn. I figured with time he would learn that all he had to do was lower his foot and step out of the barn but sometimes learning has its own time table.
Ricco reached a major milestone this week. My great big yearling (he’s easily over 14 hands) learned this week that he can step d..o..w…n and just walk out the barn. 🙂 I am SO proud of him! I knew he would catch on. I do admit I thought he would catch on much sooner but in his equine brain this must of been quite a puzzle!
I also thought of how people also can get hung up on what we think of as big steps in life. Ricco never realized he was growing all this time but the step stayed the same. What was big a year ago is very manageable but he just couldn’t trust his own growth. Ricco maybe doesn’t even realize how big and strong he is! Ricco has been flexing his muscles and stretching his legs – doing all kinds of things this past year out in the pasture while the step has not moved, has not change a bit. Its still just a few inches from the ground.
Maybe we might find in our own lives a challenge may not be the obstacle we thought it was. Maybe we have grown and developed and the obstacle before us is not what we made it out to be in our minds. Maybe its just a little thing that might of tripped us up at one point in time but really …. its just another step along the way.
Being able to spent time with my animals has given me so much that I like to have a portion of my work give back to them. I sell animal art in which a portion of the proceeds are donated to various animal rescues. To see my online store please visit Save A Face, Animal Art Helping Rescues.
To see equine and animal art please stop by my web site at http://www.suesteiner.com/
A beautiful post and a wonderful reminder that growth happens whether we see it or not 🙂
awesome post, sue!
what a great story — and thoughtful reminder…
I love this story and the fact that many challenges, even the ones that exist only in our mind, don’t have a pre-determined deadline. We need to give ourselves time. Thanks Sue and Ricco!
What a wonderful post Sue! Thank you! It’s a very good perspective, and one that I actually needed right now. We’re facing a possible (HUGE) move, and I’m worrying myself sick about things that might happen, instead of being excited about the possibilities. I need to remember it’s just a step along the way, and though it feels huge, it will be do-able! 🙂