Contigo has to be more handy

Sometimes I use my training notebook to explore a word or phrase a trainer uses. Just yesterday, trainer Else Donnell said, "Contigo has to be more handy."

Handy? A horse, handy? I was intrigued because it's a word I typically associate with a household, not a horse. Turns out, the word choice was perfect.

Else Donnell is a USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist and "L" judge with distinction who recently moved to Gardnerville, Nevada. Yesterday was my first lesson with her.

I have a past with the word handy. My mother used to say that my dad wasn't very handy around the house and that the only thing he was handy with was the wood pile and his ability to pile five pieces of firewood at one time into his arms and bring them up the steep stairs on a cold dark night. (But she'd only say that when the kitchen drain got plugged or a lightswitch didn't work; she really did think he was handy, especially in his chosen profession -- the operating room.) Furthermore, my husband is the son of a man who taught him how to build houses, fix the plumbing, the dishwasher, the heating, the air conditioner, the washer and dryer and anything else that runs. He just does it and I don't ever have to think about asking him or bugging him for it. So, I simply haven't heard, used or even thought about that word in a very long time.

Else provided me her own definition of the word handy: Contigo needs to pick up his feet quicker, without changing the rhythm. He needs to spend less time on the ground and more time reaching under his body toward the middle of the saddle. He needs to fall with less weight on his font feet, and he needs to let her lift his shoulders and refrain from wanting to drop them. He also needs to move off the right and left leg aid faster. In essence, he needs to use his hind end to become more adjustable. Then she rode him as a masterful gymnast would, testing and developing strength, balance and agility through a random and spontaneous sequence of movements, postures and gaits. Over a short period of time, Contigo's body grew taller, his steps became lighter and he looked beautiful. Or should I say he looked beautifully handy.

So I wrote her definition down. Then I looked it up in the dictionary. It means to be within easy reach, conveniently available, accessible, skillful with the hands or dextrous (in a horse's case I guess that would mean skillful with his hind legs and supple and relaxed through his work), and easily maneuvered.

When working trainers, whether it be for the first time or the fiftieth time, I still seek to know the deeper meaning of their words. What exactly does that trainer mean when he or she uses this word or that word. In this particular phase in my learning, that word, handy, felt so practical, so achievable. I love the idea of Contigo becoming more handy. And now that I have explored it on the pages of my notebook I won't lose site of its importance.