Balance

Yesterday I had my farrier (Eric) over to trim Jake's feet. He is always verbose, as I myself am. Anyway we were talking about hooves and how important it is for a horse to have a balanced hoof. That only makes sense. I mean try walking with one shoe on an the other off for a while, Do this with a horse then put a 200 pound man with saddle on him and see if the imbalance affects his stride. I would mine. I can tell when I am out of balance because my lower back hurts and the Chiropractor tells me one leg is longer than the other. When he gets me back in balance the pain in the back is gone and both legs are the same. So it is with a horse.
When a horse a walks if the feet are out of balance (toe too long, heel too short, or some combinationn of them. Or maybe the width of the hoof from the point of the frog {a part of the hoof that acts as a pad/cushion} to the outside of the hoof is not even on both sides) he will most likely put his toe down first and slide forward. Some trim their horses this way on purpose to get a certain action of the foot. However, If you want a horse to be 'sure-footed' he should plant his foot down and not slide, and then the hind foot should be placed almost in the same print as the front. I think that is how it is supposed to work. A 'sure-footed' horse is a safer horse to ride, especially if you are on a narrow rocky trail on the side of a mountain with a nice lengthy drop off on one side. But even if I am just riding down a road I want a 'sure-footed' horse. I really don't like the idea of him tripping over himself and falling because he is not balanced. Well I have some work to do with Raven to get her balanced.
But you know balance is good in our lives too. Not just with our feet. Like a horse, if you don't have balance you will try to compensate in some way to get that balance, either with a limp, a lean, a longer or shorter stride, but some how, some way you will compensate to try to get into balance. Just slip one time on the ice and feel what your body naturally does to try to maintain balance, arms fling upward and out, legs kick out, head careens back all in one jerky but fluid moment, usually in slow motion until either you get your equilibrium back by standing back up or lying flat on your back staring up at the sky or into the faces of those who are asking you if you are all right.
So the question is how do you maintain balance everyday? This is my policy: keep a short account with God as to my sin 1 John 1:9, read the bible everyday, pray everyday and throughout the day, make a list of goals for the day (that honor the Lord) and seek to accomplish them, do something different than my work, like do a puzzle or throw the ball with the dogs, or exercise, or work with my horses, just to get my mind off the daily grind. Oh, it also helps to keep you toe nails trimmed they fit in our shoes better. Another tid bit is make sure your shoes fit properly,not to tight, not too loose.
Make balance the word of the day for you and see if things just feel right at the end of the day.
Get in balance!
Jeff