It is OKAY to change your plan!

A few days ago I had set aside some time to give Doug a massage. I got him in from the field, he was slightly on his toes but nothing out of the ordinary, I gave him a brush off and picked out his feet. He danced around a little bit but this sometimes happens and he usually settles.
I decided to start our session with some bladder meridian therapy to help calm him.... it didn't work. He refused to stand, kept nudging me out of the way and generally wasn't accepting of it.
As he really wasn't interested in the meridian therapy I thought would try the massage instead. Doug's neck is quite tight at the moment and once he realises that you are working on tight areas he usually really gets into the treatment.
Yesterday, wasn't like a normal day and Doug still wasn't having any of it. I got 1 moment of stillness as I released a trigger point then it was straight back to dancing around, trying to nibble me and just being evasive.
Was it worth trying to force him to stand and receive a treatment? Nope, he wouldn't have taken much from it at all! So, I popped him in his stable where it was obvious he wanted to be, gave him his hay and a scratch and left him in peace.
Does it matter that I changed my plan and didn't achieve what I had set ot to achieve? Nope, because Doug wasn't in the mood and that is okay. Sometimes we don't feel like doing things and would get really grumpy if we were forced to do them. So why should I force Doug?
We ended our very short session on a good note and Doug was allowed a voice.
The same goes for when we are riding our horses. If they or your aren't feeling up to the session you had planned out in your head, take a step back, breath and ask yourself if it is worth stressing yourself and your horse out over. Or, can it wait until tomorrow/next time?
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