Get Back on the Horse
The idiom “Get back on the horse” is as much about facing and overcoming your problems as it is about “keep trying until you get it right”. This was especially applicable to men’s gymnastic training since you make mistakes and fall more frequently than not when you start to try a new trick. Also there is an apparatus called the sidehorse or just horse for short. Injuries from falling off the horse were rarely serious because this apparatus is lower to the ground than the high-bar, parallel bars, or rings. The frequency, the number and the awkwardness of the falls were comparatively very high. There’s something about the balance and movement being abnormally circular with so much weight shifting and hand movements that makes staying on the horse so difficult. We talked about this event more like an animated object than any other event. “I got thrown again.” “The horse was just a little wild today.” “It doesn’t do any good to sooth it by talking nicely to it.” Or excuses like “it kicked me” or “I swear it lifted its head and bit my leg”. Side horse is the only gymnastic apparatus referred to as “The Beast”. Most all-around gymnasts worried the most about the possibility of hitting a snag and taking a fall from the horse.
The lesson is keep trying, get back on, and redoing the steps before you took the fall. So it is with life. Mistakes, problems, and failures is the way of life. Quickly restarting the same move that caused problems is what builds character and eventually meaningful results. Certainly reflecting on what you did wrong is important too.
I remember one time practicing a move on parallel bars when my thumb got caught and was dislocated from its socket. My coach saw me staring at my disfigured hand, he said, “Gordon, come over here, let me fix that.” I went over to him, he held my forearm tight with one hand and twisted and pulled my thumb to help it pop back to its normal position. Then he said, “Now go see how it feels to swing on it again.” I did like he suggested and said “It’s a litter sore” He returned, “Well be sure to soak it in the jacuzzi after workout today. Gymnasts spend a lot of time with some type of physical therapy helping their minor injuries heal so they can workout the following day…. “Get back on the horse.”
