sounds of summer

This morning when I went out to the barn I realized we've gone full-blown into summer routine and its unique chorus of sounds. First out the gate is Rafer Johnson's bray, which is a combination of "good morning" and "I'm ready for my breakfast!"

In the barn, the new nest of swallow babies chirp madly because they too want breakfast. Fortunately someone else is in charge of that, and her flapping wings are, for now, the next note in the unfolding barn song.

On these warm summer mornings I turn on the fans, and once I flip the switch, the barn fills with the low rush of air blowing. We have three big industrial fans, which are hung up high so they create air flow without blowing directly into horses' faces. The effect is nice, and it keeps the barn comfortable. The sound ends up being much like that of ocean surf - it takes on a constant, background quality that can be quite soothing and hypnotic.

Once I get into the feed room, Keil Bay's melodic voice is the next bit of music to my ears. He has a very special whinny that conveys his eagerness for breakfast and love of all things "food."

Like Keil Bay, I love the little sounds of black oil sunflower seeds being scooped, the shhhh sound as I pour in the supplements, and the snap snap of carrots being divided up between feed tubs. The apples make a satisfying thump.

Depending on how slowly I'm moving, there may be a loud BANG when Keil Bay uses his knee on the stall door to hurry me along.

Even with the fans going, the crunching sounds of four horses and a miniature donkey eating their breakfasts are clearly heard, often in sync. Salina does a brief trumpet call if she finishes before I close everything up in the feed room, signaling that she's ready for Rafer Johnson to return to her side.

After breakfast there is munching of hay and mucking of stalls. The mucking is a relaxing WHUMP sound that becomes more and more muted as the wheelbarrow piles up. By the end it becomes silent. Walking the wheelbarrow down the hill, birds sing and insects buzz, although in the growing heat of midday, things can get very quiet out in the open.

It always amazes me as I walk back up the hill when the blowing of one or more of the horses carries so that it seems they're right beside me.

In no particular order, the morning chorale continues with water from the hose falling into buckets and tanks, the brushing of coats and velcro'ing of fly masks, and the soft whoosh of herbal fly spray being applied. The barn doors on the sunny side of the barn rumble closed, and the metallic clank of the backyard gate latch signals the end of our morning song.

labyrinthine possibilities

This morning I needed some motivation to walk the wheelbarrow down the hill. By the time the wheelbarrow needs dumping, I'm hot and tired and that long walk down the hill is often hard to take.



Up top at the gate, I envisioned a little wooden sign.

to the labyrinth



I had the idea a while back to make an equine labyrinth down at the far edge of our property, and that's what I've been doing with the muck dumping. Making the beginning of the path. Today I realized I can see the pattern forming, and suddenly, the long walk to dump became a much less dreaded part of the day.



It's funny how having a plan, something to look forward to, a way to make progress elevates the mundane to the sacred. Suddenly I'm not dumping the muck, I'm building a labyrinth!



Just that much excitement set my mind racing. There is room for the labyrinth, and also the possibility of extending the woodland trail so that one could walk down the hill through the woods, emerge into the "open" space of the labyrinth, and then come up a different path through the woods.




The ascending path will pass right by the site of the writing studio I want to build:



While standing in the hot sun pondering all this, I realized the labyrinth is the perfect site for the herbal equine garden I've been wanting for many years now. In between the circuits of the labyrinth, I could plant the herbs that horses can graze for healing and wellness.

On the way up the path I noticed a branch forming the rune Algiz:



Algiz illustrates both the antlers of the elk, and the shape of the sedge-grass herb. To some it suggests the spread fingers of a hand raised in a protective gesture. It is a powerful rune of protection and, spiritually, it symbolizes reaching up to the divine.

Algiz also represents success through endeavour in a search, quest, or other enterprise. Like the fast-growing pine tree, schemes will develop quickly. Like sharp sedge, you are protected from attack. Alertness and awareness will be your guide. Wisdom, vision and clarity of mind will aid your cause.

I pranced back up the hill with the empty wheelbarrow, noting two places along the way where benches would enhance the labyrinthine journey. Places to sit and ponder on the way down, on the way back up.



This evening, I did a test run with daughter and Dickens E. Wickens. We walked the proposed path through the enchanted forest and then made the ascent back to the real world.

great minds think alike

Actually this is yet another example of synchronicity and the collective unconscious, but I got a nice boost from the "great mind" line.

For my birthday, my husband gave me Jane Savoie's Happy Horse training program, which includes audio CDs, a book, and DVDs. She does a wonderful job taking the rider through the dressage levels and I am very slowly working my way through the program.

I've corresponded with Jane a bit about wanting to study dressage without being punitive or harsh or "loud" with the horses, and she created this program for just that purpose. She's written numerous articles about being an advocate for your horse (with punitive trainers, riding instructors, etc.) and I just read that she rode from SC to Vermont IN THE TRAILER with her wonderful horse Moshi, who developed some serious medical issues after they set out to travel from Florida to her Vermont home. The story of how they completed the trip (with conference calls to vets and stops every 1-2 hours to keep Moshi comfortable) reinforced for me how much Jane loves her horses.

Imagine my surprise this morning when my husband forwarded me two emails from Jane. (the mass emails go to him b/c he ordered the program from his email)

The first email was her June newsletter, in which one item has to do with using EFT for conquering a rider's fear of cantering! Apparently Jane has been using EFT with her students for years to help them overcome fears and anxiety. It's possible I "knew" this but since I have only recently learned how to use EFT with my own clients, I did not make the connection earlier on when reading about Jane's work.

The second email was a postscript from Jane answering a newsletter reader's question about using EFT with horses!

She suggests that placing one hand on the horse, but tapping oneself while saying the affirmations, is one way to go.

I still plan to discuss this with my massage therapist, because I have a feeling tapping the horse in the right spots will be very effective. In the meantime, however, if you're interested in checking out EFT practices with Jane Savoie and all her years of experience, go to her website and read the June newsletter. If I'm not mistaken, she covers EFT for riders in at least one of her earlier books.

I'll report back on my own application of EFT to horses next week, but I wanted to share this lovely bit of synchronicity today.

And healing thoughts to Jane's Moshi, who I hope is back to good health and great riding.

a quick note

Friend and fellow writer A.S. King sent me a post tonight for mystic-lit, and it was so good and so personally useful to me right now I practically tripped over my own fingers clicking over to Blogger to put it up.

Please go read it, if you're a writer, or even if you're not. The message translates to other endeavors than writing.

EFT and horses

This morning I was reading Stacey Kimmel-Smith's blog Behind The Bit, and was struck by her description of having her fidgety horse's mane braided for a show. Using a twitch didn't work, but when Stacey tapped on his nose with the end of the whip, he was mesmerized and calm.

I immediately thought of a technique I have been teaching my human clients, called EFT (emotional freedom technique).

EFT is based on a discovery regarding the body's subtle energies. Basically, it's an "emotional" version of acupuncture but without the needles. You use your fingers to tap various points on your body, in a sequence. I've had success using this method on myself, and clients as young as 5 have reported excellent results.

So when I read Stacy's success story with the tapping and braiding, I wondered: can EFT work with horses?

I'm going to try it later today and see how it goes.