uncoiling the life energy, with horses

Sheryl from my classical dressage list wrote the following sometime last week, and kindly gave me permission to post it here.

I was so moved by it. She touches on something very potent that I feel on a daily basis with our horses, even though I'm not rehabbing damaged horses.

The last paragraph, especially, feels like a gemstone. It describes the gift I feel every day when I spend time with the equines here.




The uncoiling of the life energy of both the horse and the rider is hardly ever discussed on this list because it seems that the members that post are usually caught up with technical details.

I have found it to be true that when one works with a horse that has had prior injuries or is unsound that one is constantly working on bringing out the inner horse. The technical knowledge on how to train the horse is important to a certain extent but success is dependent on getting to the inner horse for it is the inner horse that decides if you will succeed or fail at rehabbing a horse.

Some horses will never recover mentally from something that has happened as deep down at their core being they are unable to overcome it.

I am sure that Nuno was very aware of this.

We can look at top level competition horses and see the physical damage that has been done to them. Maybe with correct training the physical damage can be helped but the inner light of the horse can often never be kindled again.

It takes a very brave horse to work through the layers to get at the very core of themselves.

Sometimes the horse is not able to do this no matter how much the trainer may want it for them.

It can be very dangerous for the trainer working with them as often they can be suddenly explosive and dangerous. Other times they can become depressed.At times they can be calm and at peace but as you go deeper with them this can suddenly change and they can become irritable.

The trainer also has to go deeper and deeper within themselves and grow within themselves so that their life force is uncoiled along with the horses. This is a very hard thing to do as one also has to face their own short comings. At times one needs to become reclusive so that they can go deeper within themselves to unfold a part of themselves. I am always surprised at how the horse can sense this change deep within the trainer and the positive way the horse reacts to this change. I can only describe it as once a door opens inside ourselves then the horse joins us to go thru it.

day at the barn

Although a bit warmer than it has been, today was gorgeous, with lots of sunshine and blue skies. I had intended to clean out the tack/feed room but got sidetracked by some chores in the barnyard that ended up taking most of the day to finish.

Working in the barnyard always turns out to be more fun than not, once I'm doing it, especially when the season is changing and that change is palpable in the air.

We discovered yesterday that Dickens E. Wickens, who occasionally gets scarce and worries us if we don't see him either coming in to eat or hanging out in the barn, has a new hide-out. He is sleeping in the hay manger in the horse trailer.

Now that we know where to find him, he was lured out for a photo shoot by my daughter, who had a good time capturing Dickens in all his cowboy glory.



After marching by as if he owned the place, he did his characteristic Dickens yoga stretch:



And his regal Dickens In the Sky With Clouds and Tongue pose:





He played with the grass:



He gazed demurely in front of the Lilliputian gate and muck bucket:



And when sister Keats was brought out to join in the fun, he barely flicked a whisker and she went running back to the safety of the back yard, turning to make sure he wasn't in pursuit before she launched herself up and over the fence to safety:



If it didn't take a bit of time to upload all the photos, I'd show you the entire set. There are so many good ones, and the sheer number of poses would convince you that Dickens Edward Wickens quite possibly has a second career as a male model.

The requisite headshot (this one is better if you click and enlarge):

dazzling

This says it all, to me.


Every day I walk out into the world / to be dazzled, then to be reflective.



My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
Keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished.

- Mary Oliver, from "Messenger" in Thirst (2006)

the brave and happy life

Happiness comes more from loving than being loved; and often when our affection seems wounded it is only our vanity bleeding. To love, and to be hurt often, and to love again -- this is the brave and happy life.

-J.E. Buchrose

The phrase "brave and happy life" sticks with me. I'm not sure what I have to say about it here, but it sounds like the kind of life I'd like to live.

This morning after equine breakfasts I put Salina, Rafer Johnson, and Redford into their stall and paddock area so I could have the barn aisle free for chores. It was a cool morning, but I'm still turning on the fans out of habit and I like having them on when I muck.

I've developed a routine of cleaning out Salina's stall first, while they're all eating (she eats in the middle stall, which I think of as the donkeys' stall, and the donkeys eat in the barn aisle) so that when she and the donkeys are done they can move into the clean stall with the paddock and I can have the barn aisle free to do the rest of my chores.

Usually I muck, clean out the hay manger, de-web with a damp broom, and then serve hay.

After I move Salina and the donkeys over, I shift to the opposite side of the barn and start with whichever of the geldings finish first. As they finish up, I let them into their paddock and move on with the stalls.

Cody generally gets moved out of his stall during the summer days so I try to get him set up first, with his stall door closed so he can lie down for a nap and munch his hay without needing to pay attention to his back door.

Periodically I let Keil Bay come into the barn aisle with me, with the barn doors open to the big barnyard so he can saunter in and out. I don't know why he loves this so much, but he takes great joy in grazing the barnyard, snacking on the round bale, and then marching into the barn aisle to check in with me. His comings and goings create a nice rhythm to the work, and when I'm done I can either tack him up and ride or groom/check his feet/etc. before letting him back into his stall/paddock.

The only bravery associated with the morning was the management of a black widow spider. Otherwise it was one more happy day with the horses. (and of course, the donkeys too!)

long weekend, lots to do

Today husband and I drove over to the dressage show to sell two pairs of outgrown but still in good shape riding boots, and we got to sit and watch a few rides afterward. The ones we saw were lower level tests, and either the horses were strung out, the riders were unbalanced, or both. It was not inspiring.

However, I did get to meet the horse I'm thinking of as my "dream horse in training" and had a nice conversation with Cindy Sydnor, who rode him in third level 1 early this morning. It's always a treat to talk with Cindy, and the dream horse is BIG and yes, a bay. He does not look like Keil Bay in person, but he has a similar curious and self-assured demeanor that made me smile. He licked my hands, he took my purse, he took husband's camera bag, he picked up a camp chair and waved it around. None of this was done wildly. It was fun meeting him, as I've kept my eye on him for two years now. Keil Bay's former owner/rider bred this horse, and for whatever reason it's in my head that he's like a younger brother to Keil, although he's not related at all, other than being the same breed.

I have three big outdoor chores and three big indoor chores on my list of things to do. Daughter has a pony club activity early tomorrow morning. In spite of this, we played a game of Settlers of Catan and finally, as it approaches 6:30 p.m., I'm going to get to that to do list!