I just read a post on a forum in which someone suggested that in dealing with spooky horses, we must "make them touch" the thing they are afraid of.
All I can say is this: how many of us humans are afraid of snakes, spiders, lightning storms, tornadoes, roaches, fire ants, etc.?
Is our approach for our friends, family, children, and our SELVES to insist that we go touch that which we are afraid of?
In most cases, of course not. In at least some cases, the fear is actually healthy and keeps us safe.
As a therapist who has worked with a few phobic clients (I venture that this might be similar to a spooky horse, or close enough for a comparison), progressive desensitization is a slow, gradual, gentle way to assist with managing phobias which interfere with daily life.
Why in the world do we think it's okay to make a horse touch something it's terrified of, as a matter of course?
Have you ever seen someone ride a horse almost into the ground to wear them down so they can get the horse to cross/touch/pass by something that has spooked the horse?
99% of stupid things we inflict on horses would be tossed in a flat second if we first inflicted them on ourselves.
Think about it.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
chiro notes, and how what we do for our horses helps us as well
This morning our equine chiropractor was set to arrive at 9:30 a.m.
The horses and donkeys were all out in the field, happily grazing in the
cool of the day. They had spent a good part of the evening hanging out
at the barn due to some rain that passed through.
When I went out to get ready, I called to Keil Bay that his chiropractor was on the way and he was going first. For any new readers, Keil Bay is a 16.2 Hanoverian gelding who adores body work. His favorite thing on the earth other than eating is having his chiropractic adjustment.
He looked up instantly from grazing, took one last bite, and headed up to the gate. When the chiropractor drove up in her truck, Keil Bay and I were waiting at the barnyard gate for her. Keil waited with me as she parked and when she opened her door he greeted her with a polite muzzle.
I suspected Keil had a number of adjustments to be done today. He has a few telltale signs that he gives when things are out, and I'd seen several of them this week. She watched him move and then went straight to his pelvis. He relaxed and let her do her work. At one point he went into a sort of trance, lengthening his neck to full extension, licking and chewing. He was out from his pelvic area all the way up to his atlas. There have been a number of huge herd gallops and spooks in the past two weeks, with some fancy footwork happening. In any case, he really needed the work today and as usual he was extremely grateful for it.
Cody went next and although he didn't have quite as much out of whack as Keil did, he too had some big adjustments made. Cody is our PSSM Quarter Horse and he has been a bit off the past week or so. My guess is that the spring grass, plus less work due to daughter's broken toe, plus me cutting back on magnesium and vit. E to check effects have all combined with the chiro issues. He's clear now, I'll add back his full magnesium and vit. E doses, and I've already increased his ALCAR. Hopefully daughter will be back in the saddle soon.
Apache Moon, the pony aka Little Man, was third. He almost never has much going on, as he stretches himself thoroughly on a near-daily basis. Who would have figured a painted pony would know the benefits of yoga? He had two things that needed work and loved getting his leg stretches.
Salina went last, as she usually does, so that I can just let her stay in the barnyard when her work is done. She was out in the field but came in on her own just as the pony was being led out. She had several big things out of alignment and stood quietly because although she doesn't seem to enjoy the bodywork the way Keil Bay does, she understands clearly that what the chiropractor does has good results. She was extremely patient today and walked off looking much improved when she was done.
Rafer Johnson helped supervise and held the lead rope for each horse as they went. Redford wanted nothing to do with anyone that drove up in a truck. After his recent gelding, he is still very skittish about anyone coming to the barn. The donkey boys will get their turn next time around.
It occurred to me today, as it has many times before, how much benefit *I* get from the horses' bodywork. I get my own chiropractic work done regularly, and often my out places match up with Keil Bay's. But as I get each horse ready and stand with them while the chiropractor works, I find myself standing square, feet planted slightly apart, and as they get their adjustments, I feel something clear not only in them, but in myself.
I believe that if we live fully with our horses, as partners instead of leaders or worse, dictators, we share more than just time with them. We share energies and emotions, sore places, and successes. When a rotated pelvic joint gets adjusted on Keil Bay, I feel it when it clears.
When he lowers his head, licks and chews, and relaxes totally, I feel that too.
This sharing is part of why it's so important to take care of ourselves and leave the drama behind when we're at the barn. As exquisitely sensitive as they are to our moods and behaviors, especially when those two things lack congruence, it's almost guaranteed that they will absorb and carry anything we bring to them.
When we take what they give us, let it move through our bodies and down into the earth, or alternately up through us and out the tops of our heads, we not only help them clear, we get clear ourselves.
If we have rigid ideas or thoughts about "how things have to be done" with regards to training, riding, or even just being with our horses, we create blocks and this flow gets hung up. Things get stuck. Energy builds up. Explosions happen. Sometimes the horse explodes. Sometimes the human does. Sometimes both. If you've been around people and horses you've probably seen this many times. A demanding handler creates a difficult horse. Sometimes a demanding handler shuts a horse down. That's probably the sadder of the two circumstances.
Today four of the horses who live with me got clear. One donkey helped and for him, that was his clearing. The other donkey needed space and we respected it. No demanding, no expecting, no explosions. They all got clear, and so did I.
When I went out to get ready, I called to Keil Bay that his chiropractor was on the way and he was going first. For any new readers, Keil Bay is a 16.2 Hanoverian gelding who adores body work. His favorite thing on the earth other than eating is having his chiropractic adjustment.
He looked up instantly from grazing, took one last bite, and headed up to the gate. When the chiropractor drove up in her truck, Keil Bay and I were waiting at the barnyard gate for her. Keil waited with me as she parked and when she opened her door he greeted her with a polite muzzle.
I suspected Keil had a number of adjustments to be done today. He has a few telltale signs that he gives when things are out, and I'd seen several of them this week. She watched him move and then went straight to his pelvis. He relaxed and let her do her work. At one point he went into a sort of trance, lengthening his neck to full extension, licking and chewing. He was out from his pelvic area all the way up to his atlas. There have been a number of huge herd gallops and spooks in the past two weeks, with some fancy footwork happening. In any case, he really needed the work today and as usual he was extremely grateful for it.
Cody went next and although he didn't have quite as much out of whack as Keil did, he too had some big adjustments made. Cody is our PSSM Quarter Horse and he has been a bit off the past week or so. My guess is that the spring grass, plus less work due to daughter's broken toe, plus me cutting back on magnesium and vit. E to check effects have all combined with the chiro issues. He's clear now, I'll add back his full magnesium and vit. E doses, and I've already increased his ALCAR. Hopefully daughter will be back in the saddle soon.
Apache Moon, the pony aka Little Man, was third. He almost never has much going on, as he stretches himself thoroughly on a near-daily basis. Who would have figured a painted pony would know the benefits of yoga? He had two things that needed work and loved getting his leg stretches.
Salina went last, as she usually does, so that I can just let her stay in the barnyard when her work is done. She was out in the field but came in on her own just as the pony was being led out. She had several big things out of alignment and stood quietly because although she doesn't seem to enjoy the bodywork the way Keil Bay does, she understands clearly that what the chiropractor does has good results. She was extremely patient today and walked off looking much improved when she was done.
Rafer Johnson helped supervise and held the lead rope for each horse as they went. Redford wanted nothing to do with anyone that drove up in a truck. After his recent gelding, he is still very skittish about anyone coming to the barn. The donkey boys will get their turn next time around.
It occurred to me today, as it has many times before, how much benefit *I* get from the horses' bodywork. I get my own chiropractic work done regularly, and often my out places match up with Keil Bay's. But as I get each horse ready and stand with them while the chiropractor works, I find myself standing square, feet planted slightly apart, and as they get their adjustments, I feel something clear not only in them, but in myself.
I believe that if we live fully with our horses, as partners instead of leaders or worse, dictators, we share more than just time with them. We share energies and emotions, sore places, and successes. When a rotated pelvic joint gets adjusted on Keil Bay, I feel it when it clears.
When he lowers his head, licks and chews, and relaxes totally, I feel that too.
This sharing is part of why it's so important to take care of ourselves and leave the drama behind when we're at the barn. As exquisitely sensitive as they are to our moods and behaviors, especially when those two things lack congruence, it's almost guaranteed that they will absorb and carry anything we bring to them.
When we take what they give us, let it move through our bodies and down into the earth, or alternately up through us and out the tops of our heads, we not only help them clear, we get clear ourselves.
If we have rigid ideas or thoughts about "how things have to be done" with regards to training, riding, or even just being with our horses, we create blocks and this flow gets hung up. Things get stuck. Energy builds up. Explosions happen. Sometimes the horse explodes. Sometimes the human does. Sometimes both. If you've been around people and horses you've probably seen this many times. A demanding handler creates a difficult horse. Sometimes a demanding handler shuts a horse down. That's probably the sadder of the two circumstances.
Today four of the horses who live with me got clear. One donkey helped and for him, that was his clearing. The other donkey needed space and we respected it. No demanding, no expecting, no explosions. They all got clear, and so did I.
Friday, March 30, 2012
barn time and a gift
March has been one of the busiest months of the year thus far -
usually April is the busy month, followed by May when spring hits a
crescendo and my brain feels too full, but this year everything seems to
have happened early.
Thus far in March we have: completely cleared and pruned two large flower beds, done more pruning around the farm, moved compost into one of the beds, started the seasonal mowing, survived one donkey gelding, cleared a few closets in the house, attended a tack sale (which required going through all my horse bins), cleared the kitchen island (this sounds like nothing but it hasn't been clear in YEARS), done much stone work, had what feels like a gazillion appointments and various and sundry other obligations to be somewhere at specific times.
We've had two equine birthdays - Cody is 9 and Salina is 29!
And finally, yesterday, for the first time in what feels like months but has more likely been weeks, I went out to the barn and lost track of time. But even more, I lost track of my to do list.
The pony had a lesson yesterday with one of his little riders, who ended up giggling uncontrollably when at the end of the lesson, coming in from a mini "trail ride" we'd taken, I stopped to open the gate and the pony did one of those full body shakes like they do after rolling. This little rider has gained a very nice, balanced seat though and he stayed right with the pony and thought the entire thing was a blast.
Everyone wanted to come into the barn with fans yesterday, so I set them up in a slightly different configuration than usual. Keil and Cody got to share two stalls and the shelter, Salina and the donkeys got to share two stalls and the big barnyard, and the pony got one stall plus the grass paddock. Once I got done with chores and had them set up for the afternoon, I went to the feed store.
I always enjoy going to our feed store, but yesterday was especially fun because I had the little propane tank filled for the first time - the tank that goes with our newest farm helper: The Red Dragon.
Our arena has been inundated with grass and weeds this year - the worst I've ever seen. There were years when we got some weeds, but they were few enough that we could just pull them out by hand. This year it looks like a lawn is trying to establish itself in there. When I talked to the feed store owner about what to do, she showed me the organic products she had for weed control - several different sprays - but said she thought I would end up spending more than what The Red Dragon costs. She suggested I look online at Johnny's and think about it before I started spraying.
This is one of the reasons I love our feed store - they always tell me the best thing to do even when it means NOT buying something from them!
The Red Dragon arrived a couple of days ago, and the propane tank is now filled and ready to go. This weekend the arena is returning to its weed-free state.
After the feed store I went and bought a load of stone so we could continue our plan to reduce muddy areas and offer some hoof-building areas for the equines. I got a quote for a delivery of screenings for the arena (once it's weed-free I'm going to top off the footing) and then came home.
Back out at the barn, it turned into one of those timeless evenings when everything flowed. Husband came home and started unloading the stone while I worked on getting the oak droppings out of the arena. They fell this week and with a few windy days got strewn all over the place, making tumbleweeds. I've discovered that the muck rake works for scooping acorns, small sticks and twigs, and oak droppings - and with huge oak trees at H and F this is an ongoing chore.
The horses and donkeys all went to the bottom of the front field and just before dusk they all came galloping up the hill. I heard the hoofbeats before I saw them, and called to warn my husband, who had the truck parked in the gate that they'd normally be running through. As they crested the hill, I walked over to the fence and warned them so they would pay attention (as if they needed me to tell them a big white truck was blocking their path!) and then I stopped and just watched.
Cody, Keil Bay, and Apache Moon were in front, not quite three abreast, but close, and at full gallop. They saw the truck, and saw me, and all that forward motion literally circled underneath them, just like you read in all the dressage books, and they went from full gallop to huge, extended trots in a few seconds' time. They shifted their path from straight into a huge circle at the top of the field, and for about 45 seconds, the three geldings floated around. All their power and energy was channeled into pure suspension.
Salina and the donkeys crested the hill just as the big circling started, and I called to Salina to hang back so she wouldn't end up in the midst of the action. The geldings did a figure 8 and changed direction to steer clear of her.
And a couple of minutes later, everyone was grazing again. All that energy had been used up. It occurred to me that when horses are out, in an area large enough to allow this kind of movement, they are perfectly able to maintain equilibrium. They can spook, use up that energy, and return to "neutral." And for horses, this is the built-in, pre-wired, natural way to balance themselves.
After years of watching the November Hill herd self-regulate this way, I think some of what I've come to think of as "barn time" is me following suit. When I go to the barn, all the internal noise falls away. I forget about time and if I stay long enough, which I almost always do, I enter a different zone altogether. All the things I have written down on the to-do list fall away, and in yesterday's dusk, as the pony went first through the newly-graveled gateway, and the rest followed, everything looked pretty perfect out there.
Even the oak droppings in the arena light looked like some grand design instead of a chore to be done.
Somewhere in that big beautiful circle of floating trots and schwung, they erased my need "to do" and took me directly to "just be."
A fine gift indeed.
Thus far in March we have: completely cleared and pruned two large flower beds, done more pruning around the farm, moved compost into one of the beds, started the seasonal mowing, survived one donkey gelding, cleared a few closets in the house, attended a tack sale (which required going through all my horse bins), cleared the kitchen island (this sounds like nothing but it hasn't been clear in YEARS), done much stone work, had what feels like a gazillion appointments and various and sundry other obligations to be somewhere at specific times.
We've had two equine birthdays - Cody is 9 and Salina is 29!
And finally, yesterday, for the first time in what feels like months but has more likely been weeks, I went out to the barn and lost track of time. But even more, I lost track of my to do list.
The pony had a lesson yesterday with one of his little riders, who ended up giggling uncontrollably when at the end of the lesson, coming in from a mini "trail ride" we'd taken, I stopped to open the gate and the pony did one of those full body shakes like they do after rolling. This little rider has gained a very nice, balanced seat though and he stayed right with the pony and thought the entire thing was a blast.
Everyone wanted to come into the barn with fans yesterday, so I set them up in a slightly different configuration than usual. Keil and Cody got to share two stalls and the shelter, Salina and the donkeys got to share two stalls and the big barnyard, and the pony got one stall plus the grass paddock. Once I got done with chores and had them set up for the afternoon, I went to the feed store.
I always enjoy going to our feed store, but yesterday was especially fun because I had the little propane tank filled for the first time - the tank that goes with our newest farm helper: The Red Dragon.
Our arena has been inundated with grass and weeds this year - the worst I've ever seen. There were years when we got some weeds, but they were few enough that we could just pull them out by hand. This year it looks like a lawn is trying to establish itself in there. When I talked to the feed store owner about what to do, she showed me the organic products she had for weed control - several different sprays - but said she thought I would end up spending more than what The Red Dragon costs. She suggested I look online at Johnny's and think about it before I started spraying.
This is one of the reasons I love our feed store - they always tell me the best thing to do even when it means NOT buying something from them!
The Red Dragon arrived a couple of days ago, and the propane tank is now filled and ready to go. This weekend the arena is returning to its weed-free state.
After the feed store I went and bought a load of stone so we could continue our plan to reduce muddy areas and offer some hoof-building areas for the equines. I got a quote for a delivery of screenings for the arena (once it's weed-free I'm going to top off the footing) and then came home.
Back out at the barn, it turned into one of those timeless evenings when everything flowed. Husband came home and started unloading the stone while I worked on getting the oak droppings out of the arena. They fell this week and with a few windy days got strewn all over the place, making tumbleweeds. I've discovered that the muck rake works for scooping acorns, small sticks and twigs, and oak droppings - and with huge oak trees at H and F this is an ongoing chore.
The horses and donkeys all went to the bottom of the front field and just before dusk they all came galloping up the hill. I heard the hoofbeats before I saw them, and called to warn my husband, who had the truck parked in the gate that they'd normally be running through. As they crested the hill, I walked over to the fence and warned them so they would pay attention (as if they needed me to tell them a big white truck was blocking their path!) and then I stopped and just watched.
Cody, Keil Bay, and Apache Moon were in front, not quite three abreast, but close, and at full gallop. They saw the truck, and saw me, and all that forward motion literally circled underneath them, just like you read in all the dressage books, and they went from full gallop to huge, extended trots in a few seconds' time. They shifted their path from straight into a huge circle at the top of the field, and for about 45 seconds, the three geldings floated around. All their power and energy was channeled into pure suspension.
Salina and the donkeys crested the hill just as the big circling started, and I called to Salina to hang back so she wouldn't end up in the midst of the action. The geldings did a figure 8 and changed direction to steer clear of her.
And a couple of minutes later, everyone was grazing again. All that energy had been used up. It occurred to me that when horses are out, in an area large enough to allow this kind of movement, they are perfectly able to maintain equilibrium. They can spook, use up that energy, and return to "neutral." And for horses, this is the built-in, pre-wired, natural way to balance themselves.
After years of watching the November Hill herd self-regulate this way, I think some of what I've come to think of as "barn time" is me following suit. When I go to the barn, all the internal noise falls away. I forget about time and if I stay long enough, which I almost always do, I enter a different zone altogether. All the things I have written down on the to-do list fall away, and in yesterday's dusk, as the pony went first through the newly-graveled gateway, and the rest followed, everything looked pretty perfect out there.
Even the oak droppings in the arena light looked like some grand design instead of a chore to be done.
Somewhere in that big beautiful circle of floating trots and schwung, they erased my need "to do" and took me directly to "just be."
A fine gift indeed.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Redford update and Arbico Organics
Just wanted to report that the little red donkey GELDING is doing
quite well and still has his incredible firecracker personality. I was
worried we might lose that, but thus far, he is still the same pistol he
was. Just not so driven to act it out by bossing the herd. :)
Interesting aside: my husband was having a difficult time administering the PM dosing syringe full of antibiotic applesauce. He ground up the tabs and instead of mixing them into the syringe, simply put it on the handful of beet pulp with Redford's vitamins/minerals/salt/etc. Guess who eats it up that way with no problem? I would never have thought to do that, but it's much easier on him and as long as he is getting the antibiotics, that's what we'll do.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to say how pleased I am with Arbico Organics, the company I'm using this season for our fly predators. Their prices are competitive, the predators arrive on time, ready to hatch out very quickly, and it seems like the number of predators in the bags are more than when we used Spalding. I've not counted, so I can't be sure, but I'm quite pleased with our results thus far. We're two shipments in.
Arbico also offers a number of other items we use regularly, like food grade diatomaceous earth, flea nematodes, and various solutions for fire ants that I'm looking forward to trying.
But best of all, Arbico does not endorse trainers like Craig Schmersal. As best I can tell, they don't endorse anyone in the equine world, which I appreciate. I can purchase their products without having to research who they are promoting via endorsement, which leaves me more time to write books and stories and hang out with my horses and donkeys.
Thank you, Arbico. Highly recommend and will be adding to my horse products page soon.
Interesting aside: my husband was having a difficult time administering the PM dosing syringe full of antibiotic applesauce. He ground up the tabs and instead of mixing them into the syringe, simply put it on the handful of beet pulp with Redford's vitamins/minerals/salt/etc. Guess who eats it up that way with no problem? I would never have thought to do that, but it's much easier on him and as long as he is getting the antibiotics, that's what we'll do.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to say how pleased I am with Arbico Organics, the company I'm using this season for our fly predators. Their prices are competitive, the predators arrive on time, ready to hatch out very quickly, and it seems like the number of predators in the bags are more than when we used Spalding. I've not counted, so I can't be sure, but I'm quite pleased with our results thus far. We're two shipments in.
Arbico also offers a number of other items we use regularly, like food grade diatomaceous earth, flea nematodes, and various solutions for fire ants that I'm looking forward to trying.
But best of all, Arbico does not endorse trainers like Craig Schmersal. As best I can tell, they don't endorse anyone in the equine world, which I appreciate. I can purchase their products without having to research who they are promoting via endorsement, which leaves me more time to write books and stories and hang out with my horses and donkeys.
Thank you, Arbico. Highly recommend and will be adding to my horse products page soon.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
more clicker goodness
This morning Redford donkey had a few unpleasant things that had to
happen after his gelding yesterday. He had to take what we call his
"antibiotic applesauce" and he needed to get his legs hosed to get the
dried blood from yesterday off.
Donkeys don't seem to be fond of water, and when Rafer was gelded he didn't bleed much, so we got off easy with his aftercare. Redford is fortunately not quite as aversive to water as Redford is, but he really didn't want to have his legs gently hosed.
Out came the clicker and a handful of pellets. We reminded him what happens with the clicker. I introduced it one time to him about two weeks ago. He instantly remembered, and then we used the clicker to get him to walk toward the hose, then to stand as the water came close, and finally to stand while I hosed the bottom half of his hind legs.
This afternoon we'll do it again and go a bit higher.
The aftercare instructions said we needed to get him out and running around today - when I got to the barn Redford had actually turned HIMSELF out with the geldings and was happily moving about with them.
I think he's ready to get his life back to normal. :)
We've entered tick season on November Hill and my tick magnet, Salina, has to be checked daily. She is pretty good about this but can also get irritable with the removal in certain delicate places. Aha! Another clicker experiment. My son stood at her head and introduced her to the clicker. I cued him when to click and within moments she was standing focused on the clicker while I quickly took care of tick removal business in an EXTREMELY delicate location. I loved how the sound of the clicker and its "yes' message kept her completely focused and pleasantly occupied.
Now if I can get to the feed store before it rains.... I'll call this a great day.
Donkeys don't seem to be fond of water, and when Rafer was gelded he didn't bleed much, so we got off easy with his aftercare. Redford is fortunately not quite as aversive to water as Redford is, but he really didn't want to have his legs gently hosed.
Out came the clicker and a handful of pellets. We reminded him what happens with the clicker. I introduced it one time to him about two weeks ago. He instantly remembered, and then we used the clicker to get him to walk toward the hose, then to stand as the water came close, and finally to stand while I hosed the bottom half of his hind legs.
This afternoon we'll do it again and go a bit higher.
The aftercare instructions said we needed to get him out and running around today - when I got to the barn Redford had actually turned HIMSELF out with the geldings and was happily moving about with them.
I think he's ready to get his life back to normal. :)
We've entered tick season on November Hill and my tick magnet, Salina, has to be checked daily. She is pretty good about this but can also get irritable with the removal in certain delicate places. Aha! Another clicker experiment. My son stood at her head and introduced her to the clicker. I cued him when to click and within moments she was standing focused on the clicker while I quickly took care of tick removal business in an EXTREMELY delicate location. I loved how the sound of the clicker and its "yes' message kept her completely focused and pleasantly occupied.
Now if I can get to the feed store before it rains.... I'll call this a great day.
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