Expressions – Part 9

HOW CAN THIS BE?
IS THIS FOR REAL ????
ARE YOU NUTS ?????

How do we ever know healing works? 
You take a couple of aspirin for a really bad head ache. Time goes by and you suddenly realize that your head ache is gone and you feel better.  That is good medicine.

You walk into a round pen with a thousand pound animal. They gaze into your eyes, they do a body scan from top to bottom and place their forehead on your chest and breathe deeply, or offer to walk with you as you explore a new way of being, and when you walk out of the arena you feel better. That is good medicine. End of story; happy ending to the story actually!

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, “Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience.”  Empirical knowledge,  that which is gained from my own experience or those of my peers, has always meant more to me than any scientific paper or book leaning.  I suppose it is true, I only appreciate science when it finally realizes and acknowledges something that I “knew” was true all along. < I honor science but it is not my #1 guide to explaining my life exeperiences. >

I have not spent hours perusing the internet looking for factual data to back up my belief that horses have the ability to heal humans. But I know that I am not alone in this belief.  At this point in time Wikipedia does not have an offering for this topic.  However, if you search the internet for “healing with horses” you can find many, many websites and advertisements, so we humans know that it is happening. Science is not interested in us yet, but when it is, we will have the experiences and the stories to offer.

What is vitally important to me is I finally found a way that I can bring this knowledge to my fellow humans, walking beside my horse. Through equine gestalt coaching, I can partner with horses to holistically heal the many ills of the body/mind/spirit that we two-legged’s suffer with/from. My dear friend Patricia once said, “If every person on the earth was a healer, we would still have lots to do.” I am not totally sure what she meant, but I “know” it is true.

When I watch a horse stretch its neck forward in an extended yawn, I say “thank you.”  For there is a very good chance they have just extended their healing hoof to me and removed negative energy.  And I am appreciative.

 

Here is a picture of my two little donkeys who very much wanted to be a part of this report.                      
Just looking at them may make you feel better.          
We hope so!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Winter Solstice

PRECIOUS MOMENTS

We had a nice snow storm followed by brutally cold weather which means most of the snow is right where it fell a week ago! Going out at seven am for a morning feed feels better with a scarf wrapped across my face, so the nose hair doesn’t freeze as quickly. We are feeding our outdoor critters four times a day if possible, to help everyone keep their body weight up and because I work from home a lot, I can make this happen.

I was talking to my mom the other morning, with my feet propped up on my desk and gazing out my north window at our little herd. Every critter stood out in stark contrast to the white snowy backdrop. I watched with growing interest a little brown bird that was hopping around the perimeter of a large overturned Rubbermaid water trough.  Hilde, a two year old mini donkey, was playing with him.  She would stick out her nose towards him, he would hop and she followed him around the circle of the tub. Then he flew onto her back near her shoulder and she turned around and looked at him.

I often see birds perched on top of horses out in the pasture so this was nothing new to me, but it made me wonder what went through her young mind. Her enormous brown eyes checked him out for a long moment and then she almost touched him with her nose before he flew back to the grey tub. I described to my mom what I was watching and then I burst out laughing. This was totally new to me.

The little brown bird jumped back onto Hilde’s rump. And then he wiggled his little bird butt, nestling down into her fuzzy fur, a thick winter coat. He nearly disappeared!!

I could just hear him exclaim (in my best Tweety Bird voice)  “I taut I saw a little nest. Oooh, I did!  I did! I did find a little nest. My little feet-sies have been sooo cold. Oh goodie, goodie, goodie. Dis is very warm place.”

Hilde turned and looked at him again with a huge question mark on her forehead,  “Really !!!???!!”

But she let him stay. Mom and I laughed out loud. Another precious moment at Dragonfly Farm.

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg Hunt at Kristi’s Lame Dog Ranch. April 23, 2011

I missed the hunt last year and have been looking forward to this year’s event. Imagine my surprise when I woke up Saturday morning and it was snowing. Well in Colorado we like to joke about how fast our weather can turn and I knew that we had a strong chance of sunny skies later in the day. We drive the few miles to my neighbor’s house, unload and saddle up. I can tell immediately that no one is in a big rush, we do indeed have “all the time we need.” So Lakota and I join the group in the large arena and warm up by walking and trotting around and visiting with those folks that I know and meeting some that I do not. The weather is cool but no longer snowing and the sun looks like it might show its face any time now.

Almost an hour after the advertised start time, we are called over to hear the official rules.

1) Horsemanship is paramount and anyone who lacks it will be quickly disqualified.

    You must treat everyone cordially and keep you and your horse safe at all times.

2) You can only bring in one egg at a time. When you find an egg, you must ride back in, dismount, and wait in line to walk your egg into the round pen and drop it in your basket.

3) Only one horse in the round pen at a time.

4) Kristi tells where to hunt as well what areas are off limits.

The rules are simple.  Kristi told us that there are colored plastic eggs with prizes inside, there are also three painted rocks that will win you a special prize, but mostly there are three hundred  4-inch sections of painted PVC pipe that have been scattered around a bunch of pastures totaling about sixty acres !!  Whoooeee!!

Everyone puts their Easter basket in the 60 foot round pen, and for those who forgot there are brown bags you can put your name on. Mine is the plastic orange pumpkin I use for Halloween candy and it is easy to find. We mount up and Kristi does a quick count down and off we go. 

It seems as if a lot of folks are heading towards the many pastures to the south, so we head north. I don’t have to go very far down the lane before I see an orange plastic egg nestled into a large stack of hay. Score! I don’t even have to get off if she will side-pass up to the hay bales and let me pluck it off. She does and back we ride to the round pen. I am the one grinning. There is a big crowd there, many found eggs right off the bat.  I dismount and wait in line. Everyone is having fun and I can tell I am not the only one in touch with my inner child. Did I mention that most of the riders are well over thirty? There are only a handful of young riders, all female ~ they are the ones that are wearing only t-shirts against the cool April morning. 

Lakota and I jog into the round pen, drop our first egg into our basket and jog out so the next person can go in. I guide her over to the fence and climb it to get back into the saddle. It is much easier on her back and my knees to mount in this manner, besides most of the eggs are going to be on the ground, there is going to be enough getting on and off to cost me several Tylenol’s I am sure.

Now here is where it gets really interesting. Lakota and I do not get to ride alone very often out in large wide open pastures. She isn’t too sure of herself and I suddenly realize what a great experience this is for us as a team building exercise. When she is unsure about something I am there to help her understand what I would like for us to accomplish. We dialog ~ it is a communication  ~ more than usual because she is out of her comfort zone. She would much rather hang out with all the other horses just looking pretty. It is just me and her and the dialogs are many. I ask her if she is looking for Easter eggs and she says no. She stops walking, her muscles are tense. She doesn’t understand why we are doing this and asks me over and over if we have to keep going. I remind her that I spend hours and hours working to keep her in good food and comfortable pastures, that we have only been riding for fifteen minutes and I, for one, am still having fun.

Then for awhile she gets excited and I assume that she thinks that if she picks up the speed we will get done faster and that will be the end of this silly exercise. No, that won’t work you see because I cannot spot the little eggs at 25 miles an hour. So the dialog continues. We ride alone, just the two of us; she heads toward some really boggy ground. I am not sure what the attraction is but we explore it for a while. She sees the mini donkeys on the neighboring farm and we go meet them. Does she think that they are her herd mates even after she looks them over? Do all donkeys smell alike?

I don’t have a care in the world about winning the prize for the most eggs found, in fact we actually quit long before the men and the teenagers, but I am profoundly happy to have this chance to ride with my horse in this hunt for silly colored plastic tubes.

The sun came out in short little teases, and then the cool wind stole away any warmth we had accumulated. It took less than two hours for even the most determined riders to call it quits. We gathered around a picnic table laden with pot luck items and counted up the points and handed out prizes. For our two colored Easter eggs, Lakota and I won a carton of farm fresh eggs ~ the fun green and brown ones, a gift certificate to the local feed store and accumulated 170 points.  A swell day was had by all and the food looks delicious. Life is good.

Winding Path to a Small Ass - Part 6of 6

Lessons to Learn

We placed the donkeys in the fifty foot round pen which sets inside the north pasture and made sure they were comfortable. I opened up the paddock gate to let Lakota and her friend Polly (the babysitter horse) into the north pasture. They went right over to the round pen to smell and be with the new ones. Polly, a five year old quarter horse mare, ran around the pen a couple of times, kicking up her heels with excitement about the new adventure. Lakota however, was quietly standing beside the round pen; she lowered her head and I could feel the love pouring out of her towards these new friends. Polly quickly tired of her exuberant behavior and settled down to exchange sniffs and meet these new exotic creatures.

While the four-leggeds got a chance to get to know one another through the round pen barrier, Damaris and I ran a strand of white electric webbed fencing below the existing line of the south fence. It was not actually “hot” but it was visible and we needed to make something low enough to keep these little girls from wandering to the grass pastures on the other side. To make sure that they noticed it, we decided to tie  little orange plastic flags on the white fence as well.  We put our tools away and watched the four communicating together. I knew in my heart that there was not going to a fuss.

We opened up the round pen gate and led the donkeys out, closing the gate behind us. I did not want anyone to get confined in that smaller space when they had the whole north pasture to work things out.

We left the halters on the donkeys as a precaution and stepped back to see what happened. Lakota moved up to the donkeys and extended her nose ~ she reminded me of a mother with her babies ~ that was my sense of her energy.  Hillary (Hilde) was friendly towards her but Piñata (Penny) told her in no uncertain terms that she was eight years old and did not need a mother, thank you very much! She turned her little butt to Lakota and backed up menacingly. She did not actually kick out, instead she just hopped her back legs off the ground a couple of times. It was hysterical to Damaris and I, but Lakota read the energy for what it was and backed away from Penny.

For the next week, Lakota followed the donkeys around the pasture at a respectful space. Hilde and she were becoming friends, but Penny needed to tell her off every once in awhile. No one was remotely close to being in harms way, they were establishing the boundaries. I watched them very closely for the first few days, in fact I wanted to quit my job and just “be” with this new herd.

One day it began to rain and I looked out to check up on “my girls.”  I was surprised to see Lakota under the pole barn. Yeah! She typically stands out in the rain ... right in front of her shed ... and gets soaked. If the temperature drops she gets cold, which can lead to shivering, which could lead to a bout with colic. I constantly monitor her during the winter and she has a series of blankets to ward off the chill. I have been known to throw a damp and stinky blanket in my cloths dryer to dry, warm, and fluff it up before I carry it out and fasten it around her torso. Thank the lord for the “Mountain Spring’ scent of dryer sheets to freshen up my laundry room.  

But on this day when I looked closer I could see that Lakota had her two babies in the pole barn and she was angled across the entrance to keep them in and out of the rain.  It was so sweet it made my heart quiver. She finally had a chance to mother another little being. And I gave yet another prayer for my two new darling miniature donkeys. If they could get Lakota to come in out of the rain, then they were more efficient teachers than I.

Of this I have no doubt.

It is undoubtedly the first of many lessons that they have come here to teach us.

And I am ready and willing and open to learn new things.

So be it!

6 of 6 but Not The End.

This is not the end of the donkey stories. I look forward to years of hilarious tales and ass jokes to share with you. Did you know that donkeys have a possible life span of forty years or more? I have every intention of growing old with, and learning from, these two wise sentient beings. I only hope I can keep up!

Winding Path to a Small Ass - Part 5 of 6

Forever Herd

I was reading a book on donkeys the other day which confirmed that we did exactly the right thing the day we brought our two mini’s home. It said that opening up the trailer and giving the donkeys the entire space was good. Chalk another one up for instinct. Live and learn.

When we opened up the trailer at my farm we were not sure what to expect. Would they come barreling out? Would they be lying down? Were they scared or happy? So we opened the doors slowly and peeked in. Nothing could have been gentler. I slowly moved into the trailer fighting my desire to rush in and throw my arms around their adorable little bodies. Damaris and I each held a lead rope and walked with them to the edge of the trailer. We four stood and looked out at the farm; Damaris and I with our feet firmly on the earth. I tried to see it for the first time as if from their eyes, and I saw a few things that might concern me. The main thing that caught my eye was the orange plastic fencing draped around the harrow ~ that looked kind of spooky. Then the young grey donkey delicately jumped out the trailer followed quickly by her elder.  We were off … at a slow meander.

With absolutely no fanfare we walked slowly towards the gate to the north pasture and their new home. We paused occasionally to sniff the air and their little ears resembled antennae searching non-stop for signals. Lakota, my sweet horse, stood in the paddock with her head over the fence observing the slow moving parade. I had been telling her for a week about her new friends and she was ready to meet them. Her demeanor was calm; she was curious not anxious. I had wondered how she would react as she had been terrified the first time we met miniature horses. (In her defense, we were riding in a long parade and our horse group had been staged a few spaces in front of a miniature horse club and directly behind a troop of beautifully dressed Mexican dancers. The women specialized in twirling their long skirts to make perfect circles in the air ~ a marvelous visual for the crowd but very upsetting to Lakota ~ but that is another story.)

On this fine Saturday, Lakota was happy to greet her new fiends. She was expecting them and I knew that she knew that these two little creatures were different.

They were her “forever herd”.

Lakota stood still so as not to scare them. Her eyes were large as she explored them from her side of the fence. As an energy worker I can tell you there was a lot of energy and information flowing between horse and donkey. Damaris and I gently guided the mini’s through the gate and commented on how glad we were that this new adventure was going so easily. Both of the little donkeys wore tiny raspberry colored halters with matching lead ropes. They walked side by side for the most part and Damaris and I flanked to the outside.

We led the girls around the perimeter of the north pasture to show them the boundary of their new territory.  It is well over one acre and enclosed with woven wire fence perfect for their diminutive size. This area is considerable larger than the sturdy pole paddocks where they had spent most of their lives.
I was forming pictures in my head of the two of them romping in the open field, rolling in the dirt baths, and hanging with Lakota.

It was a comforting picture of safety, and community, and my expanding dream of  “heaven on earth.”

… to be continued.

Winding Path to a Small Ass - Part 4of ??

Time to Move

I must admit that I spent most of the forty-five minute drive hoping that I would be heading home with the geldings but it was apparent immediately that the girls had heard my prayer and nuzzled their way into our hearts.  But I did give the little fellows a lot of time to change my mind. The elder gent, all of about eight years and 35 inches, was spotted and incredibly adorable. His younger partner, a handsome little gray of two, was not ready to leave home; he was fearful and even though I sat down on the fence at his level, he would not come up to investigate me. Damaris indulged my fantasy, but she spent most of her time with the owner and rest of the herd ~ she already had her answer!

It was very difficult for the woman to say goodbye to the little pair, so while she haltered the girls we left her alone to make her peace. She went into the house and I opened the back doors of my trailer. We led Hillary and Piñata to the trailer and they looked dubious. Their ears kept up a constant swivel as they smelled the floor mat curiously, eyeballing the shiny white interior.

I have a two horse slant gooseneck trailer that I had wide open for them. Loosely holding their lead ropes I walked into the trailer. We let them explore for a few minutes and then I had a strong sense that it was time to move. Damaris picked up one tiny brown front leg and placed it on the floor mat. She quickly placed the other front leg in the trailer. John literally picked up a little brown rump and slid her in. In a blink of an eye the second mini found herself in the trailer too. I stroked their necks and told them to get comfortable and promised to drive them carefully to their new home.

… to be continued.

A Winding Path to a Small Ass - Part 1 of ?

Donkey Dreaming

The desire for getting donkeys was planted many years ago when I met my friend’s little mini, Nacho! Randy had one mare and acquired Nacho to be her companion. Horses are herd animals and most prefer not to be alone, but Randy had a small acreage and this miniture donkey fit the lot size. The way Randy tells the story, Nacho quickly established himself as King of the barnyard. It mattered not at all to him that he was ¼ the size of his new pasture mate, he knew he was big enough for the job and brayed his way to the top.

He was adorable in his physical diminutiveness. Standing solidly on all four legs he surveyed the world from the level of my hip. Wiry of coat, with large bright brown eyes, he surveyed his kingdom with a calm countenance.

Fast forward ten years and I find myself on my own little farm with my horse companion, Lakota. I have always had housemates who had horses and shared my desire to live with their ponies in the back yard. So Lakota’s herd has shifted with the comings and goings of my housemates. Maybe not the most desirable situation but it really has worked well for us financially and socially.

Although I do visualize another horse in my future ~ a sturdy, large-boned fox trotter who will not only to be a great trial riding horse but, also a steady companion for Lakota. In my vision he is a big gelding, a clairsentient being who will bring a male energy to the dynamics of my healing herd. But, like my new business, my herd will grow organically as I visualize growth at a sustainable rate.

But in the back of my mind I kept remembering sweet little Nacho and how well he did his job.

... to be continued.

An important note to my readers: 

I have been trying for two weeks to find a clever title for this little saga on getting to know donkeys. From the folks that I have met so far whom already have donkeys and mules, I quickly realized they love making "ass” jokes! It is like they have a proprietary right to drop the word “ass” in normal conversation …. they enjoy the reactions of muggles (those who are not graced to have horses and mules in their lives). 

And I am now a member of their club.

However, if you are offended or if you have a clever title, please feel free to drop me a comment and I will take into consideration all alternatives !! 

Thank you for reading, have a fantabulous day!  * annette.

Bought 'er the farm

I have been known to joke about my sweet horse, Lakota, “Well, I bought her the farm!”

But there is a strong thread of truth to that simple statement. When I was a young girl I told my grandpa that I wanted to marry a farmer and he discouraged me, saying his way of life was not going to be sustainable in the future. I might have been sad for a moment but he probably gave me a popsicle and I was happy again. Then, as an adult, I lusted after my sister’s ten acre farm in Missouri. She could sit on her covered patio, drink her morning coffee and gaze out over lush greenness to her sweet ponies. I wanted that.

I had my horse boarded at Boulder Valley Farms and she was pretty happy there, but I kept dreaming of having my own place. I dreamed of a fellow who would desire the same lifestyle, we would meet and the sun and the moon and the stars would shine down upon us … and we would buy a farm. But he didn’t show up even though my desire to live on the land continued to grow ….. so I started without him.

I bought Lakota a little farm and it has been a wonderful adventure. There have ups and there have been downs. I survived that first winter blizzard, shoveling four feet of snow and climbing over enormous drifts.  All by myself,  I kept all the horses fed and watered for two and half days till the roads cleared.  I have learned about electric fencing. I am absolutely appalled at how clumsy I am with my ten-jobs-in-one fencing tool, but I own one and I am happy about that. I have a whole spindle of wire that I bought that is too thick for me to work with, I cannot bend it and that pisses me off. But I bought a riding lawn mower and finally learned how to start that cold-hearted-whore of a weed-eater. I am extremely happy about that.

And my sweet Lakota has been a good four–legged partner. I have learned many things from my horse. She has taught me that “slow” is often times faster.  I am learning about patience and the importance of baby steps.

She is constantly reminding me that conversation is a two way street and that I am not the world’s best communicator. She, on the other hand, is crystal clear with her signals. Her body language may be subtle, but it is never meant to deceive. She is consistent in a way that I still aspire to. She literally has a heart as big as football and a kind eye that soothes the soul.

But even as I dream about a fellow, Lakota needs constant companions as well. So a few weeks ago, I drove to eastern Colorado and brought her home a herd. Two miniature donkey’s, “jenny’s” as the females are called, that are just about as cute as can be. Hilde and Penny we call them. I had told Lakota that I was bringing her friends and when we unloaded them at my house, she was so curious. She stood with her head thrown over the fence, checking them out with all of her senses. She is the same horse that was scared to death of miniature horses when they walked behind us the Boulder County Fair parade a few years ago. We introduced them slowly but it went so smoothly that we let them all out in the north pasture together. Lakota mothered on them and followed them around the pasture, a respectful distance mind you, for Penny told her in no uncertain terms that she did not need a mother, thank you very much. But Lakota didn’t mind, she just gave them space and radiated love to these small creatures.

Yesterday, even though the wind was blowing coldly, I wanted to spend time with them. I bundled up and grabbed my heavy gloves. I did some poop scooping and walked the fence line and actually discovered a place were the top wire was broken. I walked back to the shed, unplugged the electric fence, collected some mending wire and my handy dandy fencing tool. Every body followed me back to the fence and watched me weave the wires back together. Then I walked the remaining perimeter, and my girls followed me. I whistled a happy tune and their ears swiveled in the wind. I grinned. I am home and the fence is fixed.