Truth

Have you ever lied, even a little bit?  About your natural hair color, your weight, your height, your education? Turn on the T.V. and you will soon be awash with them.  A tidal wave of lies to make humanity look good or bad.

To live in reflection of our truth.  Is it so difficult?

Horses never lie.  Truth is what keeps them alive;  Lying is equivalent to death.  They do not comprehend machinations and do not kid themselves.  You might think, 'well, I have seen horses do things against their nature or contrary to what they want or would normally do', and yes so have I.  But they give us signs that they are not doing so freely.  Their energy, and their body language are tells of the truth. A tail swish, an ear flicker.  We learn to ignore these or are maybe not even aware that they mean something in the first place.  Like ignoring the irritation on our child's face when they are eating something they dislike for dinner.

The Truth is Horses are not People but we have a tendency to
treat them as such and gloss over what they truly need and desire.
Photo: Tim Walker

Understanding how we can have a better relationship with our horses and with each other is reliant on understanding truths. Understanding their reality, needs and emotions.  In this fast paced society which we choose to participate in, it is easy to loose sight of something so simple: The truth.

Beauty

Many of us have heard the expression from Churchill- "The outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man."  Denying the beauty and power of a horse on the outside is next to impossible, but what about the inside?  The soul, the heart, the mind?  Do we truly appreciate their personalities, strengths, fears, and emotions?  Do you believe that a horse could possess emotions?

Multifaceted levels of mind?

The other day my horses decided to feed themselves.  I knew something was up when I called them and they did not come.  When they seen me walking into the pasture, they came and the lead mare gave me a mixed look of remorse and mischief (My interpretation from 'knowing' her personality). It melted my heart and made me laugh out loud.  And there in front of me were fence boards pushed ever so slightly towards the hay and a bale strewn across the ground (my fault for storing the hay so close to the fence).  Back to the lead mare- the twinkle in her eye made me feel connected to something deeper within, beyond the soft chestnut exterior.  She put her head down (something she rarely does) and gave me a slow blink and then allowed me to lead her to the feeding area.  What a warm feeling.  Then, of course I re-fed them and sat back and watched them eat.  I closed my eyes and could feel the beauty.  Sound cheesy? Maybe a little but for those who have appreciated the beauty on the inside, maybe not so cheesy.

Do we treat our fellow humans in this manner? How many of us have taken the time to just be and take in the beauty of our partner, not the outside but the inside.  To connect to the spirit of this person? 

Colorful Perpectives

A good place to start could be to try to imagine yourself in their shoes- literally.  Sure that sounds funny, what if their shoe doesn't fit?... Seriously though, imagining what they stand on could give us a better understanding.  Maybe try to envision looking out of their eyes.  Getting down low, for example, if you were trying to see through the eyes of a child.  When working with a foal, getting down to their level allows us to see from a new perspective.

Many of us enjoy looking down on things, like from an airplane for example or viewing photos of the Earth from the moon but how many of us like to view things from the ground up?  I'm going to try it- maybe rediscover a whole new beauty.

Sustenance

What is it that we truly need for survival, for satisfaction, for happiness?  Love, food, shelter are the first things that come to my mind.  What is it that really sustains a human being?  All of us are different, of course, but when it comes down to it, what is it we need to live?  Or better yet, in these times, what can we live without?


Horses do not require a barn, Mexican beaches, red satin stilettos- they require food, water, and safety.  The freedom to socialize and breed.  To move and rest and play.  Sounds like we humans have a lot of the same requirements... However we have a tendency to get caught up with all the bells and whistles.


For example- I have a $2000 computer in front of me with more of that in camera equipment.  Do I need that? No, not really, it does however allow me to feed my soul.  Or what I perceive what my soul requires.  Technology is not sustenance but what I can do with it, that, I feel sustains me.  One is truly all we ever need but how many of us can handle that? On a good day, I can feel that belief pulsing through my veins.  On most days,  I feel and give in to wants, obsessions, and desires.  Maybe I just need more to do? I've tried that.  Becoming a workaholic was great and then came the burn out.  We have all the tools within, accessing them has become difficult for the majority of us.  Horses use them every day.  Every second of every day.  There is no question of what they need to live and what they can live without.

One of the last pristine places on Earth.  It's simplicity presents all that is needed for survival.

One blade of luscious green grass surrounded by dozens of its friends, that is quite simply sustenance for a horse.  They are not thinking "Gee I wish that I could not eat this green grass and go chill in front of a television eating some meal replacement."  That's the beauty part of a horse, they are not fake, nor do they require falsities. 


I have known people to adorn their horses with as many clothes as they themselves own, at least as pricey.  And I am guilty of that too.  I have purchased $200 winter blankets for my old guy.  Did he really need it? Well in the wild, no.  He would have found a way to shelter himself from the elements.  In this life we have created for ourselves, however, we have mostly taken away the ability for animals to seek natural protection and so we anthropomorphize them by projecting our bare skin omnivorous needs onto them.  Sounds kinda silly.  But we still do it.  And its big business.

Which of these things is not like the others?

What it comes down to is that our lives could truly emulate that of the equine rather than that of the metro sexual lifestyle that is pushed/chosen on/for us.

Control

Essentially we all have a mind of our own.  And that scares a lot of people.  Why?  Because we cannot know what they are thinking, what they are going to do next or say next, etc.  So many people take action and try take control.  Take control as in removing power from someone else and this only happens if we allow it to.  (Of course there are some extraordinary instances when this statement is not feasible).  Some people are manipulative, they try to make their idea your idea.  There is probably a good chance that we have all done this to some degree, I know I have.  Especially with horses.


A real relationship- a true teaching relationship, has no control.  It has the power of suggestion.  This is empowering or better yet enabling.  Its about creating circumstances to learn from understanding, not mimicking or reacting out of fear, for example.  Think about when you were a kid and your parents said you 'can't do that' and proceeded to NOT offer an explanation why or offered up the ol' standby 'Because'.  When working with horses, 'because' doesn't work.  They need to see/feel an out, a release, a place to go.  This place is learning.  If your Mom told you 'You can't do that because you will burn yourself' and then maybe go further than that saying 'My brother did that when he was a kid and got burnt badly' then you are more likely to think 'Oh, that makes sense, getting burned hurts,' and find something else to do.  Of course much of life is trial and error but GOOD teachers help.

This horse cannot get away from pressure in
the mouth, one of the most sensitive areas on
the horse.  Its mouth is tied shut. There are many
tools used to gain control through force.

I have both good and bad teachers when it has come to life and horses.  The best advice I got about life is to be optimistically skeptical (although at most times I am still a pushover and trust all too easily) The best advice I heard in regards to horses- that they are a horse and not a person.  We have a tendency to anthropomorphize our animals- that is to see them in a human light.  I still do it, but what it all boils down to, they are prey animals, they are grazing moving animals and we cannot change or control this.

Worth

You've probably watched horse jumping events such as the Spruce Meadows Masters where the horses have a 'value' more than the entirety of what many people own.  Prospects can start as high as $250,000 or more.  Some stud fees for race horses run $500,000-  This is half million dollar sperm.
Does a million dollar horse know that it's a million dollar horse? Does an auction-mart special, know that it's an auction-mart special?  Are either one of these horses more or less trainable or lovable or powerful?

Every eye opens to a soul

Good friends of mine, cow folk, country folk, middle-of-nowhere folk, took a chance and pursued a dream venture of breeding and raising race horses.  People told them that they were crazy, that their poe-dung operation would be a failure.  That they were nobodies, bush-riding, quarter horse fanatics who invested the farm into race horses.  They asked my advice- I said they were crazy, but most folks think I am crazy to climb aboard a colt that has never been ridden... I told them "Go for it."  And what happened? Success.  They have produced winners.  Even owned a North American top rated Thoroughbred stud (Suave) at one time.  And still they are bush-riding quarter horse fanatics and proud of it.  They produced race horses in the cattle pen, just as good, if not better than some polished-glowing-white-fenced-paved Kentucky farm.  Did they let it go to their head? No, they said "well that was fun" and went back to their 'normal' lives.  I have even seen them herding cattle with a two year old, fresh off the track Thoroughbred- who by the way, was more cowy than some of the cows.  

This horse may be priceless to one and worthless to another

The point is, horses do not know their 'worth'.  Worth is a number, a commodity name tag, a brand, a waste.  I have not always believed this, however.  As a child and young girl, a horse was a horse was a horse.  When I began training and doing research into bloodlines, I slowly became a snob of sorts and am guilty of looking down my nose at horses who were not 'well put together' or 'well-bred'.  I also allowed myself to believe much of what I was told by so called experts.  For example- This horse isn't 'bred' to race or work cows.  Now, in a more enlightened period of my life, I haven't forgotten the bloodline info, I just appreciate the heart and soul of every horse.  Some of the 'better' horses out there couldn't win a halter class even if you drugged the judges.  But still they are protectors, saviors, best friends, leaders, teachers and heros- Priceless.


Worth, when it comes to horses, is strictly a human term.  They all are valuable in one way or another.

To view a winning farm-bred race horse: http://vimeo.com/15722030

Living

What does it mean to you to be alive? Does it mean filling up a journal full of experiences, or planning and saving for retirement? Does it mean having shelter or merely surviving?  For a horse, living is about the moment-  There are no 5, 10, 20 year plans and no 7 year itches.  They are present, in the now, ALL the time.  Decisions are based on survival, what works for them and their herd right now.  There is not any stressing about what to do when the kids leave the herd, or what new mane and tail style the lead horse has this week.  It is about the moments that keep them alive.  Not to say that horses do not have fun.  Looking out the window at my own herd, it is lightly snowing and a smidge below zero and they are running and kicking up their heels. I can tell by their body language that they are enjoying themselves.

Coming into the now

In my own experience, I have had the habit of trying to live more for the fun moments, avoid the sad or anxiety ridden moments as much as possible.  However, I am learning that these moments are the ones that build character and I am also in charge of feeling anxiety or sadness.  These emotions and situations are necessary at times and embracing those moments and living in the now with them gets me a lot further than wishing I was doing something else.  Many of us have caught ourselves saying "It will be better when..." or "If I could just.... Then I would be happy".  These thoughts are of no concern to a horse.  They think for the moment, for survival and do what they need to do in the NOW.  


Being responsible people we do need to plan for the future: how will we provide for our family or how and when do we want to retire, if that is our desire, for example.  But that does not mean that we cannot live in the moment and be present in what we do.  Truly living is living in the now.  Putting your life energy into these moments that matter, for putting energy into the future is given away to something we cannot see or control.

Wanting

Horses being the powerful creatures they are, can reflect on many levels the qualities we wished we had.  Qualities like power, freedom, and flight come to mind.  This just is not feasible- at least not in a human sense.  Horses serve a different purpose than we do- they are prey animals.
  Coming to grips with who we are, where we came from and what our purpose is as people can help us appreciate these creatures even more.  It's like the 'pretty' girl in school or the 'jock' whom we faultily admired.  There will always be people who are more or less talented than ourselves in certain areas of our lives but that does not mean that we should waste energy wanting or desiring to be them.  Plain and simple WE CAN'T. 

Female Centaur- She would need one heckuva sports bra

I wanted so much as a little kid to be a horse.  I ran like one, tried to whinny like one and even tried to munch on the lawn...  Ridiculous? Yes.  I was not comfortable in my own skin, within my own mind and being.  At times now, I am still not.  This is part of growing I suppose.  We are on this Earth for such a limited time that it would do nothing but good to accept who we are. EASIER SAID THAN DONE.


Horses can help us accept who we are when they accept us and we learn that we are different from them and different from everyone else.  I am not suggesting that you go out and buy a horse, but finding a way to spend time with them is pretty life altering.  Even volunteering at a local stable or for a Riding For The Disabled program where you can see first hand how horses change lives all the while exposing you to the horses as well.

Intimidating

My first horse came to me when I was 11 years old.  He was 9 years old and 15.3 hands high- I was maybe 5 feet tall.  He was 17 times my body weight. I was fearless and so was he- my parents, on the other hand, were not.  It was Anglo-arab gelding meets farm girl who does not understand slow, stop, or even yield.  He made me the rider I am today but it would be a lie to say our relationship was without fear throughout it's history.  One year into owning him, I was thrown and seriously injured.  I did not tell my parents for fear that they would take my horse away. So I sucked up the pain and rode on even though I was intimidated. 

Poncho and Myself- 1992

I have been thrown by many horses, which can be part of the learning experience with riding and training horses.  Often when you apprentice with a senior trainer, for example, they may put you on the horses they don't want to ride, the ones they know will buck or are scared and scarred from being mis-treated and I have spent some time in these positions.  I simply worked through the fear which is what many people expect horses to do.  This does not present a happy scenario.  Life is so much easier when it is lead with respect and understanding.  Although I am no expert, I believe these are the keys to getting along with each other and with horses.


When a person who is not used to being around horses all the time (and some that are) approaches a horse, they can be intimidated by their size.  It is true that a horse could hurt you, there is always that possibility with any horse. However, the heart and soul of these creatures goes far beyond their size and a respectful introduction and understanding does wonders for the handler and the horse.  
Many of us have 'baggage' from others in our lives who have tried to control, bully, or intimidate us in some manner or another, so do many horses.  Like people, you can see it in their eyes, read it in their body language although many humans have adapted to hide their pain, to push it into the corners of their very being and when asked "How are you?" the answer "Fine" is a common one.  When a horse is asked how they are (When being caught or asked to work for example) they don't lie.  They are honest all the time, their life depends on it. If they are not willing, it will show in their way of being, for example: a swish of the tail or toss of the head.

Pinned ears = horse unsatisfied with current situation

It is this honesty that makes horses great therapeutic partners.  There are no maybes, just yes or no.  We cannot lie to them either, they mirror what they sense in us and if they sense uneasyness, they will react accordingly.  I have noticed this when going out to feed my horses.  If I am in a bad mood (which quickly dissapates just being in their presence) they will stay clear.  I do not feel that I giving off any physical signs that I am 'in a bad mood' but they can sense the energy.  It is similar to when your partner or friend can walk into a room and right away you can sense what mood they are in. With horses, however, this sense is 'turned on' all the time.  As humans we have a tendency to 'tune out'.  Human and equine intuition are powerful tools.  Paired with understanding and respect, we now have the foundation to overcome Intimidation.

Me

I grew up on a grain farm in rural Alberta.  We learned the value of work, of growth and life.  I was fortunate to have much of my extended family around me as a child and am still close with them.  I was also fortunate to be able to own animals- dogs, cats, birds, cattle and some wonderful horses.  My first horse is still alive and is being loved by a new generation.  I currently own three horses of various pedigrees and ride in multiple disciplines. 

I have three kids as well and a wonderful, stimulating, challenging husband.  

When I was a young child, I wanted to be a vet, only for the reason I would be surrounded by animals.  Then I came to the realization that vets are mainly surrounded by paperwork and sick or injured animals.  I have a lot of respect for vets, especially those who are out there for the animals, not the money or the owners. 

I started my first colt at 14.  I bought her from a ranch down the road with the intention to sell her as a broke horse so I would have some college money- that was well over 15 years ago... She still resides in my pasture.  Since this first very positive experience, I figured I would train horses- mainly starting colts- and have since studied with an assortment of other trainers, attended clinics, symposiums and classes.  Most importantly, I learned to do by doing.  That is how a person develops 'feel'.  "Feel," as one influential trainer repeatedly told me, "cannot be taught."  This is something that the horse teaches you.  Every horse has a different feel, a different energy.  Just like people.

I have always gone back to horses regardless of my job choice (including semi truck driver and bike mechanic).  I decided that horses needed to be full time in my life and I have trained professionally for the last 6 years and now have over 20 years experience with horses.  They humble me in every moment and I am still learning, as we all are. 

I could not imagine life without these great creatures and am fortunate to have a family that supports this passion.

My hopes are to incorporate the human side with the horse side through equine assisted therapies.  So often when I have taught lessons, people open up on their horses far more than they would away from them.  I thoroughly enjoy this and want to continue introducing people to horses.  One does not need to ride in order to experience the power of the horse.

Dreamt

Whether it was my heart winning or the horse, it was no doubt a race.  A race which continues to be a journey to my heart and into the soul of the horse.
I must have seen a horse run throughout the insides of my Mother from the time my eyes began to develop in utero as they have been an utter obsession ever since. It was something my parents have wished I grew out of but, if anything, the feelings grew stronger with age.  

You may be able to relate. Take a second and think about your earliest memory of this creature.  Your first ride, first touch of the velvet muzzle, or maybe you saw a photo of one in full flight spread across the pages of a magazine.  There is a great irony in this creature which we so often see contained, to instill a sense of liberation, of freedom, of release.  Merely the sight of these steeds can be therapeutic.
This is the purpose of this blog- to discuss the powers of the horse on us humans, as a mentor, a martyr, an employee, and a counselor.   In the words of Temple Grandin- "Animals make us human".