April 2021
What would your horse say to you?
Holistic Horsekeeping
How to have a healthy happy horse.
Volume 26, Number 4
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In This Issue:
1. What would your horse say to you?
2. Develop a Better Relationship with Your Horse
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1. What would your horse say to you?
I do believe the horses that we have a close connection with are in our lives to help each of us be a better person. I know the horses and mules in my life have sure tried to get messages across to me. I thought it would be interesting to share what I believe those messages were.
Fancy, my first pony I bought with baby sitting money. I had zero horse skills.
” You are an idiot. I was perfectly fine in my pasture until you came along. Find some other horse to bother.”
Fancy bucked me off daily and a neighbor witnessed this and gave my parents the name of a local riding instructor.
Mariah, the new horse the riding instructor found for me to replace Fancy.
“We can get along. You like to jump fences and so do I. We can make this work.”
Mariah and I had many exciting times together. I took her with me to college and raised 2 foals from her. She died of an injury at 38.
Frijole, Mariah’s colt.
“You are Okay. You are fair with me most of the time so I am up for whatever you want to do. I will do my best for you. If you don’t want to do stuff that is fine too.”
Frijole was a great horse but I was just starting my vet career and I did not have much time to spend with him. As a new conventional vet I treated Frijole with many traditional drugs and vaccines. He died at 19 after colic surgery for a strangulating lipoma.
Tess, my mule filly out of Mariah. Tess had 1 message for me before I found natural horsemanship and another after.
“I don’t know what you want me to do and why you think you know better than me. You like to do fun stuff and I like to do fun stuff so why can’t we just have fun.”
“Wow! I get it now. What took you so long to learn this. I love learning things together.”
Tess and I had so much fun together after I learned how to communicate to her what I was wanting and how to listen and reward her when she tried to do what I asked. She passed away at 32.
Jake, the yearling mule I got so I could retire Tess from riding. I had a very busy practice at this time and I wanted a well trained mule for pleasure riding. I was sure my new horsemanship skills would mold Jake into a perfect, gentle partner.
“I am not your therapy pony!!! You are not going to “train” me to follow your stupid rules. Who are you to tell me how to move my body. It is, after all, my body. I want to do big and exciting things and you can step up or get out of my way.”
I could not step up enough to meet Jake’s needs. I ended up finding him a home with R.L Curtain, the mule skinner who trained the mules in the movie, Dances with Wolves. R.L. loved Jake and Jake was happy in a lifestyle where a trail ride was 20 miles out and back. Jake also was part of a 6 mule driving team and excelled. I learned so much from Jake and it was he who inspired me to write my Horse Harmony book and do all I could to match horses with the best owners and the best jobs. I learned you can’t train an animal to be something they are not born to be.
Cerise, my sweet mare who helped me recover from the humbling experience with Jake.
“Are you going to love me? Can I trust you to make me special to you? I will try to do anything you ask as long as I know you love me.”
Cerise was all I could have asked for. We built a strong relationship but I did not give her as much quality time as she deserved. I spent a lot of time training her and she did well but what she really wanted was to have a special relationship. It was only at the end of her life that I finally heard her and we had many meaningful discussions about life in general. Cerise passed away at 25.
Remi, my great gelding who reminded me of Frijole. He had been used hard before I got him and he was burned out. He was such a giving horse.
“Thank you for appreciating me. I deserved to be appreciated. We had such fun sorting cows. I was amazing at this and I loved it. Wish we could have done it more.”
Remi had PSSM and I found a good home for him when I moved to Colorado because I knew he would not do well with the cold. He passed away last year at 24.
Martini, my current mare who is giving me a second chance to have a special relationship. Martini is very much like Cerise.
“I don’t know about you. I wasn’t brought up to do relationships. I think I am supposed to have a job so you don’t get rid of me. Maybe I can do this relationship thing but you seem so distant – like you are not even there. I need to know you can do your part and be with me.”
Martini and I are getting to know each other. She has figured out that I will listen to her and she is enjoying teaching me on many levels. I spend a lot of time just hanging out with her and when she senses my attention wandering she simply walks away. She is a very kind teacher.
Tanq, my Morgan gelding.
“I feel your pain. You see so much wrong in the world and you try to fix things from your mind. You have to let all that go. It is not yours to fix. You must go into your heart and search your own soul. You must turn all your hurts and disappointments over to the one who can can fix things. Only then will you find what his path is for you in helping the world. You can come to me anytime you are troubled. Just scratch my butt and we will both feel better.”
Tanq might just be my therapy pony.
Horses don’t have answers for us but they can let us know what we need to look at. Being with them is like looking in a mirror that reflects our heart. What we do with their message is up to us.
Making deep changes and facing painful issues is hard work. It takes energy and balance that can both be in short supply. I have found over the years that Blue Green algae has given me the energy to make changes. Recently, I have discovered Focus hemp with the high CBG levels needed to allow my brain to rewire itself in more positive patterns. Having great friends to get support from and give support to makes all the difference.
2. Develop a Better Relationship with Your Horse
By learning about your horse’s temperament type, you can develop a better relationship with and understanding of your horse. We have lots of resources to help you discover what type your horse is and what the special needs of that type are. You will find lots of information on the Horse Temperament website, including an online course, help from temperament consultants, balancing formulas, and books/audios. Then check out the “5 Element Personality” sections of articles on our blog and the Intro to 5 horse types and temperaments on Holistic Horsekeeping.
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