~Sam~
06-15-2004, 02:27 AM
Well, I thank those of you who showed up this weekend to add to the threads here. With that....
Yeah, it's fun around here. Lot's of work and lot's of mellow times too. Right now, I've ridden the storm through and come out the other side. It was a helluva storm. A great deal of lightning and Outstanding thunder. Luckily, I got home in time to put Raven into his stall and throw some grain around before I sat down on the back porch and ate some lunch/dinner of my own.
Kenny is off on a trip of his own tonight and I have some time to spend with you guys. Aren't you lucky?
The last we spoke ,I told you of Raven's escapades and my inablility to deal with him. Guess what? I have a very different horse standing in his stall as of Saturday.
He got so to the point of frustration with me that he was rearing and shouldering me out of his way on Thursday. I was trying to work with him in the pasture then, and what I got was not exactly what I wanted.
I went into the pasture with disconnected thoughts on my mind. That's the kind of behavior that I was shown in return. Disconnected.
Someone said that they thought that horses were greatly over-rated. Those kind of people have never tried to establish an open, honest relationship with another species. In order to do such, you truly do have to give up all ego, frustration, anger, disappointment, and expectations and BECOME the horse, or the goat, or the dog. Catch my drift?
So, going into the pasture with a 1,000 lb. critter, that has definite ideas all his own, with no direction in mind, can be, as I found out, injurous to both. And as I put my right arm over Raven's neck to grab the end of his halter fastener, he threw his head up, and I went up... very quickly and fast, and ended up sitting in the mud some 5 feet away from the scene of the crime.
I got up and said, "Well, fuck it then," and turned around to walk out the gate. I don't know who was more surprised, the horse or me. But, Raven put his nose close to ground and approached me, begging me not to leave. I didn't.
I put the halter down so that he could apprach me and put his nose into it, and fastened the knot. Then I tried to walk him around in the pasture.
Does No Fucking Way mean anything to ya? Well it did to me. As he reared up on the end of the lead rope, about 3 feet away from me, I thought... "God Damned, but you're Gorgeous! But this is No Good!" And keeping with my previous mindset, I thought to let whatever happen... happen.
And I stood there like a dope fooling with this very large critter... and the more I fooled, the more he fooled with me.
Trying to take him into hand, I brought him to stand beside my right side and attempted, again, to lead him. As I put my left foot forward, Raven took off, from a stand still to a canter, in about 4 ft. As he was going by me, he shouldered me out of his way... a very dangerous move for both of us. And without forethought, I collected my body, and let go with an unpulled, almost straight on, roundhouse punch to his ribs.
Now, let me tell you, I got his attention with this move. It wasn't the right move, as far as horsey people go, but it Was a move. He swung his ass away from me and turned to face me dead on, with his ears going all witchy ways... Like he was saying to me... "Hey! Stupid human! Lead, follow, or get the hell out the way! I know what I'm doing. I'm going to the barn... You coming?"
But, seeing this magnificant animal rearing only three feet away from me was a true Gas. And I had held the end of the rope that the animal was attached to! Far fucking out... Bad, but good in it's own way.
At that, I came in and started to make the phone calls I should've made weeks ago.
Synchronicity. Circles within circles. A wheel within a wheel.
Sue, my friend of over 35 years, who whelps Mastiffs... for a friend... who trains and gives riding lessons... knows of this woman... who trains Rocky Mountain Horses...
So... I call.
On Saturday I have my first lesson with handling horses... problem horses... or more clearly... horses with people problems.
I spent two hours, out in the Sun, in a round pen with her and a mare with an attitude.
I came away from this adventure with an extreme sense of confidence. Confidence in myself for being able to recognize the signals of emotion from a horse, and confident enough to put into practice the lessons I learned in those two hours in the round pen.
When Ken and I returned here that night, I encouraged Raven to behave. He did. And things are running at their normal pace around here... Definitely Fully Engaed with Life... definitely up-beat, and most definitely lovingly competitive and fun. The Goats, the Horse, the Dog, we Humans are All, finally, on the same page.
Now, I have more to say about this... in a more metaphysical way, but that can wait until tomorrow.
You have a Real Good Evening Folks, and lots a love...
Yeah, it's fun around here. Lot's of work and lot's of mellow times too. Right now, I've ridden the storm through and come out the other side. It was a helluva storm. A great deal of lightning and Outstanding thunder. Luckily, I got home in time to put Raven into his stall and throw some grain around before I sat down on the back porch and ate some lunch/dinner of my own.
Kenny is off on a trip of his own tonight and I have some time to spend with you guys. Aren't you lucky?
The last we spoke ,I told you of Raven's escapades and my inablility to deal with him. Guess what? I have a very different horse standing in his stall as of Saturday.
He got so to the point of frustration with me that he was rearing and shouldering me out of his way on Thursday. I was trying to work with him in the pasture then, and what I got was not exactly what I wanted.
I went into the pasture with disconnected thoughts on my mind. That's the kind of behavior that I was shown in return. Disconnected.
Someone said that they thought that horses were greatly over-rated. Those kind of people have never tried to establish an open, honest relationship with another species. In order to do such, you truly do have to give up all ego, frustration, anger, disappointment, and expectations and BECOME the horse, or the goat, or the dog. Catch my drift?
So, going into the pasture with a 1,000 lb. critter, that has definite ideas all his own, with no direction in mind, can be, as I found out, injurous to both. And as I put my right arm over Raven's neck to grab the end of his halter fastener, he threw his head up, and I went up... very quickly and fast, and ended up sitting in the mud some 5 feet away from the scene of the crime.
I got up and said, "Well, fuck it then," and turned around to walk out the gate. I don't know who was more surprised, the horse or me. But, Raven put his nose close to ground and approached me, begging me not to leave. I didn't.
I put the halter down so that he could apprach me and put his nose into it, and fastened the knot. Then I tried to walk him around in the pasture.
Does No Fucking Way mean anything to ya? Well it did to me. As he reared up on the end of the lead rope, about 3 feet away from me, I thought... "God Damned, but you're Gorgeous! But this is No Good!" And keeping with my previous mindset, I thought to let whatever happen... happen.
And I stood there like a dope fooling with this very large critter... and the more I fooled, the more he fooled with me.
Trying to take him into hand, I brought him to stand beside my right side and attempted, again, to lead him. As I put my left foot forward, Raven took off, from a stand still to a canter, in about 4 ft. As he was going by me, he shouldered me out of his way... a very dangerous move for both of us. And without forethought, I collected my body, and let go with an unpulled, almost straight on, roundhouse punch to his ribs.
Now, let me tell you, I got his attention with this move. It wasn't the right move, as far as horsey people go, but it Was a move. He swung his ass away from me and turned to face me dead on, with his ears going all witchy ways... Like he was saying to me... "Hey! Stupid human! Lead, follow, or get the hell out the way! I know what I'm doing. I'm going to the barn... You coming?"
But, seeing this magnificant animal rearing only three feet away from me was a true Gas. And I had held the end of the rope that the animal was attached to! Far fucking out... Bad, but good in it's own way.
At that, I came in and started to make the phone calls I should've made weeks ago.
Synchronicity. Circles within circles. A wheel within a wheel.
Sue, my friend of over 35 years, who whelps Mastiffs... for a friend... who trains and gives riding lessons... knows of this woman... who trains Rocky Mountain Horses...
So... I call.
On Saturday I have my first lesson with handling horses... problem horses... or more clearly... horses with people problems.
I spent two hours, out in the Sun, in a round pen with her and a mare with an attitude.
I came away from this adventure with an extreme sense of confidence. Confidence in myself for being able to recognize the signals of emotion from a horse, and confident enough to put into practice the lessons I learned in those two hours in the round pen.
When Ken and I returned here that night, I encouraged Raven to behave. He did. And things are running at their normal pace around here... Definitely Fully Engaed with Life... definitely up-beat, and most definitely lovingly competitive and fun. The Goats, the Horse, the Dog, we Humans are All, finally, on the same page.
Now, I have more to say about this... in a more metaphysical way, but that can wait until tomorrow.
You have a Real Good Evening Folks, and lots a love...