Lines

There is a fine line drawn in pencil that exists in most of our lives - one that we will cross (eating a biscuit left untouched at a cafe'; toting our own sewage; cleaning up vomit or helping a stranger) - it all depends upon how hungry, helpful, compassionate or destitute we are in a moment... moments change. Who we deeply are remains a constant.

Aware

My orphaned colt, Dharma Gita was more aware than most humans! I had him boarded one time at a stable where they let the water tanks turn to green sludge - so, of Course, I would dump, scrub and refill my colt's water!! (This was the reason sited for asking me to leave!) - One day, I dumped his water and was bent over scrubbing the tank when Gita kept nudging my bottom. I would "shoo" him away but he kept coming back, each time being more forceful. Finally I stood up and said, "WHAT!". He walked to the water on the sand, looked at it, at me, at it, at me until I went over to see. There were tiny fish flopping on the sand!! I grabbed them all up and ran them to another horse's slimy water tank and plopped them in. Gita walked back over to his hay. It turns out, the owners had started putting the fish in the water troughs to eat mosquito larvae... while I was amazed that they did all sorts of things BESIDES clean the water tubs, I was much more amazed that my colt saw the little lives struggling on the ground and needed to let me know. And he wouldn't rest until they were all safely back in water.

Essence of Mind, a quote

Whatever problems come to us from beings or inanimate objects, if our mind gets used to perceiving only the suffering or negative aspects of them, then even from a small negative incident great mental pain will ensue. For it is the nature of indulgence in any concept, whether suffering or happiness that the experience (will be intensified by that indulgence. As) negative experience gradually becomes stronger, a time will come when most of what appears before us will become the cause of bringing us unhappiness, and happiness will never have the chance to arise. If we do not realise that the fault lies with our own mind's way of gaining experience, and if we blame all our problems on the external conditions alone, then the ceaseless flame of habitual negative deeds such as hatred and suffering will increase in us. That is called: "All appearances arising in the form of enemies". --Dodrupchen

Tea Time

Back on Furnace Street, when I lived on the side of a mountain, Winter could get really brutal! We had some ice storms and cutting, frozen winds. I used to fix hot (very warm) herbal tea by the bucket full for my horses and they drank it gratefully each evening before I went to bed. It made us all feel wonderful. I made Chammomile for calming my colt; Echinacea for everyone to boost immune systems; Meadowsweet for older equines with soreness or swellings; Rosehip tea for the Vitamin C to prevent or heal respiratory problems; Hawthorn and Linden to strengthen the heart; Nettle tea to add minerals and cleanse and/or Fennel to relieve gassy-ness! Brewing tea for horses is a special, healing thing to do any time of year.

Opinions

When it comes to horses, ask 100 people a question and you will likely get 99 different answers - it is possible that a couple of people will be in agreement. That may be an exaggeration, but it is true that there are hundreds of methods, philosophies and opinions about horses and there is a good reason for this. Horses are such individuals. They may have their genetic programing as a species, but each horse comes with his own set of circumstances, training and experiences that shape his view of humanity and his reactions to us. A horse person is "trained" and influenced by the horses she works with. This also creates a vast pool of useful information we can all tap into by listening to each other. A rider who has mastered flying lead changes without a bridle will have valuable insight for a trainer just starting lead changes (like the use of subtle weight and balance and using the rider's chest and focus, etc.) because working without reins has heightened other aids and influences. Some trainers develop elaborate systems to help their students break tasks down into incremental steps to foster clarity and consistency - the most important keys to communication. But no matter what "language" we choose for equine training, we have to use the same language each day, all the time. Confusion is every one's enemy.

I hand drew a group of charts (posters) filled with information about horses, dogs and healing modalities. We sell them at the Dharmahorse Store and at workshops. From crystal properties to Homeopathic remedies to equine alternative therapies, these 11" X 17" full color, laminated charts offer reference guides for home, stable and kennel!

Spiral Exercises

Spiral Exercises – support balance & suppleness in the horse

The Spiral Exercise, done correctly on the longe line or under saddle, has the potential to teach softness and create better balance in the horse. It must be built up in intensity over a gradual period since the movement itself requires strength and lateral stepping that is both tiring and stretches the musculature deeply.

On the longe, your horse needs to have the basic discipline of circling you at even paces, remaining at a set distance from you on a consistently round circle. To spiral in, you drive for a bit more energy by stepping slightly toward his haunches as you shorten the line just a bit – asking him to make a smaller, concentric circle just inside the base circle by stepping half his energy forward, half his energy sideways.

Do this in stages at first, maintaining the next size circle once around, then ask for a bit smaller bend – until you have brought the horse to a smaller, but not tight circle (the tighter the circle, the more stress there is on joints, especially the stifle – so build up gradually to condition the horse). Then spiral out by feeding a little line as you lean toward his middle to encourage the horse’s whole body to step outward, creating the next concentric circle, and so on…

For the longe work, you can place cones to mark the circles (small, medium, large circles) that you direct the horse through by placing him between cones that establish the desired size circle.

These exercises (on the longe and when ridden) should be schooled well at the walk before trot and schooled well at the trot before canter.

To spiral under saddle, establish your base circle at the walk. Ask the horse to move in gradually with your weight on your inside sitting bone, active outside leg pressure just behind the girth (to maintain bend and keep the haunches from swinging) and an active, spongy inside rein; stretched, supporting outside rein. Your horse should “half-pass” in – maintaining the inside bend that increases as the circle becomes smaller. Driving aids are needed (encouragement!) because the tighter bends require more energy. Think of half his energy going forward, half his energy going sideways. Imagine that a man is standing at the center of your circle with a rope tied around your waist and is slowly pulling you and your horse inward from your center.

Spiral out by shifting your weight to the outside sitting bone, inside leg becomes active, inside rein actively maintains bend and the outside rein is stretched to regulate the horse’s forward motion. You do a “leg yield” out. Imagine the man in the center of your circle now has a pole and he is pushing you and the horse outward from your hip.

Do these exercises equally in each direction (to the left and to the right on the circle), even if your horse is stiff to one side. Doing them equally each way really will even him up over time because the exercise stretches the outside of his body, contracts the inside of his body and weights the “power leg” (the inside hind leg) and doing this evenly will help his stiff side. Working a stiff side “extra” to develop it can actually make the horse even more stiff in that direction.

A great spiral exercise to use after the horse is going well and he seems supple and content is to spiral in at the trot to a medium size circle (15 meters or about 45 feet diameter), ask for a canter depart and then spiral out at canter; return to trot on the large, base circle.

When you feel that your horse understands the spiraling and he is enjoying the process, you can move on to other lateral exercises and his balance will be really great!

We recommend longeing with a Boundary Halter – its ability to squeeze the horse’s head if he pulls or bolts; but release the moment he yields can help you stay at the center of the circle without being jerked or pulled around.

The death of one horse, one friend...

This is Wee Pat, my brother's half Shire Dressage horse he had in the late 1970's - Pat had been going to the Killer's... we bought him before he went to auction.


This is Summer Wine and her filly, Misty. Summer was a 1/2 TB show pony I had bred and sold who ended up on her way, pregnant, to the sales - I heard about it and ran across the state to get her.


This is Price Love, off of the track TB I bought at a horse dealer's before he went to auction. He was frightened, hot and had some neurological problems. I retrained him and found him an understanding home.

This is Big Red and Dusty, both were headed to the Clovis sale/processing plant - we bought them and they became school horses at our Fox Fire stable in Tucumcari.


This is Mink, my first horse who was a misunderstood and rather unpredictable gelding that had been on his way to the auction:

My first horse to actually own had been on his way to the "Killer" when the Gypsy's saved him and healed him. I bought him (well, my Mom did) from a stable where we boarded him until my parents got a stable built at our home. Through my life I have owned over 170 horses and worked with many hundreds more. Easily, half of the horses I've owned have been "saved" by me from the Killer sales or from bad situations of neglect or abuse.

The photos with this post are of some horses that were headed for slaughter (these are from my past, over a few decades). Some became school horses, some became personal horses, some went on to careers and a couple of horses returned to me (one pregnant) when I found out they were heading for the auction...

My personal story about a horse that was slaughtered is so hard to talk about, but in case it might help people understand why we feel so strongly about this issue, I will try to tell it now...

Nestle was a lovely dark brown mare raised by a young woman who became a student of mine. She boarded her at my Briarwood Dressage barn back in the 1980's. In time, her owner moved her to a boarding barn closer to where she lived. This barn also offered "Horse Motel" overnight boarding for travelers. One of the things we had worked on was Nestle's loading into a trailer - she hated trailers and we had patiently helped her gain confidence.

Nestle was stolen one night from the stable that boarded "overnighters" and the stable and her owner immediately got the police, sheriff and livestock inspector out. Details are not important here except for this one fact - the authorities called the "packing plant" / slaughterhouse that killed horses back then in Clovis and asked if a mare fitting her description had come through there - the Killer plant said, "oh yes, she did, we just processed her"...

I went berserk. I was involved because of my friendship with the owner, my student, and my fondness for the mare. I couldn't believe that the authorities called the packing plant instead of the Clovis police and livestock inspector. I have no proof, but I sure suspect that the mare might have still been alive when that call went through. On a personal note, had it been me, I would have been at the Killer's as soon as my speeding car could have gotten me there. I would have been there for this mare, too, had I been privy to the facts at the beginning. I still shake thinking about it.

For people who think Nestle was just a horse - I tell you she was my friend. I had smelled her sweat, touched her chocolate colored coat, taught her and cared for her and loved her even though she was not "mine". Can you imagine how her owner who loved her even more was crushed by this brutal, unconscionable act?!

The two cowboy assholes who stole her were caught. They went to trial and were found guilty. I was at the trial, I testified as to the value of the sweet mare, now rendered. I cried and held my own mental health together as we all tried to make sense out of it - of course there was no sense. The cowboys had been very drunk (I was scared shitless they were going to get off because they were incapacitated), but the judge was just as offended by that fact on top of their crime. It all worked out to get them imprisoned. I got a byline in the Las Cruces sun News (then it was a real, local newspaper) to tell this mare's story. I spoke of the dewormers and the Bute, etc. all the things we are now discussing about the slaughtered horses intended for human consumption.

It can all seem so overwhelming and it can even be held at arm's length unless you have known an equine friend taken in the darkness from her safe stall, loaded into a trailer after being taught (by you - dear God... by me!) to trust a trailer and driven into the night far away to be callously killed for the few dollars considered her value by the pound.

I will never forget her. I will never think about Nestle nor write about her without sobbing. I shouldn't ever become so insensitive that her memory would not hit me in the chest and remind my heart of her dignity. I have more stories to tell. I cannot face them tonight. I want to just remember that little mare and hope she forgives me for teaching her to load in a horse trailer...

These are the names of some horses I/we have saved from slaughter and owned and loved:
Mink
Summer Wine
Misty
Wee Pat
Big Red
Dusty
Lonesome
Goldie
Sam
Punkin
Jake
Midnight
Gray Scale
Meihle
Halftone
Cockleburr
Ginger
Smokey
Pica
... and more

Please forgive my profanity above. There is no other way I could have said what I needed to say.