Feeding on the Hill

I've noticed since I started bringing the horses up the wooded hillside to eat lunch and supper that they don't stay up here and eat til everything is gone like they do when I feed in the paddock. They will come trotting or cantering up and walk around to the many different little piles of hay I spread, tasting each one, chasing each other off, coming back together to share a pile. Then at least twice, they will travel down the hill to the paddock area and get a drink, check things out, take a nap sometimes and then head back up to finish the hay. If I throw hay piles in the paddock, they stay right there wolf it down and then stand around like bumps on a log. Hmmmm, I can't wait to try the track system of pasturing when I get down to Pittston!

February Sleigh Ride

During the February vacation week, we joined the other riding students of Orient Farm at Lemeiux's Orchard for a sleigh ride. It was quite cold, the wind was blowing in the open field, but we were sheltered in the woods. If it had been any colder, it would have been miserable. Mr. L. hitched up the two Percheron geldings, Tom & Jerry. They are 10 yo and well-behaved. They had to wait after being hitched for the runners to be pried out of the ice, they stood patiently thank goodness! We started out in the apple orchard, the horses were eager to go and everyone was excited to have the opportunity to enjoy the horses and each other. One parent said it was a dream of hers to go on a sleigh ride, she was so happy! We rode about a mile into the woods and unloaded to have a hot dog roast. We were so grateful for the warm fire! Mr. L. made sure the horses were covered with their blankets and fed them carrots as they waited for us to eat lunch. After the hot dogs, the kids made s'mores and then we loaded up and headed home. We of course had to sing "Jingle Bells" on the way back. Everyone had a great time and we all agreed to do this again next year.

Back on Track with Back on Track!

Well, I've finally decided that I'm going back to my original idea of living above the barn! We've explored other options, yurts, round Deltec homes, cordwood houses, and regular square houses. I've learned so much about the different building techniques, and plan to use some of them for out-buildings, but finishing the space above the barn feels like the right choice for now at least. Alan and I immediately fell in love with the same barn when looking and he's happy to know what direction to head in now! Truth be told, he would move down there tomorrow and live in a tent, just to be there. The only other place I've seen him so excited to be is Grand Manan Island, you can see him relax and see the joy in his face as soon as he steps foot on the Island, the land on Hemlock Lane has the same effect on him. It already feels like home to him.

I've been worried about moving the girls, then learned that Macy's best friend's parents are getting divorced and she is moving next week, to another town and school. At least we will move together. I'm so very sorry about that family, but it makes the decision to move easier for me somehow.

Its such a nice day already, I'm getting a load of hay soon from a different source, and have Aikido tonight. We had breakfast together at Tim Horton's as Alan had a doctor's appointment at 8:40 this morning after getting called in to work at 4:00 pm last night and getting home at 5:30am this morning. Will let you know how the hay works out, my friend said its the best she's ever had, so we'll see! I will have to post pictures of the sleigh ride we took at the apple orchard that sells the hay, it was so fun!

New Favorite LOA Quote

"Reality is still just a story. Pick the happy one!"

Replacing "Energy flows where attention goes."

Acceptance

A couple of on-line groups I'm a member of have been discussing acceptance. One is a horse-related group and one is a Law of Attraction group. I am continually amazed at the extent these two seemingly unrelated groups end up discussing the same topics and struggling or triumphing with some of the concepts integral to succeeding in either area. That is the reason I so love Mark Rashid, he was the first I ever heard talk about horsemanship as an extension of how you live your life and that actually practises it extensively, always bringing something new to the table to share with others. I'm sure a few other clinicians discuss this, Harry Whitney comes to mind, but Mark's stuff is what I've had most accessible to study.

Acceptance has been a tough one for me, accepting things as they are and then letting go is really the only way to make progress. For someone who likes to know who, what , where , when and how something is going to happen, this is difficult! Especially if you are really attached to the outcome. One of the biggest examples I've had was buying the land in Pittston. We had been wanting to move for a few years, I wanted to stay in Vassalboro. Many properties came up for sale, but none were quite right. Meanwhile, I was so unhappy with what I had here, always looking at other set ups and feeling many "if onlys". If only we had more land, if only our land was flat, etc, etc. Then I read a few things about barefoot trimming and how traveling over rocks, up hills, over logs and through wet areas helped the hooves. We had those features right here. Finally after the annual Memorial Day parade that we rode our horses in for the first time, a very respected horseman struck up a conversation with me and when he realized where I lived he said he'd been tempted to stop in and ask why we hadn't fenced in the rest of the land to give the horses access to the stream and woods. So for my 45th birthday, I asked for fencing and we fenced in the rest of our "unusable" land, a wooded hillside littered with rocks, stumps, logs and a gully with a stream. It was the best decision I've made, the horses have thrived. About two weeks after putting up the fence and being so thrilled with the results, thinking that it was okay if we ended up staying here, I was finally happy with what I had, the chance to buy the land materialized! Once I accepted the reality of where I was and stopped resisting that reality, new opportunity appeared. Then the whole story of how we decided to buy the land started, and that was quite an example of many "coincidences" guiding our decisions!

In my horsemanship, accepting the fact that its a journey not a destination and that the horses always try their best to get along has made it so much more enjoyable and less stressful. Letting go of the thought that they should do as I ask just because I ask was a big one. Now I accept that they are trying and something is making it difficult for them. Maybe its me, something I haven't noticed in the environment, the way they feel that day. I've learned so many things by stepping back after a couple of asks and assessing whats going on. It amazes me at the things I've been made aware of by listening to the horses. The latest example is River's experience with the farrier. Next time a horse constantly pulls feet away after behaving for previous trims, I will investigate further. Acceptance in riding is helping me improve so much. Instead of resisting a pull I try to go with it, then redirect it. When wanting to slow down, taking that forward energy and practising circles, all with an accepting attitude instead of an adversarial attitude. Doing the same move with different attitudes is so powerful.

In parenting, I still struggle with acceptance. I find its easier to let the horses be themselves than it is for me to let my children be themselves. Some people improve their horsemanship through parenting, but I have improved my parenting through my horsemanship. I'm learning to let go of taking everything personally and trying to see that most things are about them, not me. Growing up in the role of taking care of my siblings, feeling that I needed to protect them, has resulted in feeling that I'm somehow responsible for my children's problems and failures. Two of them are very good at reinforcing that feeling! I'm finally learning to let go and not accept the responsibility for everything they do or feel. Now I'm just trying to encourage and support instead of control and get entangled in power struggles. The attitude of do it because I said so and not looking at why they may not do as I ask has been much harder to let go of in my parenting.

I am learning acceptance in Aikido also. Accepting the energy of an attacker and redirecting it. Accepting the fact that I will do things incorrectly and that's ok. Accepting that Sensai will step in and correct what needs correcting, that I don't have to constantly be looking to him for approval. Letting go of the need to keep asking "Am I doing this right?" I'm finding it easier with Aikido to just go and have fun, enjoy each new thing I learn and not worry about doing everything perfectly right away. It gets easier each week, even as the moves get harder. A big part of it I believe, is the acceptance I feel from the others in the class. Everyone helps everyone else, there's no competition, each just striving to better themselves, each at a different level. When someone does well, everyone acknowledges it, good job is commonly heard. It feels like a Mark Rashid clinic, lol!

Dream Weaver

For the past couple of months, I have had vivid dreams of being pregnant or having a baby. Or should I say, nightmares! Not only that, I have had actual feelings of having a baby kick while awake, enough so that I was going to make a doctor's appointment to check it out. I KNOW I'm not pregnant and have no idea how I can have these physical symptoms. They aren't spasms or gas. I finally started asking a few people if that had ever happened to them and after the looks I got, decided to stop doing that, LOL!

The first dream I remember having was telling Alan I was pregnant. My belly was big and you could see the baby moving. He didn't believe me and kept asking me if I was sure and I told him yes, I could FEEL it. The second one, I had twin boys and remember saying I thought six kids was enough. I realized in the dream that I had forgotten to feed them and felt really bad about that, but then said, "Well, I really didn't want them anyway". The third one, I let someone else carry my baby and they dropped it on the rocks! I was horrified and vowed to carry it myself from then on. I wake up thinking thank God that it was only a dream.

The physical thing started right after the last dream of someone dropping my baby. The baby is usually a boy.

I looked up the symbolism of being pregnant or a birth in dreams and they said it usually symbolizes a new project or life change that you are giving birth too. The only thing I can think of is moving to the land in Pittston and how I've been trying to hang onto our present house while planning what to do down there. I think I need to let go of this old place I'm at and embrace the new adventure. What I feel is that this is the home my boys grew up in, they talk about buying the house, how this is home, etc. I even asked Alan where the boys would come home to this summer if we move! As if they couldn't find us. I finally had a dream the other night that Ryan & Will came home at the same time and the setting wasn't this house, but everything was fine and we had a great visit. At this point, I'm willing to do anything, even move, to get these freaky dreams to stop!

Newest Horsey Adventure

About a year ago I discovered a tra
iner named Dan Sumerel. I was intrigued by his training philosophy so ordered his videos. I happened to find one of the last sets of his video tapes on E-Bay and shopped victoriously! In reading through his web-site, I learned about the red-light therapy units he uses and sells. I was very interested in the results he reported having. I kept the thought if it in the back of my mind and every so often things related to that therapy would pop into my life. My sister works at a state veteran's facility in the OT department and they had a unit they used for circulation problems in patients. She told me of a man that had contacted her to ask about getting treated because he had seen red-light therapy used on Thoroughbreds at the California race tracks and the great results they got.

In January, I learned Dan was going to be at a local Horseman's Conference and decided to go meet him. I ended up asking him to come scan and treat my mare, Molly. It was interesting to see how the therapy worked and getting to talk to Dan. I really liked him and so did my horse and family. The feeling that this therapy would be a wonderful thing to have available for horses and owners grew stronger and I seriously began thinking about buying a unit. They are quite costly, so I decided to see if I could find a used one. Enter E-Bay again! I found one unit on there, the only one that's ever been offered as far as I can see, and at a price I felt comfortable with. I was the only bidder and the owners of the unit were very nice and are available to answer my questions. I got my unit quickly and had a client right away, me! A few days before receiving it, my back had started spasming off and on if I moved a certain way. I treated myself and the next day, no back problems. However, my neck was very stiff, so I treated that and next day no stiff neck! Neither have bothered me since.

On Monday, Feb. 25, I finally got a chance to use the unit on the horses. I was scanning one mare when the farrier showed up to trim feet. Things went well until trimming River. I put the light cap that came with the therapy unit on all the horses as they were trimmed and they were very calm and drowsy. River was the same, but she kept pulling her feet away. She had been so good last time she was trimmed, we couldn't figure out what was going on until we got to the right hind. She pulled that one away and tried to take a step and was dead lame on the left hind! We were horrified and felt so bad when we realized that's what she had been trying to tell us. We watched her walk around, checked her legs for swelling or heat and couldn't really see anything that woud have told us anything was wrong. He decided to come back when he's in the area in a few days to finish the hind hooves. After he left, I called the horses up back to eat and realized that River had been walking up back for the past few days instead of leading the others up at a trot or canter. I had thought maybe it was the footing or her lungs being congested, but now think she must have slipped and pulled a muscle or something.

On Tuesday I scanned River and treated the problem areas I found. As I was scanning her, she was reactive to the pressure of the wand when I got to her hind end, flinching and moving away. When I got to the treatment, she peed, pooped, did a full body shake, rubbed her head on her front leg and licked and chewed, all signs of things starting to flow again. She did some big sighs and was very cooperative. The next morning was a new snow fall and I looked out to see River lay down and roll, then get up, rear, buck and kick up her heels and go trotting and cantering around the pasture with the other horses. I couldn't believe it! For as tender as she had been less than 24 hours before, she was definately feeling much better. I was actually a little concerned she would hurt herself again. I ended up scanning and treating her again that day and found many less points and getting few reactions from River, just some sighs and licking and chewing. She seems back to her old self and I'm a firm believer in the validity of this therapy.

Its so weird how all the pieces fell into place to make it possible for me to make the decision to give this a try. I will be documenting the results I get from using it here. It will have to warm up a bit before I use it on the horses again though! I used it on my daughter's head after she fell backwards and got a huge egg on her head. The bump was mostly gone the next day. I also used it on my mom's back a week ago and it hasn't bothered her since.

The red-light therapy is supposed to help rebuild collagen, so I thought I'd use it on my face! After using it on my lips and chin a couple of days later my lower lip felt different. I thought maybe I was getting Angelina Jolie lips, then realized that the difference was I could actually FEEL my lip. I sustained nerve damage in my lip and chin from surgery on my jaw and have had numb areas. I don't have all the feeling back yet, but it is better. I never even thought about that happening so was taken completely by surprise!

There Was a Little Birdie

When I got my first horse, 5 years ago, my youngest son, Will, got a parakeet for helping build the barn. He picked out a greenish blue parakeet and named it Rocky. Will loves all the Rocky movies and does a fair impression of Sly Stallone.

We'd never had a bird before and once Will got him hand tamed in his bedroom, he brought him out for all of us to enjoy. My husband is a great whistler and would make all these sounds. Little Rocky would sit on the front collar of Alan's shirt and put his beak against his lips to feel the vibrations. Soon he was doing cat calls and lots of different whistle tunes. Then he started mimicking the phone ringing and the bell that hung in his cage! He loved to sample whatever you may be drinking or eating and developed a taste for beer! He ended up staying out of his cage most of the time riding around on someone's shoulder or "helping" with chores, like shredding my bills for me or at Christmas time making neat designs on the wrapping paper. We'd let him run around the table top, we'd bought tubes of chapstick with sparkley wrapping and he'd knock them over, roll them around and then stand them back up. We never knew a bird could be such a peronality and so smart. I loved that he wolf-whistled at me whenever I entered the room he was in.

We had quite a menagerie at that time, guinea pigs, a rat, a cat, dog, parakeet, flock of chickens and horses. Everyone seemed to get along though, dog didn't eat chickens or other small pets, cat kept hunting activities limited to outside. Then one day, I couldn't find Rocky. Will and I looked everywhere. I kept thinking I heard him and would go looking, only to come up empty. We wondered if he'd flown outside, but it was quite cold and didn't think that was where he went. We asked the girls if they had seen him and they said no. We searched for hours. Then the girls said that they had seen him, they had taken him down into Dustin's room and neither remembered bringing him back upstairs. They had shut off the light so he couldn't see to fly. I found a feather and a spot of blood. We were all devastated, my husband didn't believe it and kept looking for him, but he was gone. Will blamed the cat, Fancy, he was so upset. I didn't remember the cat leaving the room when I opened the door, but what else could've happened to him? A few months later, Will got another bird. Dustin brought his rat, Alexis, up to meet the new family member, and she attacked it! Luckily, the boys saw what was about to happen and saved the bird, but now knew what had happened to Rocky and why only a feather was left. The cat never ate bird's heads, and I had thought that was strange. The rat ate the bird, and we'd had no idea they would do that. It bothers me still that that's what happened, I almost wish the cat had been the culprit. Will apoligized to Fancy and I vowed no more rats! We all still miss Rocky and remember how much fun and laughter he brought to us in his short life. There hasn't been another bird like him.