In the book No Life for a Lady, the biography of Agnes Moreland Cleaveland, the children were put in charge of catching a horse and riding into town in order to get supplies. This was New Mexico in the early 1900s. The author said that they didn’t have corrals so catching a horse could take half a day. The horses would know you wanted to catch them and would hide behind trees.
In Loving Memory – April 12. 1989-August 15. 2015 Khami, my bay Arabian gelding of 26 years, passed away quickly today of what appeared to be a heart attack. He was doing what he loved to do, running with his beloved herd, when he collapsed and died shortly after.
Like most things in life, when I learn about them, chances are somebody has already thought of it, researched, packaged and marketed it and knows way more about it than I do.
Liberty work takes on a life of its own. Even when I know the horses involved, they do not always do what I expect.
In Ortho-Bionomy we work with reflexes, and one of them is rebound. If a body does not have rebound then it has little ability to change, to heal itself. We want to reinstate rebound in the body in order to elicit change and the ability to correct itself. That ability can grow in a being and is directly tied into the continuing health of the organism. I seek that self-corrective response in each body I work with….and in my own.
Continue reading Healing the horse and human herd from within
This mare is “staking a claim” on this hill. She doesn’t want her friend standing there. What differentiates this activity from others, such as just moving a another horse from behind, is its sudden and very territorial nature.
After I had some time to think about it, I think the theme of this past Saturday’s Liberty Foundation Workshop was “horse listening.”
Jazzmine joined the herd of three on Sunday, first over the fence, making introductions. Then she was insistent the next day, on being with them. I must go through that gate to be with them. She has been without a real herd for a couple of years, but grew up with one from birth. The herd of three was already quite well established in their rhythms, so she would face some challenges as a newcomer.
One of the issues for many horse owners/lovers is how to spend enough time with their horses. When I hear myself complaining or feeling guilty, I think it’s time to make a pie chart.
One thing that new liberty students may find troubling is their horse moving in and out of connection. In the beginning, when the student first gets a connection on the ground, real movement together, it’s very exciting. It feels wonderful. Then the horse decides to break connection and go visit with someone else or another horse. The student looks over at me, crestfallen, as if to say, what do I do now?
