The holiday season is here, and with that comes a time that many of us reflect on our relationships and the love we share for others. While one person may feel bountiful in this reflection, another may feel lack, regardless of how many people are around us. The fact is we all need connection. We need it to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. Horses are the same way. They must feel connected and part of a greater community of beings. Being part of a herd creates safety and also the ability to procreate and thrive in a herd. As human beings, we must learn to … [Read more...]
What does it mean for you?
The other day I was playing with my lovely half Friesian and half Arab gray, Esperanza. She is friendly, lively, sensitive, and can have enormous energy. Her intelligence often is a bit shocking to me. When I speak with her, I feel no barriers. Instead, I sense her understanding and digesting what I say and giving me immediate feedback at many levels. She has been with me for a year. She has had plenty of space and ample time to find her way within the herd. She is finding her grounding and understanding how to be a teaching horse for my Equine Facilitated Learning … [Read more...]
Broken Wing Healed –
Horse Wants to Connect with You
I apologize that I have not been in touch with you for some time. It is certainly not because nothing is happening in my life. It is just the opposite. For the last two years, I have been deepening, yet again, my spiritual path with horses and all of Mother Earth's creatures. The journey has not been comfortable, as spirit has chosen to speak to me through my body – and not in a very gentle way. A year ago, when I was super stressed out, I pushed my body to the tipping point. I had a massive amount of anger move through me as I attempted to manhandle a heavy log. The … [Read more...]
Heartfelt Appreciation with Viejo Creates Movement
Recently, I was honored to work with a very intelligent horse by the name of Viejo. For several of my students, the session we witnessed was profound and life altering. Ironically, the session was not grandiose. The horse did not behave as I have seen many other by lying down, protectively walking around the client, bowing, picking up the carrot stick and handing it to the client or pointing his nose at certain regions of the client's body (yes, these things happen quite often in sessions). He also didn’t stand … [Read more...]
Timing is Everything with Horses and Life
Many years ago, when I first got Moon, I boarded him at a public facility. This was a huge mistake. To my astonishment and dismay, he arrived at the ranch looking 30-years old. He was infested with ticks, underweight, and utterly depressed. It turns out that the owners had sent him to a holding facility a few months before he came to me. That transitional experience took a toll on his heart and health. It was heartbreaking. When I asked the barn manager how we would integrate my depressed and underweight horse into the herd, he said, "Simple, we just throw him in … [Read more...]
From Fear to Softness
Esperanza came to my ranch in early June of this year. As a half-Friesian and half-Polish Arab, her presence was dazzling; large, excitable, and engaging. Her energy felt big and powerful, but at the same time, nervous. She had lots of questions about her new home and her new herd mates. Esperanza stands 15.2 hands, so in reality, she is not a big horse. Moon, my elder, stands at 16.2. Yet, when the two of them were close by each other, Moon felt dwarfed next to her. Moving Esperanza around took a solid presence and a direct, confident, and focused handler. As a "big … [Read more...]
Escalating Emotions – Who is the Leader?
Herd dynamics provide excellent examples of interactions that can bring great insights and realizations for the herd keeper. In my herd, I have attracted powerful lead mares that are seeking a herd in which they can become the central governing member. Watching these dynamics have helped me to understand the concept of affect contagion and emerging energy that can escalate into unproductive states. Recently, a bright-red solid and energized hot quarter horse by the name of Scotch came to stay at the ranch. My horse Diva and I had ridden Colorado mountain trails many … [Read more...]
Reground with the Power of Horse
The wind is blowing today and the thick smoke that has been hanging like a wet cloth just above the land has cleared out. It is due to return by nightfall. Saturday night an electrical storm came through that brought fingers of lightning bolts like an octopus in the sky. Thin sharp zaps of electricity hitting numerous times, relentlessly and simultaneously - I felt as if I had returned to the 80's and I was in the disco with a strobe light. However, it did not feel as expansive and joyful as my dancing days of the 80's. Instead, it was rather frightening. I found … [Read more...]
Fall Programs are Starting to Fill
Finally the mornings are bringing cooler temperatures to the ranch and I have spotted my first yellow leaf on the ground. The horses have started to push out the summer hair and new thicker hairs are coming in for the fall months. Their slick, shiny coats of summer are becoming slightly more textured. Change is upon us again. During our last program the horses held space as the participants entered into a sacred space of honoring their being through painting. This quiet contemplative exercise can take individuals deeply into creativity and communion with horse. … [Read more...]
Applying for a TedX Talk with Corazon
As some of you may have heard, I have recently been selected to speak at a TedX Talk later this summer. My topic for the talk is Wild and Free, and in it I will be sharing Corazon’s story from being a wild Pryor Mountain Mustang, to the bleak and disturbing potential future I was able to rescue him from, and our very first days together to where we are now on our journey. It has been a very cathartic experience for me to write about Corazon's path and I'm so excited to be sharing his inspirational journey with the world. I want to share with all of you my application … [Read more...]
Hope is featured in Saddlebox
Saddlebox.net will be Including Hope from the Heart of Horses in their June Gift Box! This week I was approached by Phil Van Treuren, the CEO of https://www.saddlebox.net, a unique membership website that has a really fun idea for horse lovers, and those who love horse lovers! Every month, members of Saddlebox receive a box of horse gifts; each month different items are included in the package that is shipped. I’m excited and proud to say that they’ve asked if they can include my book, Hope from the Heart of Horses, in June’s Saddlebox! … [Read more...]
Preparing for the Spring Teaching Season
I am ready for the warm March winds to massage the muddy ground into dry, firm terracotta so I can begin the spring work with my herd. Without an indoor arena, I am often limited by when and how I can work with my herd. I could pine for what I do not have, or I can get creative with what I do have. The harsh winter months give my horses time off as they focus on eating and staying warm. As spring rolls in, the muddy days are spent grooming and doing the subtle groundwork in the dry spots of the over-sized paddocks. Sometimes I will work with two horses at a time. I … [Read more...]
Transitions in the Spring – The Horses are Frisky
A few crocuses have sprung forward this late February, and early spring is on her way. Another winter cycle coming to completion brings forward the opportunity for frozen land to turn to moist earth and support the blooming expressions of fertility. The paddocks are wet after our last storm, with mounds of manure frozen in ice and sludgy brown water flowing to the low side of the land. The fragrance is pungent and earthy, and the fumes penetrate into every pore of my clothing until I feel through scent alone that I am one with the herd. Moon, the shaman, continues to … [Read more...]
Integrating the Herd – Communications Lesson (Again)
Moon Shadow Ranch welcomes a new mare named Scotch. Scotch was with us for one month last fall and proved to be an excellent guide and teacher for humans. The facility she was living at closed, so she has come here to my ranch. I had hoped to have her integrated into my entire herd soon after her arrival. However, with my mustang Corazon (who was a wild and free stallion until he was five), this is a challenging prospect. I allowed everyone to be over the fence for several days and all of the squealing subsided. Diva and Scotch are already friends from years ago, so … [Read more...]
Four Lessons from my Herd
As you know, I am not a hardcore rider, but instead am one that is seeking better ways to be with Horse and to honor my partnership with my horse when I do choose to ride. My primary riding horse is Diva, a 13 year-old mare that is very generous and calm, yet is not usually the one that will boldly take leadership. Yesterday, she proved me wrong. I loved every moment when we are strong in the lead position picking our way along the trail. But let me back up. It has been a bit of a journey with Diva, as she has had four babies and her body is not of the best … [Read more...]
Blow Your Horse Down
As I sit in the security of my house, I give many thanks for the divine way that I arrived here and the continuing protection my home gives me. Just like the only house that the Big Bad Wolf could not blow down in the fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs, my home is a brick house. These extraordinary winds will not be able to blow down my horses either. My mare, Diva, is standing outside her paddock, facing south into the gale force winds gusting over 75 - 95 miles an hour. Her four hooves are planted and her head hangs low. (Click here, or the image to the left, to … [Read more...]
Hibernate to Find the Seed
Father Winter is now fully upon us and the urge to slow down, reflect or full-on hibernate is hard to avoid. So, why shouldn’t we? We are still in the cycle of winter. Though winter solstice has passed and each day is starting to grow longer, we still don’t feel fully energized just yet. True, we may have experienced moments of great joy and socializing through the celebrations of December, but yet still feel sluggish or low energy here in early January. On these dark, January days, I watch my herd. I often go out and stand with them. For the most part, they are more … [Read more...]
Horses Dancing in Your Head
Most importantly I wish for you to feel much love and ease during the holidays. May you and your loved ones share moments of love and gratitude for all that life has brought you and will bring to you this coming year. Horses Dancing in Your Head The days are getting longer now, albeit not any warmer. The temperatures have been below zero at night for several days now, and when I go out to feed the horses, their eye lashes and nostrils are coated with a cold, harsh frost. I find the cold mornings refreshing and exciting, as I know that, during the day, I will … [Read more...]
First Cold Snow – Feel Alive!
My fingers are already numb and painfully cold after only 10 minutes of being outside. Struggling to get the metal chain unhooked from the gate, I finally resort to removing my gloves. The frozen metal feels angry on my skin, burning my flesh with a sharp sting as my fingers stick to the chain itself. I move quickly in order to get my hands back into my glove and slide the gate open, across the 5 new inches of snow. I can then release my two mares into the field where I have placed piles of green grass hay; the essential fuel for their bodies to stay warm. The horses … [Read more...]
The Dance with Moon – A Ride Beyond Earth
Moon, my master healer Shaman horse, and I danced the other day. It was not an ordinary dance by any means. It was the last day of a yearlong program. Eight individuals that I have grown very fond of had just facilitated their own highly successful one-day programs here at the ranch as part of their graduation process. For their final day we do explore some fun things . . . such as playing with horses. Before we set them off to play with Dublin, one of our newer teachers in the herd, I offered to demonstrate Horse Dancing. … [Read more...]
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