Walter Donkey Goes For A Walk

Our farrier, Julie, is a gifted animal communicator.  But her recent conversation with Walter Donkey has proven so spot on that I am just shaking my head with amazement. It started during her last visit, when I was talking about what kinds of things the equines might enjoy doing that were not invasive or pushy.  I suggested that Walter D has, in the  past, enjoyed his trips around the yard, and that maybe he would like to go for walks. She responded:

"Yes, that is exactly what he wants! He wants to walk down the driveway, and then down the road, to see what is out there that he can't see from the pasture. He knows there is SOMETHING on the other side of the hedgerow, and he wants to see what it is. He feels responsible for the herd (he is the MAN of the barn) and he worries about what is there that he doesn't know about."

Well. That was certainly detailed.

We live on a gravel road, at the dead end, with only one neighbor in a mile, and the road runs parallel to the horse pasture's fence. But the horses cannot see the road because of the trees and shrubs in the hedgerow. I tucked away Julie's message until last week, when the weather and my schedule permitted some special time with Walter.

I put his halter and lead rope on--NOT his favorite thing, but as soon as we were out the door of the barn, he was all bright eyes and perked ears. He was doing the leading, and I was walking by his side. All our walks have been around the house and barn, but this time he made a beeline for the gravel road. He led me straight down the road, head high and ears forward, at a nice clip clop pace, until we arrived at the point where the horse pasture ends. Then he veered over to the left, and stopped. And stood. And listened and looked and smelled and stood and stood. He made NO attempts to graze, he was just totally engrossed in taking in his surroundings.  I was standing with him, being blown away.

After nearly ten minutes of just looking and listening, he was willing to turn around and head back toward home. The entire way, he kept stopping to smell the plants by the roadside--no interest in eating, looked like he was just cataloging them in his donkey memory. When we got back to the barn, he was happy to graze a bit before he returned to the mares.

I imagine that his curiousity about what's on the other side of the hedgerow has been satisfied. I wonder what his next request will be.

Necessary Evils

Yesterday was our semi-annual worming-of-the-equines day. Such drama! Such angst!

Something I have yet to figure out: as I follow this path of letting them decide things, not "doing" so much, having no need for a halter or lead rope most of the time, how to manage those times when they must be haltered and must go along with my idea?  Walter always hates to be haltered, period. No exceptions. No variations. Sophia never seems to mind, since she has rarely been asked to "do" anything here. And, I still think she associates halters and ropes and human attention with her inner "princess" and doesn't mind in the least being the receipient of the homage and attention rightly owed her! Even worming, LOL.

Susie is the mare who is really experiencing a change.

She is used to being asked to go and do constantly for humans. She is the most sceptical of my intentions in this new path. She is waiting for me to go back to the old ways, to go back to requiring things of her. I have the sense that, for her, it is just a matter of time before I pick up the metaphorical reins and take charge of her again. But, she has learned (thank goodness!) that she can now have feelings and opinions and express herself without fear of being smacked down. So, predictably, she was the most outspoken critic of the need for Worming Day. She was not happy that I was trying to "mess" with her, nor with the other horses. Tons of adrenaline, lots of NO NO NO, snorting, pawing, you name it. She did not keep her opinion a secret. GOOD SUSIE.

All the equines got their needed medicine. All opinions were expressed and honored. Many cookies were distributed.  It was all good.

A Grand Old Lady

Happy Birthday this past week to Sophia, our retired OTTB mare, who celebrated a quarter-century of equine life and wisdom. Oh, the things she has seen, the places she has been! Here is a bit of her story:

Sophia's registered name is "Durability." She was born in 1985, out of Gipsy Jet by Affirmed (his photo to right), which makes her true thoroughbred "royalty." Her father, Affirmed, was one of the most successful and lucrative racehorses of his time, whose most defining moments came in 1978, when he won the Triple Crown and also proved triumphant over Seattle Slew at the Marlboro Cup Invitational, marking the first time two Triple Crown winners faced off against each other. He was the Eclipse Award Horse of Year, twice, and is hailed as one of the great horses in American racing history.

Like Father, Like Daughter

A family resemblance was always there: see portrait of Affirmed to the left, and Sophia below.

Sophia/Durability was trained and raced as a 2 and 3 year-old, out of Affirmed's home stable, Harbor View Farms, in Ocala, FL, wearing the same black and flamingo pink silks as her father. She raced at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park, and carried some world-class jockeys, including Gary Stevens. She made it to the Winner's Circle once, and had two third place finishes. She went from the track to being a successful broodmare, mothering a total of 13 foals. Her last foal was born in 2006.

From 2006 to when we adopted her in 2008, the details are sketchy. We know she was owned by a wealthy obstetrician in Kentucky in 2006.  We know she was sold to someone in Indiana, and then ended up starved and uncared for before coming to the Indiana Horse Rescue in 2008. Her story is the quintessential example of a lovely, talented, and generous horse who happily gave herself over to the demands of the horse "industry" for years, and was then "thrown away" when she could no longer produce. A very common, very heart-breaking story.

This time, however, the story has a happy ending for the horse. She came to us in 2008, skinny and wide-eyed and completely aloof from humans, who had obviously let her down quite seriously. Two years later, she still quite slender, but glowing with healthy and discovering what it is like to be honored, listened to, allowed to have opinions. Discovering what it is like to be loved for simply being. No demands.

Sophia has shared some thoughts and images with us about her past. She loved racing other horses, loved the speed, the wind, it gave her a sense of flying. She thinks that is what the Pegasus image on her blanket means. She was a flying horse. She deserves respect, she has a strong sense of dignity, she expects her humans to groom her, and pamper her, and treat her as a lovely royal child deserves to be treated. She doesn't understand why that stopped. She is grateful to be someplace where she is "seen" again as the lady she has always been. She is willing to forgive.

What a lady.

Letting the Animal Choose

A friend sent this to me today. I think it is a perfect illustration of allowing the animal to tell us what her/his gifts are, what he/she wants to do. I hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BGODurRfVv4