Engaged

I've been called a straight shooter by people enough times to recognize it as a significant aspect of my character~but it tends to have poor results working with horses!.
I've been contemplating the horse/human relationship for many years (see my book To Dance with Horses) and of course, struggling to become a better horseman (woman). But the work of getting the "feel" in the horse world tends to result in a passivity when applied to humans and can border on the patronizing and manipulative. So I believe we need to engage human to human and start with the questions. When was the last time your friend asked you, "When...?" or "What...?" or "How..." or "Why....?" Curiosity of the thoughts of our friends reaps many rewards.

Taking the time

This is Hondo. He was a rescue baby with much too much emotional baggage for a little baby, but he pierced my heart. I have spent years with him, gaining his trust. Then made the mistake of sending him off for 30 days and for the last year I have being undoing the harm that those 30 days did. This last week I rode him 3 times. Not long, and not more than a few steps, but today the quality of his steps was soft and flowing. My head has been in the clouds all afternoon, reliving what he was finally able to give to me: his trust.

Night and Light

Walking straight in to the big dipper with the milky way over my head-so aptly named, a childs' fantasy land:wholesome, ephemeral. My black horse free around the barn, I sense but cannot see him. His ears more acute than mine as he follows my lead. I lose him when I enter the barn but when I come back out with hay he reappears from another direction a large shape moving closer, his foot falls getting more distinct to my ears. Fall daylight casts amber colors across the land. The wild weeds brighten the earth. We have a dry land right now in Kentucky, but the rains will come as we move into winter.

FIRSTS

First horse sold. First horse shown. First PLACE! Congratulations to Brandi and Dual Dee aka Pepolena Playboy! These two are going all the way!

Stopping to smell the roses or view the horses...all in a day's work!
Hope you enjoy the view!

Dreams for Real

Now begins the story of a girl and her horse. This 2 year old gelding is one of the best I have bred and I see great potential in him. I have held onto him and not marketed him because I wanted to direct his life, then last week I received a "breathless" email from Brandi, a young mother in NC. She asked if I might consider a trade with her for her 6 yr old gelding and that "Dual Dee is the horse I have been looking for for years". So I said I would consider it and then her floodgates opened. She showed me with her streams of words that painted pictures for me of her heart and dreams and the "little chili pepper red lena" horse that figured so prominently and now he was at her fingertips. We made the deal. That's how dreams are realized. She tells me she's a show off so look for her and Andy as they take their road together.

Pet Me

Pet Me.This is Chester one hard year old. This is his favorite position, he learned it when he was an hour old and his dam was snappy to him so he found he could stay out of trouble if he stuck his head in and stayed in the corner. Poor Chester. He is a hard boy to unstick. After the two of them made some peace she took him to the pasture where he could have some buddies but she bared her teeth at all of them and he didn't dare move from her side. We're giving him courage little by little. Pet Me...