Winter Horse

Well, it has been several months since my last blog entry. We are well into Winter and new discoveries are being made. My horse Sugar is not a Winter lover. This is our first together as the season turns wet, cold and as Pooh would say 'Blustery'. Perhaps this is why my sage mentor Gina  says it takes a full year to know a horse. I am bearing witness to this as the days get shorter, darker and less outdoor friendly.  Sugar is not a prissy mare as some are but she is not fond of trudging through slippery mud to find a spot to relieve herself.  She seeks shelter from the rain but does not balk at the necessity to sometimes have to walk under showering skies to get a little much needed exercise.

The windy ranch makes new rustling sounds that stir new suspicions in her. She often chooses not to listen to my calming voice. I am sure she is certain that I do not see or hear the dangers in the bushes and trees that she does. Deer scamper through the property seeking their own refuge and she is still adjusting to their presence.

As her hair gets thicker I start to consider the benefits of a horse blanket. So many horse owners are quick to warm there equines even with full Winter coats. I am new at horse ownership so I keep questioning..."Is Sugar cold? Does she need to be blanketed too? Does her body not meet the demand of her comfort by providing her with a warm enough fur coat? I finally quell my own misgivings by purchasing a rain sheet. It is light weight and water proof so at least she will stay dry and thereby also stay warm without negating the effects of her own physical properties. She willingly obliges my silly human worries and wears the sheet without resistence. It is navy and purple.

Horseback riding is not a Winter activity in my mind so it has been several weeks since I have been on her back and may be several more to come. I have no interest in bundling up with hat and gloves and soothing her new found spookiness. Why force the issue for either or us? I want it to be pleasurable for both of us when we ride together. So her Winter days will consist mostly of turnouts and round penning and running the arena track followed by lazy hours of grazing in the ever green pastures.  Hopefully Spring will come early as its predecessor did and Sugar and I can resume a more fully engaged exchange between horse and rider. Until then we will slop through the mud and soggy leaf ladden trails that meander through the ranch property as we take our leisure walks past stalled horses and puddled arenas while I continue to say "It's ok Sugar there is nothing over there that will harm you....that's just a deer....that's just another horse" or "That's just another human"..." You are safe and okay with me".

Brave little filly.

I have returned from yet another trip which included spending time with some wild mustangs.

Upon this encounter I didn't find the same human interest from the herd as I had the times before. It was a hot, clear-skied afternoon. Several bands were gathered in a wide open expanse of sage. Many were huddled around sleeping band mates. Most of the mares had either foaled in recent months or were fully rounded with emminent offerings of their DNA.

The herd was calm and pensive while selecting the tiny morsels of grass at their hooves. I slowly but purposefully walked into their realm so as not to arise any doubt or suspicion to my query. I saw many of the same horses that I had seen in July and noticed several babies had grown taller. I stood quietly amongst them and took photos. As I stood there a young filly of less than 4 months inched her way closer and closer to me. Her eyes were bright and her ears forward and attentive to my calm voice as I told her how pretty she was. Her muzzle and nose were feverishly inhaling my scent. Each time I looked away or at the ground beneath me I could see her shadow approaching one step closer...if I looked up she starred at me or quickly put her nose to the grass as if she herself were not really noticing me but happily grazing the grass. This was a cute game that we played for several minutes. Her mother was several feet from us with a watchful eye but never raised her head in fear of this enounter with her baby.

I stretched out my arm to offer the scent of my hand to her...she barely touched her sweet, wet muzzle to me when she leaped back and hopped two feet. No other horse noticed or reacted to her movement. I stood there amazed at how brave she was and felt her contentment of her own fearlessness. She looked back at me from around the haunches of her brother as he nudged her away. I think I was the first human she had gotten this close to and I felt an honor in this. Another band of horses started moving each other around and this little family moved off as well.

Although the encounter was brief I relished in its purity. She was so curious and I was happy to oblige her investigation of this human. I hope to return to this same herd in October. I will certainly seek out this brave little filly.

Fabulous Bandit

The wooden sign hanging outside on the stall door and on the noseband of his halter says "Fabulous Bandit". A quarter horse gelding now aged 32, liver chestnut with sorrel mane, 14.3 hands. The old man I call him, a curmudgeon; old coot. He was the first horse I sat upon and asked to tolerate my beginner mistakes and clumsiness...to take care of me when I attempted to sit the trot that was really smooth as glass. He accepted his place as my lesson horse but not without contributing his own two cents now and again. He would guide me to the gate at precisely 1 hour into the lesson...lesson over, time to get off, time for my lunch I could hear him say. I attempted to cuddle him and groom him with a loving hand...but Bandit was too cool for that, it was all on his terms and a macho horse needs no softness and mothering from any human. He was Fabulous Bandit and too cool for that.Our relationship continued in this manner for 2 more years, I attempted to fuss over him and give him kisses but he would turn his back and walk away...too cool for that.


Then one day I was leaning on the outside rails of his small paddock with my back pressed against the bars....talking to others at the barn and casually resting there when all of a sudden I felt a warm breath and soft muzzle come to rest on my shoulder. It was Bandit actually asking for my attention. He knew I would talk quietly to him and rub his forehead or stroke his neck or even better scratch the underside of his jaw with my unmanicured human nails. I turned and obliged him with his request and water filled my eyes...I was finally accepted by this stoic old horse. I instantly felt in that moment that he and I would have something special together even though I was not his owner or daily care taker. I felt so much overwhelming satisfaction in that moment he was officially welcoming me into the world of horses and I felt privileged to be invited especially by this ambassador.


It took two years to gain Bandits trust but I feel it will be there forever. Bandit is officially retired as a lesson horse and I think he is grateful for the time off. I have the duty to put him on turn outs three times per week and I look forward to that time with him. With most horses you take them to turn out and let them work out their energy on their own leaving them in the arena to do so for a time. But Bandit is older and becoming more insecure as he ages and his eyesight is not as keen as it once was. He does not like to be left alone on turn out. So I usually hang with him. He likes to sniff the dirt and find the perfect spot to roll on one side, then he gets up and finds another spot to roll on his other side. He slowly returns to four feet, shakes off the dirt and trots to the water trough that I make sure is ready for his drink. Some days he wanders the arena exploring new things or nibbling at sparsely grown plants that line the outside fence. On other days he begs for me to play with him to entice him to run with or after me. He is a horse full of personality and still alot of attitude.


Yesterday we had a particularly playful time. He never left to explore on his own instead he would watch me walk away and when far enough from him he would trot or canter to me as if we were playing tag. There are barrels set on their sides scattered in the arena. I would run to one and then when I got to it he would run up to it too and trot around the barrel as I pretended to evade him. It was the cutest thing. We were actually playing together and he enjoyed it as much as I did. When he was done with our frolick he purposefully walked to the gate and waited for my approach. I held out his Fabulous Bandit engraved halter and he placed his face within the straps like a child being asked to put on their sweater, carefully, methodically and without question or remark. Then we walked back up to the barn where his lunch would be waiting.

My chosen blog title

Equine elixir rolled off my tongue as I was contemplating the title for my blog. It rolled off smoothly and calmly like a satisfying taste of home grown honey. The title is befitting to the whole essence of my desire to write...it is the impetice for my life of the past two and a half years. Horses have given me the medicine that has healed me when I am sad, frustrated and most importantly when I am stressed. The timing of their presence in my life has not been coincidental by any stretch. It was predetermined a long time ago. It was only when I opened my spirit and my soul to the possiblity of something extraordinary that I was delivered the gift of the horse. I listened to small voices, intuitions and compelling draws not knowing where they would take me or why I was being led. I had faith that something special was coming and I wanted to be there to meet it. I was excited to be surprised in my life; to relinquish the strong-armed control I had in every aspect of my existence. I still need and want control but horses have been great teachers in the leadership they show me as I follow them into their unique world. The equine elixir is forever sweet and savory but if ingested too quickly without reverence and gratitude can easily choke you and reject you with decided disdain.

Entrance into yet another new world.

Summer 2010
I have been a user of Face Book for just nearly a year now, entering cyber space cautiously. I have fun there keeping up with old friends, new friends and strangers I really can't define as 'friends' but listed as such. Social networking is fun and pretty much harmless in my realm but lacking a certain intimacy that I still cherish in face to face connections. Space is also limited in what you can say and the depth of your reflections. So...blogging...hmm...yet another way to tip toe into cyber land and reflect on my own consiousness and experiences. I do not have the audacity to think anyone will read this blog and/ or find it remotely interesting or relevant but perhaps it is a pre-cursor to the book I have been threatening to write one day...