Part of our horse connection is to reflect on what is happening with us and our horses, I thought it an idea as we all lead such hectic lives to post about finding time to reflect on our horses.
For me I make time to sit with the herd, watch, meditate, communicate and bond as a herd, even during the winter I'll find a sheltered spot to sit. There's is no touching of the horses during this time, I just sit in the middle of the field with the horses around me and breath. One by one they'll come over to me, muzzle me and go their way. There is no pressure to do anything, which for the rescue horses is valuable to them. For me a great peace of mind.
It's important that we take this extra time, How and where do you best find your moments of quiet reflection?
Hi Mel - sorry to hear you are still having problems with the farmer, I hope it works out soon.
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Sitting with the horses is such a good reflection time I agree; I find they give me such good feedback about how I am behaving/feeling. If I am at all agitated or distracted they are less inclined to 'hang around' me. Whereas if I am 'in the moment' and not clock watching or agitated they will choose to stay around while I read a book.
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Being 'in the moment' and sitting down reading is soemthing I struggle to do without experiencing guilt or boredom (I read at night in bed!) so it is a work in progress that they are helping me with!
This is something I really should start doing! I am doing a lot of training at the mo and I think the mind set of Equus is really starting to fall into place for me so I'm constantly trying to analyse my sessions with woods afterwards, work out what went well/wrong and why, and what I can do to progress. But I never sit down peacefully and do so or just be. And never with him. Think it would help both of us a lot.
Thank you for the reminder to just stop :)
Hi. I'd like to share an experience I had in 2012 with Humphrey, before he was gelded in 2014. He was 3 then. It was a warm afternoon & having worked for an hour lifting droppings I'd had enough. Humphrey was lying down so I went over to him. He trusts me more now but there was a lot of trust then too. I worked out where I thought he'd put his front feet, should he decide to get up & sat down on the grass. He lent forward & rested his forehead against mine. Wow. We stayed in perfect harmony for about 30 seconds & then he kind of snorted. My alarm bells rang - now I would find out if my calculations were right. No. He didn't get up. He pulled back his head, looked at me with a very sleepy gaze & slumped over, extending his legs. I thought, Humphrey - there's a predictor not 3 feet from you & you choose to fall asleep! Impressive. But, that was not the end of it. After about another half a minute he began to make mumbling noises & shortly after that his front hooves started to flex at the fetlock. If you've ever seen a dog dreaming in front of a heat source then this was the equine equivalent. I can only conclude that my old fashioned cob stallion was dreaming of chasing lots of fertile mares in some glorious location. I stayed still & quiet & after some 15 minutes he woke up & rubbed his head on my extended hand before standing carefully up so as to avoid standing on me. His final gesture was to put his muzzle on my head. This was a very magic experience for me. We've spent many interludes together, with Humphrey & also with rest of my little herd. I believe, if you spend quiet time in the pasture, with your horses, you too will have similar moments. Perhaps not quite so dramatic - I'm not advocating all stallions should be treated this way! But, I can recount lovely times with Kirk, Moley & Max. Bo has only been with us for a short time but he will have his moment, I'm sure. In fact we may have had that already. He reacted very positively to being wormed by syringe after being branded unwormable by syringe from his previous residence. The trust these animals offer is amazing, once they are given the appropriate environment. It is a joy in my life, that's for sure. Cheers, Jo.
Rarely have time to sit with my horses these days but I agree it is a great time for quiet reflection. My best reflection is when I am out by myself riding. Usually do ride by myself and I love to do so. With Uggs it is when we are quietly walking around our great bush area at our club. We pretend that the Kangaroos that flock there are cattle and quietly round them up. Reminds us both of the happy rides we had together when I first bought Uggs to help with my Dad's cattle on his property 1,500 kilometres away near Inverell in NSW. 14 years ago now.
Rarely have time to sit with my horses these days but I agree it is a great time for quiet reflection. My best reflection is when I am out by myself riding. Usually do ride by myself and I love to do so. With Uggs it is when we are quietly walking around our great bush area at our club. We pretend that the Kangaroos that flock there are cattle and quietly round them up. Reminds us both of the happy rides we had together when I first bought Uggs to help with my Dad's cattle on his property 1,500 kilometres away near Inverell in NSW. 14 years ago now.
Oops pressed twice. Hope support can delete one!
Lol, don't worry Maggie, done that enough times with the hit twice! Wow would love to round up both Kangaroos and cattle!
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Vicci - look at your 'in the moment time' as work and lessons with your horses, which really that is what it is, you're working at creating an even deeper bond with your horse and there is no reason for guilt on that part! As for boredom, suggest you put the book down and breath instead, breath in the air and nature around you, close your eyes and with each breath hear all the sounds around you, let the good sounds bring a smile to your face, then visualize your horses face, keep breathing and see what happens! You won't feel bored ;)
If you have traffic noise near you, just let it fly over your head!
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Widgy - The work out what went well/wrong and why, and what I can do to progress will all fall into place if you take time to quiet your mind with your boy. It will also help draw a bigger bond between the two of you. He (sorry forgotten his name, can you remind me please) will connect with your relaxed and in the now state of mind and will teach you many things along the way :D
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Jo. that's a wonderful experience, I've had similar with my guys, it's amazing just laying there with this powerful machine asleep next to you. Beautiful trust.
You are right, we must spend time in the pasture with our horses, it's their environment, their space and when they accept us there as one of the herd, that bond deepens even more.
Oddly enough, my moments of reflection come when I'm cleaning Luna's stall. I can get into an almost meditative state while I work, and I hear her quietly munching her hay and feel her energy as I do so. After the stall is done, I like to stand with her while she eats, doing gentle T-Touch or simply gently stroking her. I can tell he likes the extra attention, too. :)
That's wonderful bonding time, I'm sure her feeling your energies also will create an even bigger bond!!
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At the moment my moments of reflection are raking out my mares winter coat! Sounds silly but she loves the attention and the relief of getting rid of that itchy coat as mum gets a good workout and satisfaction of a nice looking horse ;))
I also maintain our follow up and when no one else is around I unclip the lead rope and we have a wander about together.
Very special bonding moments Becky, and not silly at all. Watching the horses together in the fields they love the attention they give each other as they pull the winter coats out of each other. Will have to catch a photo one day of them with hair in their mouths :D
Wonderful trust she has with you, you are both blessed!
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