The Spirit of Peace....

I had a mini adventure this morning with my horse today. Now I have questions..Not sure I did everything the way I should have, but I think we were both okay in the end. It wasn't scary or anything... just ... a challenge for both of us I think...but FUN!


Nothing big happened, except Solomon  just wouldn't stay away while I tried to muck by his feed bag. It had so much hay on the ground and he had pooped there a few times so I really needed to clean it.

• So I told him to go stand "over there" (mind you he had already been eating for over an hour, just to be fair)....
• He kept coming back though...and I was working so hard to get him to stay over there. I think I put my rake down to get after him at least 10 times.  So I went and got the flag.
  
  
  As I was walk to get it , I realized I was starting to get a little annoyed and didn't want to work with him with that attitude.  How did I know this?  I was moving briskly, maybe possibly stomping my feet a little, and not having happy thoughts....  so I gave myself a talking to, and adjusted my thoughts so i would treat it as a learning situation...Whew!  Stupidity averted. 
  
  
  • So using the flag at first only worked minimally... he moved away but still didn't take me very seriously.  I put the rake outside the pen and moved him around the pen a bit. He was pretty high energy... which may be attributed to his not having been worked with for a few days. I'm sure he has some pent up energy.
  • After about 10 minutes or so...he calmed down a LITTLE... and I decided to try again to muck.  This is one of my questions...did I stop too soon?  His head was still a little high... I wouldn't say he was relaxed.  Did I just answer my own question?  
    
    
    I kept the flag nearby...but only had to use it about twice and it took way less to get him to know I wanted him not to come over.
    
    
    At the end he stayed over by the water trough... and when I was done, I went over and petted him, and got him to follow me, and offered him his hay so he knew it was okay to eat again...
    
    
    • It was fun!! I felt good that I did that by myself... There were a few times I could tell that my messages weren't clear...
    • My second question is... how do I keep from getting so dizzy when he's running around in circles?  Oh my.  I've been told to find a focal point and not follow him with my eyes...but it's so HARD!   Pretty soon I feel like I'm going to fall over! That would be a sight, wouldn't it?  
      
      
      So my lesson for the day, which I do think I learned, was not to react with emotion to situations when they aren't going the way I want them to.  Take a moment to gather my thoughts and get my priorities  straight.  It's not about being "right"... it's about being fair and clear... whether I'm interacting with  my darling horse, my dogs, my kids or my sweet husband.  
      
      
      But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5:22

Learning together....

Today I had a blast getting outside.  The sun was shining and it was cool but not cold.  Bundled up in my sweatshirt, vest and gloves, I headed out to do my "chores"... after having done all the housework, that is.  I needed a break from the stale air inside, so I'm glad today was so beautiful out.  A rarity for a February day in Washington State.  Anyhoo.... I headed out, grabbed the wheelbarrow and took care of all Solomon's housekeeping... Then, noticing his water trough looked greenish, I dumped his water out and got the little scrubby brush. After I got it all sparkly clean, I began to fill the trough with fresh water, hoping he would come and play in the water again.  He waited until the water was overflowing before finally coming over to swish is nose in the tub.  I grabbed a few fun pictures, but he wasn't as silly as usual.

Next, I haltered him and took him out to brush out some mud. Oh my goodness.  I wish he would stop rolling.  Not that that will ever happen.. I got what I could off him then decided to see how he does with a spray bottle of ShowSheen.  I really wanted to get his mane all pretty.  He was a little nervous at times, but we worked through it... I've watched Mike and Christina work with horses and spray bottles many times, so I kind of knew to let him touch it, smell it, feel it, and hear it... I even sprayed some ShowSheen in my hands first and put it on his mane to comb out the first tangles.  After a bit I was able to spray it directly on his mane.  What a pretty boy he is going to be when his mane grows out!  Then I wanted to work on his forelock... We had to work on getting him to lower his head so I could reach. I was kind of proud of myself... (smile)... I knew to give a little pressure downward and let up when he started to lower his head... we had to do it several times before he kept it down for more than one second. Instead of going directly to combing, I petted his forehead a bit, and then started combing and he kept his head down the WHOLE TIME!!!  I was grinning ear to ear... I know this all sound like small piddly stuff.  But to me it's all huge!

Here's the amazing thing... and my Lesson Learned for the day... the whole time I was out there (TWO HOURS)... I had not one stressful thought.  I didn't think about Nick, the housework, school, absolutely NOTHING, except for the horse and his responses to me.  I realized that that is where the therapy is for me... and the MAGIC of horses.  There has never been a single thing that I have been able to do for two hours and keep my brain turned off... Thoughts are always running amuck in my head .... a little like a bunch of bumper cars. Boy do I need time off from that!

So today I'm so thankful for sunshine and Solomon... Thank you Jesus, for these gifts!!

.... Learning to Laugh At Myself...

How I wish I could have taken a photo of my adventure with Solomon the day before yesterday, and again today... Maybe I should have one of my girls follow me around shooting my adventures?

On Monday, I went out to do my "chores"..mucking the round pen where Solomon is staying till Galaxy finds her new home.  As I pushed the wheelbarrow into the round pen, Solomon discovered that I'm not very coordinated and I left a gap between the barrow and the side of the round pen... just big enough for him to fit through.  Little did I know you are not supposed to let the horse stand at the gate as close as possible when you are trying to push a wheelbarrow in... He took it upon himself to leap over the feeding trough he had knocked over during the day... as I watched in dismay...

Aloud, I said, "Okay fine...go eat grass while I go get the halter.", shaking my head at myself.   So I'm fumbling trying to figure which side is up or down with the halter, and walking towards him and every time I get within touching reach, he does a little toss of his head and moves off...not really with an attitude, but definitely fast enough that I can't block him.  I try about 10 times... and finally realize I need help....

So I go hollering up to the house to get one of the girls... Annalise sticks her head out the window, yelling, "what did you do now, Mom?"... Ya think my kids are getting used to my silliness?  Christina comes out and catches him within 5 minutes.  

So...lessons learned that day:
1. The horse does not get to stand by the gate when I'm coming in or out... especially with the wheelbarrow.
2. Laugh at yourself, because you are funny.

Tuesday I did not have a horse adventure.  I did have a photography one.  But it's embarrassing, and I got hurt, and I don't want to talk about it.  NOT a laughing matter.  However, if someone, once again, had had a camera on me... it would be a comedy shot.   Nuff said.

Wednesday: Today.  I got into the round pen just fine to muck...very proud of myself for making Solomon stand away from the gate while I moved in.  He was a good boy.  So as I start mucking, Annalise decides it's time to put the other horses out.  Well, Kiowa, our old Appy gelding, thinks he has to do quite a bit of heehawing once she turns him loose in the field... it's way across the property, but within view , for sure.  Solomon thinks he'd like to join the fun and starts running pretty fast around the round pen.  I'm in the middle.  My anxiety level went up about 10 notches... Every couple of times around, he decides he might want to come in and check on me...but he comes in really really fast... Scare me!  So I flap my arms like a bird and tell him no you can't come into me like that...This goes on for an eternity about 3 or 4 minutes...and then he all of a sudden stops quietly and walks in to me like he's supposed and stares at me... I'm sure he's saying..."wasn't that fun?"... After that he just quietly follows me around while I muck.

Lesson learned today:
1. Be Calm...Don't Panic... You know what to do!

LOL