My Greatest Teacher

Scout is a very unique horse in so many ways and I am still feeling my way with her. She is going to teach me so much about how to be a better horse person. I have been puzzling over how to manage her of late. She has been a little pushy and has not been wanting to be with me so much. I am so used to working with very sensitive horses as they tend to match with my personality better. Scout is different in that she is bold and grounded. In the past I would have labelled a horse like her dull but I learnt a valuable lesson with her that this is certainly not the case.

I have noticed in the work I do with her that if you ask her with anything but softness she will indeed immediately brace and become dull. She is teaching me to be softer and more polite than ever before. She is truly a wonderful mare and when I ask her with absolute softness she will immediately try to work out what I want of her. She also has a need to understand why she has to do something. This is a trait that is also making me have to rethink my training so she sees a purpose in what I am asking of her.

She is the bravest horse I have ever come across. When the dogs all rush to the fence to bark at her and Sienna, Sienna runs away whilst Scout bravely saunters over to them to watch them. The cars don't worry her at all and in fact anything that in the past I have had to take time to introduce slowly to other horses, Scout just boldly marches forth to investigate.

She is now heavily pregnant and it should only be about a month till she foals. This foal is going to be something very special. Renegade Shadow, the sire, is maturing into one of the most exceptional Spanish Mustangs I have seen. I am also very excited about finally being able to have Scout tested and released from quarantine once the foal is born.

Rich and I have decided we will move out west and start up a horse retraining and sale business. This is a dream I have had for sometime now and I am pleased that soon it will become a reality. We have some big ideas in the pipeline for this business and for setting up Australia's first Spanish Mustang stud.

Deeper Experiences

I have been quite remiss in my blogging of late. The past month has been full of changes in my life for which I am forever grateful. I attended a 5 rhythms dance weekend retreat with Deva Nanden. It was a truly transformative experience for me and I also met a wonderful man named Rich down there who has taught me so much already and introduced a profound amount of love and enjoyment to my life.

The retreat opened up my heart to a level I have never experienced before. This has been very helpful for me in my finding a new way with my horses. Rich is also teaching me a great deal about what the horses crave and what they respond to. He has no horse experience at all however as I suspected he connects very well with them and they enjoy being in his company. He has a quality that I have rarely seen before in that he seems to walk through life with his heart wide open. The animals sense this and are drawn to him.

We had a wonderful experience the other day. We spent a long time mutual grooming the horses in the morning sun. I noticed Sienna walk over to Rich and drop her head. She half closed her eyes and went into a space where I felt her energy change. Rich and I sat down beside her and closed our eyes. It wasn't long until Sienna layed down beside us. I have often done this in the past with my horses. I enjoy napping in the morning sun with them. This time felt a little different. The energy was more intense and I could see something deeper was happening. Scout had also come to join us and soon after she layed down groaning under the weight of her very large belly. I watched as Sienna ears went from pinning straight back then flicking forward, her nose crinkled up and she grabbed the ground with her teeth and bit down hard gripping the earth like this for sometime. I turned to watch Rich whilst this was happening and he was sat in a meditative space, eyes closed with tears rolling down his cheeks. This soon passed for both of them and they went into a more peaceful space. I laid back listening to Scouts heavy breathing and looked up into the sky. I noticed a beautiful wedgetail eagle gliding in a circle directly above us.

I spoke to Rich about the experience soon after and he said he felt Sienna was releasing alot of grief. It was a truly beautiful moment.

More on Scout in my next entry!