A few days ago Jesse and I engaged in our daily grooming routine … as I tried to get as much of his shedding fur off his entire body, he turned his body any which way to have me scratch his two favorite spots … the belly right underneath the flank, and his right shoulder.

After about 30 minutes my arm was getting tired, my right shoulder started to complain, a slow burning sensation crept in. I was ready to stop the brushing and start the hanging.

Yet, every time I stopped Jesse nudged me with increasing intensity. When I moved away he followed me, placing me right back where he wanted to be scratched. Slightly irritated that we couldn’t “just be”, that I had to continue “to do” if I wanted to be near him, I asked him silently what this obsession of me brushing him was all about? Like lightening speed an answer popped into my mind “I can’t roll!” 

Ohhhh, that made so much sense. All the other horses were rolling on and off throughout the day, rubbing the itchy spots caused by the loosening winter coat. Jesse, due to his age (35), his size (2,000 lbs.) and a former hip injury can’t roll. He does lie down, but only on one side, his left.

Thanks to a series of Flowtrition body treatments, his right hip is 90% better, but he is not confident that it will support him getting up. In short, scratching his right side while on the ground, or rolling, is not an option for Jesse.

Armed with this new insight I humbly mumbled “I will be your roller”, switched the brush into my left hand and kept on brushing … as you can see, much to his delight.

I want to share a follow-up on the last blog. A few days after my visit, I checked in with my client to see how she and the two horses were doing.
Here is what the client shared:

" ... the next day after I saw you, my sister Cara and I went to barn; the first thing I noticed was that Grace (the mare) was not standing immediately next to Cruiser like a magnet, as she has done since we moved to this barn. 
She was across the paddock. I felt that was a good thing. I took Cruiser out of pasture because his chiropractor was coming, Cara stayed with Grace just sitting with her. 

After the chiro left, a woman who does Reiki on horses drove up to the barn. She worked on Cruiser the previous week after his fall and he had just soaked it up, stood there quietly for about 45 minutes periodically releasing stuff.  She offered to work on Cruiser again which was so nice, and we were going to have her do Reiki on Grace after  that.  
When the woman started Reiki on Cruiser he wasn't quite as interested as last time.  He seemed to be more focused on Grace.  So we quit after a few minutes and put him and Grace back in the round pen together so Grace could receive some Reiki.  She stood so quietly, soaking it up.  Cara and I sat on the ground next to her in the pen, Cruiser stood right next to us all too.  I think he had wanted this for ‘his girl’.  I realized all of us were focused on Grace, and that she had never ever been the center of such loving attention. 

As I saw this, I wondered what she was feeling at that moment; it was love, the feeling of being the recipient of love; it seemed not a common thing for her.  As I recognized this, Cruiser put his nose on my head and nuzzled my hat. 
The Reiki went on for a long while; eventually, I started feeling that maybe it was finishing up, and though the practitioner thought so too, she kept her hands on Grace’s side, maybe sort of waiting for things to wind down.  Then Cruiser went over and deliberately nudged her hands; he stood back a moment and when she didn't move them he politely did that again.  Throughout this Grace was standing still quite contentedly. 
When the practitioner still didn't move her hands, Cruiser went to Grace’s flank, nuzzled it carefully and gave a deliberate and polite little nip and with that Grace stepped away.  It seemed that he had concluded the Reiki was complete and if the practitioner didn't respond to his notification he would tell his horse friend to respond.
Us 3 humans stood around in the pen talking for awhile as the horses strolled around.  Then Cruiser pointedly walked over to Cara and touched her. It caught my attention and I asked her what she had just been thinking at that moment.  She said she had been thinking that the horses were probably ready to go back into their pasture.  So, we readily responded to Cruiser’s cue and took them back.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled reading that e-mail.
It took so little to allow for so much.
By gifting Grace with some attention, the three women received a beautiful glimpse into the healing opportnities available, when good communication is fostered between us and our horses. 

Names and places have been changed to protect the innocent .

Boy, the last week went by so fast.

Among other things, I spent some time in Eastern Mass with a client and her horse.

Following the flow, not her horse but his paddock mate, a Quarterhorse mare, called out to us. She needed some heart to heart connection from my client. So instead of working with her horse, we met the horses where the horses were and brought both with us into the round pen. I wish you could have seen how the mare lit up. Her owner does not hang out or play with her. Usually, they groom and ride.
My client on the other hand, does a lot of fun stuff with her gelding ... keenly observed by the mare.

This time she got to join in on the fun. I have never seen such glee in the mare's eyes. We did not much, we relaxed in the round pen, and my client encouraged both horses to connect with her at liberty. She had some beautiful connections with both horses, together and individually, and we felt the mare really enjoyed this new adventure.

Once we had completed our work, my client decided she would invite the mare more often to connect with her. We discussed, to create Mindful Connections they don't ever need to leave the paddock. She can offer her a little scratch, gently brush through her mane, or simply sit with her while the mare eats. In less than 10 minutes much can be accomplished for this sweet horse looking to connect heart to heart.

In preparation for some upcoming projects I have upped the awareness ante with my herd.
Trying to gather as many examples to build Mindful Connections, I want to share a few opportunities I came across in the last few days.

Tonight I approached Shana’s stall door with a heavy bag of shavings under my arm. Her head hung through the opening in the door. I asked Shana to step back so I could let her out of her stall, she hesitated, and instead of stepping back she stretched forward to sniff the bulky thing under my arm. I took a breath, waited, let her smell it, took another breath, and without further ado she stepped back so I could open the door. Don’t think they did not hear you in the first place.

My friend Amy once told me that it is a good practice to comb your horse's mane, tail and forelock with the metal comb you see in the picture. She explained that a lot of energy gets swirled up in the horse's long hair. Every tail swoosh is a signal to another horse, every neck swing is a communication tool that expresses energy ... “move over”, and can also be a sign that energy was received ... “can’t believe you made me”.

It reminded me of my riding lessons as a child in Germany. Before each ride we had to take care of the horse's tail through something called “verlesen”. “Verlesen” meant that we had to separate the tail hair by hair, and when I say’ hair by hair’, I mean’ hair by hair’. By the end of the process the tail was a wondrous, bushy, gleaming, swiftly moving part of the horse. What is great about the German tradition as well as Amy’s suggestion … you bond with your horse. Grooming is a time to connect, to check in, to test one another’s moods. And despite it being called a pulling comb, is does not pull hair out when you comb. It combs nicely, especially when used in conjunction with Cowboy Magic.

Yesterday I went out into the pasture where 4 of our 6 horses were finishing off some hay. They raised their heads as they saw me coming. When I got close enough I said “hi guys” and parked myself 10 feet away against the fence.
They watched me, I watched them.
Two and a half started to come over. I say two and a half because Cutter and Shana inititated the walk-over, and our Mini Kerrie came along because Shana went.

Once they had arrived at my fencepost I could see that Cutter, our herd leader, was exhausted. His eyes were half shut, his head was hanging a bit lower than normal, low energy all the way around. 
Our other mare, Kaylaa, is in heat and Cutter has been following her, circling her, fending for her, and worrying about her for days. I put my hand on his forehead and said “Oh sweetie, what a hard job you have, taking care of the herd, caring for your girl, you are exhausted.” And, as if he knew that I knew, he lifted his head and placed it gently on my right shoulder to take a cat nap.

The next Mindful Connection is right around the corner. Keep all your senses open.

We had another wonderful workshop at Blue Star Equiculture. Again, incredible people showed up. Horse owners, horse lovers, horse massage therapists, Reiki practitioners. Such a blessing.

My impression is that people are really ready for a shift. Ready to connect in ways that aren't taught, because they don't need to be taught. We all have it in us, the ability to build a mutually satisfying relationship with our horses. We did it when we were young. We did not think about it, we loved and they loved back. As adults we think about things too much, Thinking gets in the way of loving.

I sense that a lot of the people interested in my message are just simply looking for a head nod, for an affirmation, a kindred soul. After that ... they are off running. 

One example is this beautiful video created by Shelley, one of the Blue Star Equiculture volunteers. A few days after the first workshop I got an e-mail from Shelley: "Your workshop inspired me do something I have wanted to for along time- express my love for my horses! I made a video about their journey to me."

Please join me in watching this wonderful love letter/video she created in honor of her horses. In honor of all horses.