I AM a teacher of Horse and a teacher of Spirit.
There have been many, many horses that have impacted the evolution of who I am, and how I now come to this work. But there are two horses that definitely stand out as I think about the impact they have all had.
Loui
Loui’s part in shaping my growth and evolution, and how I come to the horses was huge. He came to me at a time when I was contemplating what was next for me around my horse endeavors. His owner was desperate to find help, as Loui was a rescue, who came with many dangerous, physical and emotional components. I was their last hope and I agreed to take Loui on. Underneath Loui’s tough, angry exterior, I saw a horse with the kindest eyes and the biggest heart! He desperately needed and was asking for my help. We connected right away.
Before Loui came to me I had experienced my intuition kicking in here and there with the horses, but Loui definitely reached out to me in a way I had not been so conscious of before. He caused me to take the possibility of allowing my intuition to surface in my work with the horses seriously. Loui and I played with this intuitive connection and it became a game that is now a very important pillar of my education process with horses and humans.
Rowdy
My boy Rowdy, and I were together for 22 years. I would love to tell you and myself that it was a love story, a fairytale between horse and human. Like it’s supposed to be… Right? Girl meets horse, they look deep into each other’s eyes, horse joins up and follows her off into the sunset, and they live happily ever after. Now I don’t want to be a ‘Debbie downer’ here because my whole world is based on seeing things in a positive light, but with Rowdy and I, it was a completely different-looking story.
Rowdy was purchased from a show barn, where he barely saw the light of day. His proud new owners were very good friends of mine. Rowdy promptly thanked them by gifting one of them with a trip to the nearest hospital after he had excitedly saddled up his new steed and tried to ride him outside.
Rowdy came to live with me shortly after that, and I was going to fix him! You can just imagine how well that went from the beginning. I was still working around becoming enlightened when it came to working with the horses… So rowdy and I started butting heads from the beginning. Every time he spun, and ran away with me, or spooked and ran me over, or dumped me, I took it personally and assumed it had something to do with my value as a human and a horse trainer. (He did teach me to be a better-balanced rider, however!)
I am smiling as I write this, because when I think of all the examples of how he educated me instead of the other way around, there is not enough room on this page to share them all. I think I need to write a book on all the lessons Rowdy taught me over 22 years. how to become my best self, how to totally be in a relationship with another with no expectations. How to unconditionally love and understand another being for who they truly are. How to recognize courage and how to truly define that courage. That my best, his best, was different on different days and in different situations and applaud that best effort. He taught me how to stand in my power and set boundaries around my space and energy, and that it was OK and necessary to do that. He reminded me over and over again, that if I would look at these situations differently, see the golden thread in each of these things that seemed to be problems, the solution would become very clear. I could go on and on with examples of how he helped to expand my world and grow me. Ultimately, he taught me that my responsibility and purpose as his owner/trainer/ partner was not to fix or change him. My part in the relationship was to learn from him, accept who he was, and encourage the blossoming of the next best version of himself and truly listen to what he needed me to hear and understand. To help him feel safe and supported by learning to be his confident gentle leader, as we revealed in the magic and joy that began to unfold on our journey together.
There was nothing better for the inside of this grateful, appreciative woman, than the inside and outside of this beautiful, wise, sometimes frustrating, but always there for me, in ways I didn’t always understand, Arabian horse.
Thank You Rowdy….I Love you to the moon!
