Emma and I often talk together about this life path we currently share and the wonder of it.  We feel blessed to have one another in what would otherwise frequently feel like a lonely, isolated journey for us individually.

Emma’s journey is to understand and follow an approach to horsemanship that is based on a strong spiritual relationship with her horses; a connection that employs no force, no restraints, no punishment, no physical or emotional pain for either horse or human. Emma’s desire is to rejoice in the innate beauty of this powerful equine shaman who can teach her the glory of relationship with animals and, therefore, with humans.  Because traditional horsemanship and people in the horse industry typically endorse such activities as horseback riding, jumping, dressage, racing, polo, etc., and the incumbent force associated with these sports, Emma finds herself mostly alone in her equine pursuits.  She must seek out and travel to the few mentors available who share and practice her horsemanship beliefs to help her grow in her relationship with her horses, Freedom (aka Saoirs – Seer-sha) and Emmy.  She has been fortunate in this pursuit to find wonderfully spiritual teachers.

My journey is to be able to create and share meaningful stories through filmmaking.  This comes at a time in my life when nearly all of my peers are looking upon retirement as the next phase of their lives.  I am 60 years old.  Shouldn’t I also be thinking about relaxing into my senior years?  My role model was a mother who was still teaching piano when she died in a car accident at the age of 92 – really!  As a result, I see at least 30 more years within which to pursue my bliss!  So, about 18 months ago, I discovered the joy of storytelling through film in a video class at the Computer Career Institute at Johns Hopkins University.  I created Crabtowne Productions http://www.crabtowne.com/ last year, and following the making of my first short film “My Friend Joan: A Conversation,” I began working with Emma on “Freedom’s Choice.”  http://www.freedomschoicethemovie.com/ She and her horses are a joy to be around!  I must, however, walk this new path without daily professional partners to support me.  Everything I need to learn, I must seek out on my own.  Like Emma, I have been blessed in finding what I need thus far, and along with Emma, we are moving forward in this new and exciting venture…together.

Last night I finished reading The Horses of Proud Spirit, a true story by Melanie Sue Bowles, founder and owner, along with her husband Jim, of the Poud Spirit Horse Sanctuary in Mena, Arkansas.  http://www.horsesofproudspirit.com 

What beautiful, soulful, and heart-touching stories unfold as Melanie reveals the spiritual path she and these horses follow to Proud Spirit.  I did not want the book to end!  Thank Goodness there is a sequel, Hoof Prints:  More Stores from Proud Spirit, which I can’t wait to read! 

I can strongly recommend The Horses of Proud Spirit to everyone who loves animals.  http://www.horsesofproudspirit.com/books.html  Treat yourself!

I recently spent a beautiful afternoon in the pasture interviewing Emma about her horses, Freedom and Emmy.  It was the first time we had tried to record a formal interview in that open environment and that would include the horses in the footage.

I came all prepared with my questions, my checklists, and what seemed like tons of gear that had to be hauled from the car through the extensive stables, across the paddock, and up a hill in the pasture where the horses like to graze.  My friend and photographer, Debbie McArthur, was with Emma and me and graciously took some very nice photos of our adventure.

Below are some of those photos.  I will be posting a video clip of our experience as soon as I can get it completed.  In the clip you will see that Emma’s horses have a mind of their own

Here is a YouTube clip of portions of the most recent interview I conducted with Emma.

Emma on YouTube

A lot has happened since our last post here. For starters, Emma bought another horse in the early Spring. Her name is Emmy.  

Great Big Teddy Bear!

She is a great BIG lovable sweetheart. Emmy and Freedom have become best of friends. I’ll let Emma tell you all about Emmy and her personality in one of her posts.

Emma moved Emmy, Freedom, and herself to a new home late this Spring in Southern Anne Arundel County. The horses have more room to play and Emma is living there on the farm with them so she can be with them all the time. They are all loving this beautiful new location. 

After a very wet Spring, a very hot Summer, and numerous distractions, we are back to doing some actual filming for “Freedom’s Choice”. A couple of weeks ago we taped a “formal” interview with Emma that will serve in the storyline of “Freedom’s Choice”. Here are a few pictures taken while we were setting up.

Camera, Lights, Sound!!

 

Makeup!

 

 

 

Beautiful Emmma

A Natural!

 

 

 

In addition to working regularly with Freedom, Emma also teaches non-traditional horsemanship and the techniques she employs in Freedom’s training to interested students.  Young equine lover Benah sought out Emma as a horsemanship teacher after learning of her techniques from a friend and following her own disappointment with traditional horse riding lessons.

Even at her young age, Benah realized the horsemanship techniques she was being taught in her riding lessons just didn’t feel right to her.  She did not want to inflict any pain on these beautiful animals, yet was instructed to use force applied with the bit, the reins, her feet and legs, and the whip to control the horse.  She couldn’t bring herself to use these pain-driven techniques to get the horse to follow her lead, so quit the lessons and gave up the idea of learning to ride.

When Benah first started her lessons with Emma last Fall, Emma was using training techniques with Freedom that she had learned in her own natural horsemanship training.  In this first video clip, Emma is teaching Benah how to establish her leadership role with Freedom and maintain control of the grooming using some natural horsemanship techniques. 

Emma instructs Benah in the use of the rope halter attached with a lead.  While not painful like a bit, the rope halter has knots on either side that, when exercised, put pressure on Freedom’s cheek.  Freedom follows Benah’s direction to “back up” due to this pressure.  Benah also lets Freedom know it’s not okay to push her around and she must have Freedom’s complete attention before leading her from the barn.

The second video clip is a continuation outside of the training session started in the barn using natural horsemanship techniques.  Emma is teaching Benah how to get Freedom’s attention and follow her direction even when Freedom really would prefer to graze and just do her own thing.

Using the lead as an extension of her arm, Emma shows Benah how to encourage Freedom to keep her attention on Benah with the driving of the lead at Freedom’s hind quarters.  Benah is a quick learner and is obviously pleased when Freedom responds appropriately without Benah having to cause her any pain.

This third video clip was captured this winter after Freedom had moved to her new, more open stable, and Emma had begun to follow horsemanship techniques involving no force, not even with the use of the rope halter or lead driving.  The entire relationship between human and horse had now become voluntary with Freedom choosing to interact with Emma and Benah.  Emma is teaching Benah companion walking with Freedom without using any force.

At the start of the clip, Emma is using a cordeo with Freedom – a very loose rope that is draped around Freedom’s chest as a guide for Freedom to “hear” what Emma wants her to do.  There is no force, no pressure.  When Benah tries to put the cordeo on Freedom, Freedom refuses. As a result, and based on Emma’s new, no-force approach to horse training, the cordeo is not used.  Freedom gets to decide to companion walk with Benah because she wants to, not because she is asked with the cordeo. 

It was wonderful to watch Emma, Benah, and Freedom as I was capturing this footage.  Emma works with Benah in the same way she works with Freedom – with loving patience.  Benah establishes a relationship with Freedom that is based on love not fear.  Freedom enjoys the companionship and loving attention from her human friends.  Most importantly, seeing these very young people working with Freedom made me realize how readily our children can recognize force and pain with these intelligent, spirited animals – and choose not to participate in it.

Like since before she was born!

That’s Emma’s mom (Annie – yes, the star of my first documentary “My Friend Joan: A Conversation”) and her dad (Bryant).  My feline soul mate, Scooter, is in the infant pouch.  Emma is still in Annie’s tummy!!

Here are a few pictures of Emma snoozing on my shoulder when she was maybe a month old.

At the time, we were joking about all the kitties wanting to be close to her.  It turns out in addition to being a horse lover, Emma has always been quite a kitty fan and owns several today. 

Emma will probably faint when she sees the photos of her in our wash tub!!

When she was about six months old, we took her with us on a week-long houseboat trip on Lake Powell in Utah.  She was quite the little trooper!!

I remember going to visit at her home when Emma was young, and she would be absorbed with her extensive Breyer Horse collection.

Guess we arent’ too surprised at her current passion!!

Emma and I know it’s not an accident that we are together right now as we both explore new worlds – her, non-traditional horsemanship when her peers are experiencing campus college life, and me, film making when all my peers are looking toward retirement.

We are both engaged in not only new experiences, but ones that very few people we know have pursued.  We are blessed with family and friends who are supportive, but they don’t have the expertise to guide us technically.  We would love to have ready access to people who have been down these paths before and could help us know what to do, answer our daily questions, mentor us up close.

We are fortunate enough to have people at a distance whom we can call upon when we need encouragement.  My Johns Hopkins film instructor has been available whenever I’ve needed him, and Emma relies upon her Nevzorov seminar leaders in Canada for support.

So, Emma and I embrace our new paths day-by-day and provide encouragement to each other, knowing that the Universe will provide what we need to grow into the people we are meant to be!

When we first began capturing footage for “Freedom’s Choice,” I would show up at the barn with my cameras 4 or 5 days a week to shoot Emma as she led Freedom through the paces required to take her from a “green” horse to a “trained” horse.   Typically, these training sessions could include grooming or batheing Freedom in the barn, working at Liberty with Freedom in the nearby pasture and in the round pen, or perhaps training Freedom to allow Emma to ride her.  I was so impressed with Emma’s patient control of Freedom and the loving connection that was beginning to develop between the two of them as the training progressed.

Here’s some rough footage I took of them on November 5th, 2008.

A month later, some dramatic changes have occurred.  Foremost, Emma has decided to experiment with a new horsemanship approach for Freedom based on the Nevzorov Haute Ecole philosophy.  (See Emma’s post on Nevzorov Haute Ecole for more information.)  Freedom has been moved to a more natural environment supporting the approach, and she now gets to choose whether or not she will join with Emma in this new adventure. 

The following footage taken on December 6, 2008, just one month later, demonstrates Freedom’s ability to  now make her own choices about engaging with humans.

As you can see, Freedom engages and disengages, eats, visits with neighbors, and takes a siesta – WHEN SHE CHOOSES.  So Emma and I show up and wait for Freedom’s choice.  The humans are not in charge!

(That’s Barbara Johnson Freedom is loving on, our wonderful photographer and friend.)