Hello All,

For my recent school project at Goddard I have decided to try my hand at photography. Obviously the only thing worth taking photos of are my beautiful girls…

Thought you all might enjoy seeing some of these.

EmmySaoirse In Motion

Saoirse and Maggie

Emmy Dark and Dirty

Emmy and Saoirse Fading into White....

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright coined the phrase “organic architecture.” Today we may think of organic architecture as a structure made from organic or “green” materials but Wright meant something different. “Determining form by the way of the nature of the materials…” Wright believed that architecture should not stand out or interrupt nature, but be constructed in such a manner to appear as if it was molded straight from the earth and belonged in its chosen setting. Wright’s goal was to create a structure that would compliment and flourish in nature and not destroy or diminish it. In a similar way, humans can combine with the horse to become stronger, wilder, more beautiful as a whole than either parts were alone and neither damage or destroy the horse.

We have approached the horse in the past much in the way some architects approach the construction of a building. Alter/ignore the landscape and build something new. As humans, we sometimes forge blindly ahead, making changes and imposing our desires onto anything we come across. It can be argued that humans evolved to effect, influence, and change our environment in order to further our own development. This “programming,” unfortunately, can sometimes lead us to thoughtless and uncoordinated actions.

We are powerful beings; we have only to look around at our earth to see the immense impact we have had on the world. As our species grows, often we start to look at other creatures on this planet in terms of how “they” will fit in with “us.” Although this has become something of a necessity in terms of preserving the life and land of the earth in an ever-changing world, it can also be a path of thoughtlessness, especially when we forget to look at creatures other than ourselves as unique and important in their own right.

In order for Frank Lloyd Wright to create the beautiful and harmonious buildings that he did, he had to first observe the landscape, the essence of his environment. During the construction of his masterpiece Falling Water in 1934, he spent numerous hours walking in the forest and wading in the river of the site that eventually became incorporated into that magnificent home. Instead of replacing what nature had already constructed, Wright enhanced what was already there.

Horses, As They Are

In this way we should approach many of our endeavors, and especially when being with horses. So much of what we call “horsemanship” is essentially the dissection and removal of the horse’s innate and powerful nature. We are drawn to horses for their mystique, their power, their beauty, yet through our “training” we, step- by-step, dismantle the horse’s wild soul, replacing it with something hollow and lifeless.

We are both attracted to and afraid of nature. The power of the ocean, the swiftness of the wind, the scorching of the sun, and the darkness of the forest excites us, yet within that excitement is a sense of fear, a lack of control and influence that makes us uneasy. We struggle with this in nature because we struggle with it in ourselves. We are aware of the dark, nameless power inside of us which we experience as both electrifying and deadly.

Our immediate reaction to this fear is to deny it, to control and contain it with all of our abilities. So as we approach the horse, aware of its great power and ability, we struggle to both obtain and destroy it.

We may learn to allow nature, both that of the horse and of ourselves, to flourish. We may accept and incorporate the power within us, allowing the force of the oceans, the winds, the sun, and the darkness to surge throughout our beings without destroying us. In this way we can become one with the horse by encouraging and complimenting his nature instead of destroying it.

If we step outside our doors with the eye of Frank Lloyd Wright, seeing the world for what it is and how we can enhance or become part of what is already there, we will become less critical of ourselves and others for what is innately part of us. We will grow more observant, more aware of beauty within and without, allowing ourselves to become whole and creative with all things.

Emmy Observing Her Surroundings

Happy New Year Everyone.

I wanted to write a quick post and give you an update on the upcoming projects to keep an eye out for.  I am currently in the process of launching my own website for my emerging practice as a Equine Facilitated Human Growth Practitioner. I will post the URL here on the Freedom’s Choice blog as soon as the website is up and ready.  Also writing on ‘the book’ is progressing fabulously with this January taking me into the realm of digital photography and editing.

Saoirse and Emmy are doing wonderfully.  Our sessions together could not be better, and they are proving to be wonderful teachers for my friends and clients.

Joan and I have put a pause on filming during these cold winter weeks but will begin again fresh when spring starts to arrive.

Thanks again to all of you who read the blog and support Joan’s and my purpose.  May this New Year bring success and fulfillment to all.

-Em

Some Nights, hearing her outside

I think that she is to earth

What I am to her,

Belonging.

-Linda Hogan

            We are directly connected to nature.  We came out of nature, evolving like the rest of our animal relations out of and into the earth.  We depend on nature to survive, to give us oxygen to breath, food to feast upon, and space to live.  In this was we are part of it. 

            We are also reflected by nature.  Through observing the natural world, witnessing death and birth, violence and compassion, intimacy and independence, and all that lies between we see ourselves in nature.  All that takes place in the world of the animals and plants takes place in our human world.  In a way all of nature is inside of us.

            The Celts believed that our soul is expressed in nature. That all which dwells in the natural world is part of us and we are part of it.

            “Try this the next time some natural scene of beauty or power pulls you towards it. It might be a radiant sun-set, the stars on a vary clear, cold night, a great expanse of beach with waves rolling over mossy stones. Close your eyes and continue to see the scene, and realize that the pull it has on you is coming from within you as much as from without” (Cowan, 4).

            If we are from nature, reflected in nature, and of nature then we are always connected to the earth and to one another.  We are never alone. We are always whole.

            As we have continued to evolve we have stepped further and further away from nature.  Our dependency upon nature becomes more obscure, many of us are not surrounded by wilderness anymore, and we forget that we are not alone. 

            Many of us search for a path to lead us back to a feeling of wholeness.  We are separated from nature. Separated from ourselves and separated from one another. 

            One way in which we can begin to know ourselves again is through contacting nature.  Being with animals, being with horses, is a direct connection with nature.  The horse is an example of nature in all her spender: Powerful, compassionate, wild, and wise the horse can lead us back to our oneness with nature. 

            We are connected to the horse.  We both came out of nature, evolving to live and grow on the earth.  We have depended on the horse, as our civilization developed the horse carried us over mountains, through great battles, and helped us cultivate our agricultural and spiritual practices.  We are reflected by the horse.  Every movement with our body, thought of our mind, feeling of our heart is sensed and interpreted by the horse, showing us who we really are.

            As we have continued to evolve the horse has become forgotten. No longer a necessity it has been degraded and underappreciated, used in pleasure and competition, the magnificence, wild nature of the horse is reduced and discarded.

            By learning to honor the nature in the horse, we can learn to honor that nature in us.  By cultivating a relationship with a horse we may learn to be authentic and whole with ourselves, with our fellow beings, and with nature. 

You will grow, laugh, cry

And we will celebrate each change you live.

You will grow strong like the horses of your past.

You will grow strong like the horses of your birth.

-Luci Tapahonso

Bibliography

Cowan, Tom. Yearning for the Wind: Celtic Reflections on Nature and the Soul.

Museum of American Indian. Song for the Horse Nation; Horses in Native American Cultures

As some of you may know I have been enrolled in Goddard College’s Individualized BA program for the last three years.  My work thus far has been completely centered around my life with the horses, using this interest as a platform to approach culture, history, science, communication, spirituality, and human behavior.  I have now embarked on my senior year, which in the Goddard curriculum centers around a specific “senior project”. 

For this senior project I have decided to focus on a thesis topic;  Why are we as humans in this present time facing a way of life which is often disconnected from our authentic selves and from nature?  What are the components of this problem and how can horses lead us to a more integrated life?  

The parts of this exploration, other then writing and reading, will be a photography book (yes, I’m going to try and struggle through photography) with photos of my horses accompanied by 1 to 5 page essays dealing with the topics of history, equine anatomy, mythology, and other aspects of the human horse relationship.  My hope with this book is to create something that makes my work over the last two (soon to be three) years accessible to the reader.  No one is going to sit down and read a 100 page thesis, right?  So lets combine the power of imagery with the written word and see if we can inspire readers to think.

The other component of my senior project, with the hope that we can reach viewers in a gentle, inspiring, and hopefully thought provoking way, is the documentary film at who’s blog you are now reading this post.

Horses are powerful, both in their physical manifestations and as symbols. I invite you to continue on this path with me to see how deeply we can dive into the transformative magic of the horse.

Hello Blog Readers!

It has been a long time sense my last entry and Joan did a nice job of updating you to our latest projects on her last post.  

I am currently in Denmark attending a compact schooling course with horse specialist, and as I’m learning, life specialist, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling (http://www.hempfling.com/).  I arrived here on the 5th of September and will continue here for a three week period until the 28th of Sept.  

My fellow students and I (about 25, all women except for one) just finished out first section of the course titled “Spiritual Awareness” and will continue in the next weeks to cover “Body Awareness,” “The Art of Lunging,” and “The Art of Riding.”  

Klaus is an extremely gifted story teller, weaving the tales of mythology, history, and spiritual essence of our ancestors into a compelling explanation for “the way things are.”  He deals with why we struggle with horses, with our daily lives, and with our own goals and development.  He teaches about “being,” coming back to nature, and cultivating an authentic self through honesty and the pursuit of knowledge.  This course already has been, and I am confident will continue to be, a life altering experience.

I will be writing another work packet for Goddard College (the first of my now senior semester) on this course experience and will be sure to post it when it is finished so that you the readers can get a better sense of where this journey is taking my horses and I.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment and ask questions!

Keeping her Healthy

Whenever I have those moments of “What the Heck am I doing out here with this horse!?” I remember the horse that presented herself to me in the first few months of Freedom and Mines acquaintance.  

Freedom was the typical “herd bound” (meaning completely focused and dependent on other horses) mare who didn’t trust humans and would become extremely agitated when taken away from her equine companions.  She was a “screamer”, making the most high pitched wailing noises when taken outside of her comfort zone.  When in these states of mind she was barely manageable.  

The distress she was feeling was obvious and the agitation was contagious.  Part of her daily routine was to be left in a paddock by herself, screaming and pacing as she watched the other horses play together in the big pasture.  She wasn’t to be let out until she could stand quietly. Learning that safety and comfort could be found on her own.  

Daily Grooming

There were many different things I did with Freedom in order to clam her mind and “get her attention on me.”  Things began to change quickly.  Yet now I question my insistence on her conforming to the standards of behavior I expected of her.  

Her behavior now is completely different than it was when we first met one another, but I do not know if I attribute this to the efforts I went to in the first months of her training, or because I no longer find her behavior objectionable, but natural and right for her species.  I also no longer see it as my job to “fix” her and confront all of her fears so she will be a better trail horse.  Instead I listen, and respect what she’s trying to tell me. I try to make the environment she lives in as peaceful and comfortable as possible and carry that into our time together.  

Freedom and One of her Equine Friends

I haven’t seen that insecure mare since we moved to our current stable here in Annapolis. This is not to say Freedom is not expressive, sometimes “up”, and wanting to be with her equine friends.  Yet, it seems to me there is less of an urgency about her attitudes, and I now look at theses things as aspects of her personality, which over time will shift and change as she comes into her own and realizes there is nothing to stand in her way, least of all myself.

From spending too much time in her stall at our previous facility, and not having enough pasture time in fields without mud, Saoirse has developed a nasty case of thrush.  My farrier, who is an extremely intelligent, gentle, and knowledgeable man has instructed me to pick her feet out every other day, pour vinegar into her frogs, and apply this clay-like substance “Uptie” into the crevices of the frog. Last but not least, I am to apply a hoof shaped piece of paper to allow the clay time to dry before getting dirt into it. Though this process on its own is a little daunting, the added difficulty of Saoirse’s strong aversion to having her feet worked with has proven to be a challenge.

My method as been to bring her into her stall, letting her be at Liberty, as I gently and reassuringly take my time with conducting the above process.  My farrier, who has been working with Saoirse since she was a baby, has told me some difficult stories about bad experiences Saoirse has had with having her feet ferried, so I am not tempted to become irritated with her, but am taking my time and being as compassionate to her needs as I can be.

I am proud to report in only a week her anxieties about her feet have greatly diminished!  When I did her feet on Saturday she stood relatively quietly, only moving about the stall a few times to avoid me picking her feet.  I am heading over to the barn now to do another treatment and have hopes she will be even more relaxed this time.

I had a very interesting experience the other day when I put the halter on Saoirse for the first time since moving her to her new home.  She immediately became submissive, head down, calm and easy steps by my side as I led her to her stall to try and pick her hooves.  Instead of being impressed at the well-mannered nature of my horse as I would have been previous to my training in Canada, I was appalled and slightly sickened by the lack of expression on her face.  Since the move to her new facility, Saoirse has become vibrant, alive, and more “horse like”.  I like her spirit, and do not ever want to engage in techniques that will take that away from her in order to make her more “useful” to me.  When I say “spirit” I do not mean she is wild or unsafe, but myself and others who have know her before and after I’ve been applying these new principles to our interactions, have noted a difference in her demeanor which actually makes her more approachable. It’s the difference between “teaching” her to want to be with me, and allowing her to choose to be with me.  It sets the stage for an entirely different attitude from the horse.

The first few weeks in the new facility have been rewarding.  Saoirse has settled in beautifully and has become fast friends with her new stable mate.  I have been taking my time, engaging Saoirse in play. This often consists of me trying to keep up as she gallops with joy through her new open fields.  Turning to look at me when she stops with a quizzical look of, “why didn’t you keep up?”  Sometimes she’ll take off and if i don’t follow, she’ll do an entire lap around the field and come right back to where I’m standing pleased with herself and ready for praise from Mom. 

I have also become aware of how much she loves to be brushed with one particular Oster main and tail brush I have.  I think with her winter coat (which is remarkably bushy) the long hard bristles of the main and tail brush must scratch in just the right places.  For this grooming ritual she’ll stand quietly without eating.  Another reason I have been using this brush is because my other two Oster brushes have mysteriously disappeared.  I left them in the field and my friend whose gelding lives at the barn with Saoirse told me she brought them back and set them on the trashcan (which I might mention is in reach of Saoirse from over the side of her stall).  I haven’t seen the brushes since.