Tag Archives: Nelson

Feb19

trust

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When I first met Nelson, the almost formerly wild Mustang, he did not want to be touched.  He was nervous, and that made me feel nervous, and we did a strange nervous dance for quite a while.  Both of us prickly and alert, sympathetic nervous systems on orange.

I wish I could say that I found a magic key and that suddenly Nelson was easily touchable, but I did not.  What I did find was horse time.  Horse time is biologic, sometimes even geologic.  It does not have to do with any kind of human time measurement.  It has to do with listening and with waiting.

I got very good at waiting.  One day when I came to work with him, Nelson would not let me anywhere near him.  So I sat leaning against the fence for about 2 hours until he finally came close enough to get a treat.  I had a lot of time that day to think about taking that personally.  A lot of time to feel my impatience and what I assumed was my ineptitude.

The real thing that I have learned from Nelson is that if I listen and wait, he gives me everything.  And the lovely thing is that I have also found that to be true about myself.  If I listen and wait, then what I want unfolds and offers itself to me.  All in good horse time.

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Jan30

running with the horse

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Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling is the most beautiful man on or off a horse that I have ever seen. I do not mean “sexiest man alive” beautiful, but lovely in his ability to be with a horse – beautiful in the connection. His work with a horse on the ground is an extraordinary dance improvisation.  His movement is neither predator nor prey, but has a deep, grounded athleticism like a kind of running tai chi.

When I first saw this video (below), I thought how wonderful it would be to be able to run with Nelson, the formerly wild Mustang. So yesterday we went out into the big field and did our walking dance:  me asking him to move around me in a circle and then come back to me.  This is all at liberty, no halter or lead rope and in a six acre field.  Just small hand signals.  So far so good.

Then I  started running.  I wanted him to see me running, but not be afraid.  So I ran away from him.  He looked mystified, but not particularly alarmed.  I walked back to him and petted him, then I ran away again.  This went on for a bit.

Then I said, “OK, you run.”  I have been hesitant to ask him to run because in the past he would run AWAY and then our time together is finished for that day.  But this time he ran, head up, tail flagging, but with one eye on me.  And when I did that little signal with my hand by my side, he circled and came back.  We hung out together and then I asked him to run again.  And again he came back.

I am no Klaus, but I was pretty happy with that dance.  And Nelson seemed pretty happy too.  Two animals working  out together how to go and come back, how to run and be connected.  And all of that makes me a very happy horse dancer.

Here is the master:

Jan15

gather?

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Calico Roundup, Jan 4, 2012. Photo by Mike Lorden.

I read of two BLM “gathers” (the new name for cull) of wild mustangs to take place this month.  Pursuing terrified wild Mustangs with helicopters, pushing them, even knocking them down is not a “gather.”  Nor is driving them into chutes where foals are separated from their mothers, where herds are pulled apart and stallions from competing herds are forced to battle in small enclosures while “cowboys” scream and wave plastic bags at them, increasing their terror and panic.  “Gather” is a poisonous euphemism for what is actually happening.  It is brutality.  On our watch.  Your tax dollars at work.

Laura Leigh of Wild Horse Education has been a witness to many of these ugly culls, and currently has a law suit pending against the BLM for their inhumane handling of the Mustang herds.  You can read more about that here.  This is a longer video taken by Laura on January 5 of this year.

If you have been following my blog, you know about Nelson, the Mustang stallion that I have been working with for the past year. Prior to being rescued from slaughter, this was Nelson’s experience.  It has taken me much of this year to build a relationship with him, because he was so sure that anything connected with a human was nothing he wanted to experience.  Most of these horses are not as lucky as Nelson.  Some are adopted.  Many, especially the older stallions like Nelson, end up on a truck bound for slaughter.  Others stand in holding pens knee deep in feces and mud for months on end.

To me, this is not just a horse issue.  This is about who we are, our essential nature, and how that informs the way that we treat each other and our fellow creatures.  Don’t just stand by.  Let this touch your heart.  Make a call, share this blog post.  Be heard.