I'm sure I've got another blog post with this title, as energy is just so much of what we do with horses. It's something horses rely on to sense if there's danger, or what they should be feeling based on the energy they sense from their herd mates (or humans).
Yesterday I went out to the barn after a long day at school so that I could meet the farrier. Blondie got her usual front shoes, but Rose got them pulled for the winter, so now she's barefoot! We'll see how that goes. Rose is blessed with very strong feet and legs so I think it'll be fine.
I stood with the girls for the hour while they had their toes taken care of, and led them both back out to the field afterwards. I could have ridden either one of them, but I didn't really feel like it. This realization used to scare me (not FEELING like riding a horse?! What could be wrong with me?!) as I started to feel not very motivated to go to the barn after school started up again. But now I'm content with it. I'm starting to realize that this school year will take up A LOT of my time. I've got twice as much homework, and I'm also twice as motivated to finish the work and learn things because grade 11 is that year that counts.
So all this means not as much horsey time for me. Which is okay. It's true I didn't feel like riding/working on anything yesterday, but I still had a great time with the girls. This is where the title ties in. After letting them back out to the field, I decided I would try experimenting with the energy I could feel coming off of them. So I stood there in the field for awhile, not really asking anything of the girls, just trying to mold myself into their comfortable routine of grazing and acknowledging each other without actually engaging each other.
Once I felt they were comfortable with my being there, I walked up to Rose with the intention just to acknowledge her. I did this by holding my hand out and walking up to her. She raised her head and touched her nose to my hand, and I softly blew air onto her nose, just like horses do when greeting each other (I have written a previous post about this). But I could feel in the greeting that Rose wanted more than to just stand and graze. So I experimented. I said, "Up" in the same tone I use when asking Rose to go into trot on the lunge line, and I sort of jumped up and started running. To my surprise, Rose tossed her head, kicked up her front legs, and started cantering after me. She quickly overtook me, and then I stopped. I thought Rose would keep on cantering for the fun of it, but she slammed on the brakes and turned around once I stopped. So I started backing up, and she trotted after me. I then stopped and we connected again with my hand on her nose.
I said goodbye to her and Blondie and contentedly walked back to the gate.
Playing with this energy is so easy. I never would have thought to try something like this before I found Rose, probably because I didn't really know what this energy was. But spending so much time with a horse who is so expressive and open helped me to learn this silent language a bit better.
It makes me think of all these photos and videos of people doing amazing things with their horses, such as Anna Marciniak from Poland:
Yesterday I went out to the barn after a long day at school so that I could meet the farrier. Blondie got her usual front shoes, but Rose got them pulled for the winter, so now she's barefoot! We'll see how that goes. Rose is blessed with very strong feet and legs so I think it'll be fine.
I stood with the girls for the hour while they had their toes taken care of, and led them both back out to the field afterwards. I could have ridden either one of them, but I didn't really feel like it. This realization used to scare me (not FEELING like riding a horse?! What could be wrong with me?!) as I started to feel not very motivated to go to the barn after school started up again. But now I'm content with it. I'm starting to realize that this school year will take up A LOT of my time. I've got twice as much homework, and I'm also twice as motivated to finish the work and learn things because grade 11 is that year that counts.
So all this means not as much horsey time for me. Which is okay. It's true I didn't feel like riding/working on anything yesterday, but I still had a great time with the girls. This is where the title ties in. After letting them back out to the field, I decided I would try experimenting with the energy I could feel coming off of them. So I stood there in the field for awhile, not really asking anything of the girls, just trying to mold myself into their comfortable routine of grazing and acknowledging each other without actually engaging each other.
Once I felt they were comfortable with my being there, I walked up to Rose with the intention just to acknowledge her. I did this by holding my hand out and walking up to her. She raised her head and touched her nose to my hand, and I softly blew air onto her nose, just like horses do when greeting each other (I have written a previous post about this). But I could feel in the greeting that Rose wanted more than to just stand and graze. So I experimented. I said, "Up" in the same tone I use when asking Rose to go into trot on the lunge line, and I sort of jumped up and started running. To my surprise, Rose tossed her head, kicked up her front legs, and started cantering after me. She quickly overtook me, and then I stopped. I thought Rose would keep on cantering for the fun of it, but she slammed on the brakes and turned around once I stopped. So I started backing up, and she trotted after me. I then stopped and we connected again with my hand on her nose.
I said goodbye to her and Blondie and contentedly walked back to the gate.
Playing with this energy is so easy. I never would have thought to try something like this before I found Rose, probably because I didn't really know what this energy was. But spending so much time with a horse who is so expressive and open helped me to learn this silent language a bit better.
It makes me think of all these photos and videos of people doing amazing things with their horses, such as Anna Marciniak from Poland:
Or Alexander Nevzorov from Russia:
Carolyn Resnick, from California:
Or Klaus Hempfling from Germany:
And many other people around the world who are experimenting, talking to, and building a language with their horse.
For so long, I thought these things I saw people and horses doing together would never be achievable by me. They sat in my head as dreams. But since I've had Rose, I'm experimenting with this energy. Now I understand that all these people I admire are just playing with this energy everyday.
It makes sense, as this is what horses respond to. It also makes sense, as I'm starting to get moments where Rose and I look just like the pictures of these people I admire. We've got a long way to go, but short moments of playing like today in the field are the building blocks for the ultimate goal: a shared language. And all the amazing communication that comes with this language, this understanding between Rose and me.
For so long, I thought these things I saw people and horses doing together would never be achievable by me. They sat in my head as dreams. But since I've had Rose, I'm experimenting with this energy. Now I understand that all these people I admire are just playing with this energy everyday.
It makes sense, as this is what horses respond to. It also makes sense, as I'm starting to get moments where Rose and I look just like the pictures of these people I admire. We've got a long way to go, but short moments of playing like today in the field are the building blocks for the ultimate goal: a shared language. And all the amazing communication that comes with this language, this understanding between Rose and me.