Talking with the Animals

Why this secret of the joy of animals was not apparent to me until just recently, I'll never know. I'm just glad I finally figured it out!

In the course of a day, twice a day at least, I check in on and feed: 6 chickens, 2 dogs, 11 horses, 1 cockatiel and countless wild birds Eventually Larry and I eat.

It's obvious that animals bond to the person with food. And then there is the bonding that goes beyond the feed dish. There is acknowledgement, communication, friendship, companionship, love, sharing, giving and receiving. Mighty enjoyable.

So, Pippin is in the barn with laminitis. For those of you who do not know, this is a painful condition in horses' feet and if treated at the get-go and treated aggressively, the horse can recover. If not treated properly, the condition worsens and can lame a horse to the point of needing to euthanize. A word we do not care for in these parts.

I heard he had a tough day yesterday while I was gone. He was being shod and he flipped himself over backward in cross-ties (ties that connect to a post in the barn and to the sides of his halter.) It could have been the pain of having nails pounded into his feet. Normally, this is painless, but with the inflammation and pain of laminitis, we can only imagine it is not comfortable.

A double-edged sword. The shoes are critical to helping his feet heal.

So, when I got back, I stopped in to the barn to check on him. His face is all scratched up from the flip, his hind is scratched, his side too. He came to the stall door to greet me and show me his wounds.

I said, "Pippin, are you feeling better? Tell me what hurts."

Pippin backed up to the back of the stall, looked at me with focused eyes and in an alternating fashion, he lifted first his left leg, then his right, then his left again and again his right. He walked back up to me and we just cuddled.

He knows I'm there to care for him and help him. I added 3 more bags of pine shavings to give even more cushion to his stall floor.

Today, I was in the dry lot with my boys, Tripper and Alibi, scooping up their poop. They were walking around as they do, following me, nudging me hello, walking off.

Tripper came up to me, smelled the poop bucket I was filling and walked to the side of it. I looked at him and said, "Are you going to poop right there?" He pooped, right there. After he finished, I thanked him for making it so easy for me to pick up and he walked back from where he came.

Oh, the stories are adding up. The greatest thing is to believe and recognize how animals communicate with us. They are not just receiving whatever we send their way. And if you pay attention and listen with your eyes, heart, energy field, ears, hands, smell, even tasting the dust off their face when you kiss them, you will hear them.

It's not always easy to clear everything else out of their incoming communication path, but when you can, the message is loud and clear.

Wisdom Worth Pondering

"Your good habits help you in ordinary and familiar situations but not suffice to guide you when a new problem arises. Then discrimination is necessary.

Man is not an automaton, and therefore cannot always live wisely by simply following set rules and rigid moral precepts. In the great variety of daily problems and events, we find scope for the development of good judgment."

-----Paramahansa Yogananda, "Sayings of Paramahansa Yogananda"

Happy Birthday Tripper

So much time has passed since my last blog. A crashed hard drive, new computer, printer isn't compatible, itunes not backed up... I have been computer-phobic for a while.

Today is Tripper's birthday. So, all the bad computer poo poo must be pushed aside so I can post his photo and write a bit about him.

Tripper is my Quarter Horse and he is 21 years old today. A Taurus for sure. And a sweet sweet horse.

He was here at the ranch when we arrived a year and a half ago. He was in a dry lot with several other horses, one of them the alpha mare who was relentless in her attacks on him. She would chase him from food and water, bite him, kick at him, she would seek him out and separate him from the group.

His coat looked mangy and dull. He was missing hair all over from being bit. He was in pain when he walked from aging bones and the winter cold. His eyes were sad and his spirit broken. The ranch owners (not his owner) said it was likely he wouldn't survive that winter.

It couldn't be. I moved Tripper from the dry lot to a pasture in front of my house. Larry and I showered him with attention and love and positive energy. We brought in another horse, Slammer, who is everyone's friend to give him a little company and a feeling of safety in numbers.

As spring came around and the grass started greening, Tripper ate up the sweet growth giving him the protein and carbs he desperately needed. We watched him get stronger and stronger as the weeks went by.

I groomed him regularly and his coat began to fill in and shine. I worked him in the round pen to regain his strength and reestablish a sense of purpose and pride in his accomplishments.

His owners came to visit one day and walked straight past him calling out toward the dry lot "Tripper!" "Tripper!" Tripper walked up to the fence in response and watched as this couple continued walking, not recognizing their revitalized horse.

After a series of events, not necessary to explain, they decided to sign Tripper over to me as his new owner. I received his papers--which are very interesting to read. This was this past January.

The ranch owners saw him a couple of months back and said, "He is a completely different horse. He has gained at least 5 years on his life." Of course, I look forward to more than 5 years.

Tripper is now healthy, steady, confident, happy, proud, willing and a real love. We have a great time together be it in the round pen, grooming, or just walking around picking up poop in the separate dry lot he shares with Alibi (another story!)

So today, when he turned 21, I had to give thanks and celebrate. I love having him as my horse. I look forward to going out to see him several times a day. I get so excited when he learns something new, even at his age, and I admire his pride when he recognizes what he's done. And I thank him for trusting me to care for him. We both won big.

Tonight he got his evening bucket of barley and oats and glucosamine, with a special topping of many many chopped orange circles. His own birthday carrot cake.

Happy Birthday Tripper!