Grazing Gratefully
We seem to have turned a corner and there are finally areas starting to show signs of drying out. It is a very uneven process, and the spots that are still wet remain ridiculously saturated and a muddy mess.
We let the herd graze together on fresh grass yesterday! I pounded down the posts for our temporary fence to the desired depth, and when the ground around them dries out, it will be like they were cast in cement. 
With the posts ready, I was able to string up ribbon fence lines that will be electrified, but not before I first had to fix a connection on the existing fence.
I found a splice that wasn’t sufficiently crimped. While I was troubleshooting the problem, I had Legacy’s full support. I’m pretty sure he sensed I was on a project that would lead to him getting access to better grazing. He stood front and center on the spot where I focused my attention.
I wish I could have talked him into using his powerful bite to accomplish something positive for once, and get him to clamp down on that splice. My hand tools were all sub-par for the job. I achieved enough of a crimp to give me electrical contact for the time being, which allowed me to prove the concept and proceed.
Cyndie made a heroic journey on crutches, navigating the uneven and uncertain terrain, to provide moral support, showing up in time to witness the completion and testing phase. All that was left after that was to convince the horses that the gate was open.
It was late enough in the day that we needed to put out their afternoon pans of feed, and that had their undivided attention. It also seemed to temporarily satiate their appetite, so they lolled around in a just-fed stupor, paying little notice to the fact I had opened a gate to the grass.
Hunter was the first one to show some interest in why I was walking around in their paddock. I was able to entice him to come toward me, but only up to the area where the mud got thick. They will cross mud, but they need a big enough incentive to do so, and he hadn’t yet figured out why I was urging him to come across. Before long, Legacy wandered over to see what was going on.
I pulled out the trick that I learned from Dunia at the Epona seminar, walking an arc in front of Legacy until he took a step, and then I turned and lured him along by my energy. We pulled Hunter and Cayenne right behind him. I needed to go to the hay feeder in the far paddock to convince Dezirea to join the fun.
While they grazed, I wandered back to the paddocks to restock the hay feeders. When I returned, Cyndie had gone back to the house, so I phoned her to confirm how short a time they should be limited to on this rich spring grass.
“Now would be good.”
“How do you suggest I do that?” I asked.
I tried calmly coaxing them to head back into the paddock, but these Arabians move from calm to panic in a blink, and you’d think I had slapped them on the butt and fired a shot from a pistol.
Of course, they were all juiced up on fresh grass. They carried that sprint into the paddock far longer than was necessary, from my perspective, but who can blame them? They had finally gotten what they wanted for so long, and that quick, had it taken back again.
I will not be surprised if I find them lined up and waiting at that gate when I show up to put out their feed this morning.
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Re:I wish I could have talked him into using his powerful bite to accomplish something positive for once – well, that is the next step, but first you have to have a notion of what you actually want to achieve. As you noted in your previous post, the horses acted as teachers and basically walked you through the process of getting to the new area of grazing. Certainly, what you described was the horse getting haltered so that ‘you’ would be in tow:-). Did you also notice how easily your blog post came to you? There is something about being round horses that dissolves writer’s block and promotes creative thinking. So why don’t you go to the horse/s with the wish of being able to write something completely new and different. See what visions come to you. Personally, I have never since experienced writer’s block once I started living with horses – amazing thoughts flow effortlessly to you and you feel carried along for the ride. You no longer need a leap of faith, you are on the other side, on the side of infinite possibility and potential. Of course, Linda K and Kim M. are the famous stars in this area but they don’t have a monopoly of The Way, it being all too obvious that their light is a reflection of horse-powered creativity at its best. By the way, Stephanie has now virtually completed the Tales of Lusitânia, written/inspired by our horses. I am willing to bet that your horses would/will do the same for you. And here is a very special insight, in the horse perspective we take part in, virtually everything comes to have a reason for being – just follow the tracks and record them down.
Ian Rowcliffe
May 6, 2014 at 7:41 am
Sorry about the extra ‘down’.
Ian Rowcliffe
May 6, 2014 at 7:47 am
“record them.” or, “write them down.” eh? Thank you for the insight! The changes in my life that began when the horses were simply an idea that occurred to Cyndie, and continue to unfold with each day that passes since they arrived to us at Wintervale, are a vivid reflection of the power available when heeding what horses truly have to offer.
You, my friend, play an integral role in directing me toward the potential of that power. Your words mean the world to me. Thank you.
johnwhays
May 6, 2014 at 10:43 am
Thank you for the last sentiment, in particular, John, but the truth is that you are in a position to ‘get it directly from the horse’s mouth’. Indeed, I am fascinated by what will be (or is being) gifted to you, for there is no doubt in my mind that the horses will off-load much of their experience to you, much in the same way that they sympathize with and diffuse ours – when we are unable to bear it, for example. Yes, that is the therapeutic take on things. Yet, there is something that goes far beyond that – you start imagining – dare I say it – a perfect world that makes sense and transmits deep peace – you become tuned in. But this is no constant state – try moving away and you soon notice its absence … unless you are able to create the same dynamic with humans, which seems to be the underlying impetus. And so we are shaped by the horses and come to understand the world ‘from the bottom of our hearts’, you might say. It is the poetic world you have always sensed is there and will find yourself expressing ever more avidly. Oh, yes, John, the horses couldn’t have wished for a more apt messenger in you and they will be well-served. Without a shadow of a doubt, you are part of ‘their’ dream. A dream that is working out perfectly – despite the knocks or should that be ‘wake-up calls’? Yes, you’ll find yourself stepping aside or simply ‘pinch yourself’ but you won’t wake up because this dream is a living reality… that started at the beginning of time.
Ian Rowcliffe
May 6, 2014 at 3:48 pm
Such a gift you present to me! What you write resonates vibrantly with what I am experiencing as I gain experience in caring for our herd. It does feel like a real-life dream! Certainly beyond my wildest imaginings of my previous life.
johnwhays
May 6, 2014 at 6:39 pm
Tip number two: it is the horses that create the horse whisper: s/he is the one that listens or is prepared to listen… in no time, you will be able to move the horses around at ‘will’ – an understanding of what is the ‘right’ thing to do. This is invariably (and paradoxically) situation specific, but how could it be otherwise, given the uniqueness of life at any point in time! The beauty of writing down what happens, and comes to you, makes the living miracle that you are part of even more apparent and, very importantly, allows it to be shared. Both human and horse benefit mutually making for a healthy planet. Yes, the heartfelt longing that we feel surfaces and is enacted before our very eyes. We witness, and are part of, the beauty and bounty of existence. And are consumed by this and for this end, catching, at times, a glimpse of eternity that makes us smile and feel good no matter what…
Ian Rowcliffe
May 7, 2014 at 7:31 am