The horses (part 2 of my own, personal therapy animals)

Before I introduce to you, my friend and her horses, I would like you to know a little story behind why I was fearful, nervous and/or anxious around certain horses.  I used to work (and volunteer) at a riding facility, where a new horse had just arrived the night before.  It was early July, and there were summer camp kids who would be arriving shortly, and my boss had asked if I could bring the new guy out to the pasture.  She had told me he was "a little pushy," but overall a good guy and that if I didn't feel up to it, she could bring him out while I grabbed another horse.  I was fine with bringing him out.   Anyway, as I was approaching the pasture, there were some guys fixing one of the fences and they had started a drill.   Not knowing what to do when the horse decided to spook (half rear and backing away-due to the fact of being a prey animal), I held onto the lead line.  Once I managed to calm the horse down, I put him in the field.  At this point my whole body was literally shaking uncontrollably, I looked down at my left hand, only to notice that I had a huge rope burn.  Only then, did I find out how terrifyingly strong horses are (and scary they could be when they were nervous and scared), and have since been very anxious and slightly nervous around most horses.  I did my best to get right back in there, handling the horse that had spooked, although at every tiny little thing he did wrong (which he didn't really do anything wrong, perhaps accidentally stepping on the back of my boot, or snorting-which would surprise me) I felt I was over reacting thus making things worse.  Not only did this experience affect how I was with horses on the ground, but also in the saddle.  When I rode, if the horse cantered too fast, or would spook at something I would immediately react and pull them back to walk or trot and would be scared to ask for more. (Stopping or slowing down a horse that is spooking is not the correct thing to do, as it is nurturing their fear of said object or item.  What you are supposed to do, is stay calm and urge them on, perhaps circling a few times near the "spook site" to show them that the object/item can't hurt them.)  The following is a video of the walk, trot and canter transitions (for those of you who may be slightly confused as I ramble on about things most non-horse people wouldn't know).

Anyway, when I first met my friend and her horses, it was winter and there was about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and I had barely ever ridden bareback (no saddle), and her mare (female horse), Kalypso (aka Kali) is strange with anybody besides her owner, but I got on and rode bareback, it was actually quite a bit of fun. I got to know her, and grew to love Kali, but she scarred me sometimes (mares are moody) and she would pull a few stunts every now and then, no big deal, I still rode her sometimes.

Kali and I getting to know each other.

Kali giving kisses.  

One thing I learnt is that no matter how mare-ish (moody) she can be, she is such a sweetheart and loves to give kisses.  The more comfortable I became with her, the more comfortable I felt with other horses.  

Beavis letting me sit backwards.  

  

Second time standing on Beavis (last fall).

Now, my friend's gelding (castrated male horse), Beavis, is the complete opposite of Kali, he doesn't spook, he's so laid back you might even call him a little lazy (although he's not really lazy, he usually responds to leg cues) because of his reluctance to move, and his constant obsession with grass (although it's kinda funny to see how many steps he'll take before trying to grab a bite).  Because of this however, I did things with him that I never thought possible, I gained confidence, became less nervous because he wasn't nervous (although it should be the other way around, him being calm because I am calm), I became a better rider (boy-o-boy is his trot the hardest thing to post or sit because he's so bouncy) and became less fearful of the things that could go wrong, instead I focused on the things that were going right.   All of that though, is what I would like to call the "Beavis Charm". Because of all the things just mentioned ( I must also mention my friend, as she is never lacking support and is kind enough to let my ride her horses, so THANK YOU!) I was able to stand up on a horse ( 3 or 4 times so far), ride a horse at a walk backwards (really awkward, but so much fun) and just have fun in general, whether it be cleaning stalls or playing with the horses.  

All in all, spending time with and around horses (including the barn, and the fresh air, as opposed to city air) as well as, Molaki, Jinx and Shelby gives me a sense of being at home.  The horses and my pets are like my personal therapy animals, there to make me laugh, cry (because I'm laughing so hard), let me think things through without any judgement and always there to offer comfort or anything else that I may need. Where there are animals is home, for me and that is something that will never change, ever.