Things Change December 24, 2009

Timer went to a new home yesterday. It is so easy to accumulate too many horses.  In an effort to keep our herd manageable, Timer will be a little girl’s present this year.

I know that he will be well cared for and loved, but it’s still hard to see him go.

It’s time for him to take care of another little girl who loves horses.  He will be an awesome Christmas present!

Meredith has outgrown him and he is too good of a horse to leave in the pasture while she rides more challenging horses.

He was my “go-to” horse as I  began to do equine-assisted learning and therapy.  He was always ready and willing to work with people.  He enjoyed the interaction with people.

Thanks, Timer!  I will miss you!

Disequilibrium July 3, 2009

After 5 days of disequilibrium, I am still a little off kilter. I was completely immersed in horses, horse psychology, horse body language, horse herd behavior.

My thinking and boundaries concerning safety were continually pushed and tested. My picture of myself and how I related to others and life in general was being challenged.

In the middle of this, I received an email about presenting at a technology conference. I enjoy technology and get a lot of satisfaction from teaching people how to utilize these tools for education. However, I have been in such an intensive training that required complete concentration and focus that I was a bit taken aback by this email.

“Am I still that person? Do I present technology workshops? Is that me?”

What an odd response….

I am still finding my footing.

The Drive Home July 2, 2009

I downloaded John Grisham’s new book, The Associate, to my iPhone, Meredith’s iPod was full of TV shows, and the car was on full.  Our twelve hour drive home would be as painless as possible.

I put in my earbuds and we drove off down the road.  I noticed that Meredith was just looking out at the scenery, noticing the oil wells, and counting hawks.  I couldn’t let this opportunity for conversation pass so I removed the earbuds and we started talking about what we were seeing around us.

The drive home was a lot of fun.  I only listened to a couple of chapters of my book the entire 12 hours and Meredith watched a couple episodes of Survivor Man.  But we talked and laughed and listened to the radio.  No contest. The book can wait.

One of our conversations was particularly delightful.

Meredith:   When can I start wearing make-up?

Me:  Uhhh…when do you think you should start wearing make-up?

——–silence———-

Meredith:  I don’t know.

——-silence———–

Me:  I don’t know, either.

We both got tickled.

Training in Lubbock July 1, 2009

I have just completed 5 days of training in Equine Assisted Growth and Learning.  I am exhausted.  I was continually challenged on several levels.  I stayed uncomfortable most of the 5 days.  I know that is the state in which the most learning occurs, but I am now so tired.  There is a part 2 training for which I am now signed up and will obtain a certification from EAGALA to practice Equine Assisted Psychotherapy and Learning as a member of a 2 or 3 part team.  I will be the Equine Specialist and work with a mental health professional.

The power of this work is overwhelming to me personally.  I look forward to sharing it with others.  I will be using it as a part of a science curriculum this fall for at-risk students, Lord willing.  I’m not sure where it will go from there.

I’m really excited about working with my horses and preparing them for this work as well.

I am in a state of disequilibrium and it makes it hard to formulate my thoughts.  I am growing and changing and can sense it happening, but it will take some time of rest and focus on other things before I will be able to articulate all that is going on inside of me.  I have a blog where I write exclusively about horses and my work with them:  Learning with Horses.