There was a ruckus in the barn behind us and the horses stopped chewing.  Ears perked in high silent alert in that direction.  We all realized at the same time that it was the dogs wrestling.  The instant we knew what the noise was, the horses relaxed and went back to munching.  But as I sat there, a window opened into the broad surveillance of the world that a prey animal has.

Horses maintain a constant awareness of their surroundings.  Their eyes are built different from ours.  As predators, our eyes are well equipped to see in front of us.  To aid survival, prey animals can see almost 360 degrees around them.  This I knew from anatomy studies, but had never before actually experienced.  These two horses knew where the bunny rabbit was and where the barn cat was.  They were aware of the breeze fluttering the leaves of the tree and the rock pile.  It went beyond their almost 360-degree vision.  It was an awareness of everything all at once.  It was a bubble of connection extending beyond their physical bodies.

To my surprise, I could do it too.  I also could keep tabs on everything around me.  And I didn’t need to swivel my head and dart my eyes around to look.  Vision was an aid to augment, but not necessary for a basal level of surveillance.  This awareness of surroundings came from a sensing feeling place inside.  When something of interest arose within the field, one of more of the 5  could then zero in for more information.  Like how our ears perked up and attention turned to the dogs wrestling.

It was the same sensing place where you could feel an impulse arise before the body actually moved.  It was how you could feel that a horse was going to lift a front leg to paw before it happened.  It was not necessary to be in physical contact to feel the muscles of the forelimb contract to initiate movement.  It was actually possible to feel the impulse prior to the muscle contraction.

This level of attunement was how a flock of birds could take off all at once.  It was how a herd of horses could navigate terrain without falling or bumping into each other.  It was how seemingly chaotic traffic could merge and flow smoothly – without the need for painted lane lines and without accidents.

It was a fascinating glimpse into a broader way of being – a more connected way of being.  And a state of being which I prepared to drop, when my mind kicked in to remind me of all the chores waiting.  I rose, dusted off my jeans, and headed into the barn to clean stalls.

But as I left the horses to enter the barn, I came to understand that I had more than an off/on switch.  It was a continuum.  I could be totally lost in my thoughts and oblivious to my surroundings (where most people spend most of their time).  Or I could be totally aware of my surroundings and not thinking much (more like the animals).  Or I could choose somewhere in between.

Even though the horses were out of direct sight, I could still keep tabs on them from inside me.  The same way I had just experienced while sitting next to them.  The connection from the heart space could stay open while I did chores.  I did not need to see or touch them to maintain the connection.  I could carry the warm connection to my equine friends with me – as long as I chose to focus on it – through maintaining an awareness of my own heart space.

What incredible perceptive expanding beings we are.  What marvelous sensory apparatuses we have.  Sure I was rusty.  The equipment could be tuned up a bit.  But I had a glimpse of what was possible.  I could be just like a surveillance camera in one room if I wished.  Or I could be like a central surveillance station, monitoring all rooms at once.  Even from a remote location.  All I had to do was choose my focus.

360 GAME – Sit next to an animal or a tree.  Relax and watch them for a bit.  As you watch, be aware of your own body at the same time.  Shift your focus from your head down to your heart area, while you watch.  Then close your eyes and see if you can still sense them next to you, without actually seeing or touching them.  Is there anything else you can sense around you?

Dr. Penny Lloyd is a NWESC veterinarian who enjoys teaching skills and games to connect deeper with animals for mutual healing benefits.  If you are interested in learning more, go to www.ConnectionTheBestMedicine.com   

For NWESC, our castration clinics are an important way that NWESC helps both the rescue community and the veterinary profession. Our focus is two-fold, we help decrease the number of unwanted horses by castrating stallions and we provide a hands-on opportunity for veterinary and veterinary tech/assistant students.

A goal for the castration clinic is to decrease the numbers of unwanted horses by castrating stallions from rescues or those who are owned by people with financial limitations.  This helps because the number of stallions is directly correlated with the number of mares bred each year; the fewer stallions in our communities, the fewer unwanted horses there will be.

We also focus on giving humane hand-on educational opportunities to veterinary and veterinary tech/assistant students.    By helping veterinary students get plenty of hands-on surgical experience before graduation, we are able to encourage veterinary schools to move away from using ‘terminal surgeries’ for this education.  When I was a student, I had to fight the system for an alternative tract to avoid doing ‘terminal surgeries’ (killing a healthy animal after doing an invasive surgery for practice) because I was ethically opposed to such a thing.  Providing an accessible and humane live animal surgery experience for students today is a win-win way to help future veterinarians and to provide a model program for schools.  Thankfully many schools are moving away from using terminal surgeries and are turning to programs such as ours.

At our April 7^th castration clinic, we had a great group of 9 students came up from Oregon State University as well as a few PIMA vet tech school students.  The vet students did an excellent job castrating the stallions (under direct veterinary supervision), putting in IV catheters, administering medications and examining the horses.  The tech students were great assistants for the procedures and kept things flowing more quickly and smoothly for the veterinary students.  The vet students also each got to try their hand at equine dentistry and they helped me float two horses.  Dr. Kelli Taylor volunteered for the clinic and she was a great help as usual!  It was a full day but well worth it all around!

This castration clinic was unique because we had the film crew from the movie “Horse Power” there for the day filming for the documentary.  Their goal is “ to raise awareness about horses, their relationship with humankind, and the various problems facing the horse population in order to stimulate discussion, provoke change, and generate potential solutions.”  Check out their website: www.horsepowerthemovie.com for more information and look for us in the film when it is released!

Thanks to all of our financial supporters who make these clinics possible!  If you want to sponsor a horse in a clinic, check out our website for more information about how you can help make NWESC a success!

I was just finishing a veterinary visit to check some horses that had been rescued.  Busily putting my supplies back into my vet box, I felt a nudge on my back.  Stepping down, I was surprised to run into one of the horses I had just examined.  All the other horses were out grazing, but this horse made a special effort to come over and see me off.  This gesture touched my heart, as I realized that he had come to say “Thanks” in his own special way.

Gazing into the velvet depths of his liquid brown eyes, I felt a delicious warmth seep into my heart.  Gently I stroked the side of his weathered face, returning his gratitude.  For a blissful moment, nothing else existed.  Then the director of the equine rescue walked up.  I pulled out of the deep still peaceful interaction, to take care of business.  “Kit” slowly ambled off to join the rest of the herd.

Later, I thought about how my consciousness had expanded as I interacted with this horse.  There was something very special about his ability to touch the human heart.  When I first met him earlier, I took a moment to see who he really was.  He emanated a warm, receptive, trusting presence.  During the vet exam, there was no resistance.  Even as I applied a full mouth speculum to check his teeth, he fully cooperated.  Despite his malnourished condition, there was something incredibly strong about this horse.

“Tippy” was another horse rescued from the same situation.  As I approached him, he snorted with fear and threatened to kick.  His view was different.  Even approached gently, he did not trust.  Despite his frail condition, he was ready to take on the world.  He would need sedation to examine his teeth.  That would have to wait until he gained some weight.  Meanwhile, the people at the rescue would try to form a bond.  He too was a very strong horse living inside a shell, weak from neglect.

The contrast between the two horses was remarkable.  What made two old horses with similar backgrounds, so different?  Both had survived a long life full of challenges.

And then there was the horse I didn’t get to meet.  The horse whose death was a gift for the other two, for it allowed the officials to take action.  Wildflower was the horse that didn’t have as much drive to survive as the two I had just met.

I thought about how this was similar to geriatric people.  Some old folks became fearful and bitter from life experience.  Many simply give up and wait for death.  And then every once in awhile you see a soul that is thriving.  You receive the gift of meeting someone whose heart has blossomed through the years.  Who maintains a sense of humor.  Who spreads joy wherever they go.  Whose eyes see beauty that others do not.  You meet a rare gem that can be disguised as a silent old rack of bones.

Three lives lived, with distinctly different end results.  I thought about the untapped wisdom of our geriatrics.  And I thought about which “old nag” I would become.

Beautiful Beau and Dr. Hannah with the win!

I took Beau to the Eagle Mountain Ranch Dressage schooling show on Sunday and he was a star!

Beau was laid back and calm the entire time other than one spook when he was tied at the trailer (when I took the saddle cover off the saddle again…) where he pulled back (Blocker Tie ring saves the day again!), but didn’t rear up or pull back to the end of his rope even, it was about ¼ of the spook that he had the other day.  He was a bit uneasy about the life-sized horse statue out front of the barn and also got nervous once (startled in place) when a gal came around a corner with a monster hat on… you know, one of those horse eating hats that has eyes, teeth and spikes on top  … she took the hat off and talked to him, and he soon forgot about the horse eating hat a few minutes later.

Before my classes, I had extra time to watch other riders, etc, so I loaded Beau back in the trailer and turned him loose with his mash, hay, and water.  Even though he could turn around, had he wanted, he happily stood still, quiet and calm, eating for over an hour until I unloaded him again to get ready! Not many horses will do that!

He was calm and responsive in the warm up round pen, and when we entered the arena, we started at a walk so he could see the mirror, rail, and all the people, but it was no big deal to him so quickly moved into warm up mode and did some trot and canter before the bell rang to start the pattern.  The first pattern was First Level Test 1, and Beau did great!  We took first place (ok, so it was only out of two riders..) and scored a 58.3%.  His straight entry and canter work got 7’s, everything else was 5 and 6s, no major mistakes, just needed to work on things like more forward marching at the walk and bigger change in trots.

His next pattern was Second Level Test 1, and that had a few mistakes.  His shoulder-ins were average but we trotted into both simple changes (hard to get him to go from canter to walk, but easy to go from walk to canter!), and he did flying changes in his second serpentine rather than a counter canter in the middle (but nailed the first one though- and that was something we hadn’t practiced at all since we have the round pen up in our arena right now…!).  Overall, I felt ok about the second pattern, but not as good as the first.  We scored a 53.1… but did get another blue ribbon (ok, first out of only one rider in this class..)!

So all in all, we have a handful of things to work on but Beau’s temperament and potential couldn’t be better.  A number of people noticed how handsome and well behaved he was at the show, so hopefully an adoption will come out of it!  He is relaxed, smart, and  willing, just needs a rider who practices more than a few times before a show!  He loaded easily, traveled well, and was my buddy all day long.

Thanks to the staff at Eagle Mountain Ranch for making the show a fun and relaxed environment for all of us! Good turnout of horses and riders at the show!

Dr. Hannah

Before the ride the wind was blowing, snow and rain was falling and all of the horses were spooky.  When I went to tack him up, he spooked at the saddle cover and shot backwards while tied.  This was the first time I have gotten to see his ‘flip over backwards’ behavior (but he didn’t actually flip over, just came close).  He humped his back (had the saddle on), as though the saddle was bugging him, reared back, the Blocker Tie ring released him (thank goodness, that’s why I use those religiously now) and he backed up half way across the arena.  It was clearly an emotional episode, not a pain episode, but the back humping was a reaction to the saddle.  He’s overdue for his bodywork treatment, so I think that was a direct relation to his posture during the episode, but it was nice to confirm that his issue is 99% emotional right now.  I kept shaking the saddle cover and sacked him out until it became no big deal and he felt kind of silly about the episode.  I then tied him up again and repeated the sacking out with a scary plastic bag (no rearing back this time).  I talked to him gently and reminded him that scary things are no need to panic.  He dropped his head, licked and chewed and seemed to understand the lesson.

I got on with no lunge warm up and did his warm up under saddle in the arena.  He was light and responsive and we started into work. I felt confident on his back knowing that his episodes are mostly emotional, and rode him as though his back was 100% pain free.   I’m hoping to take Beau to the Dressage Schooling Show at Eagle Mountain Ranch on March 18^th, so we did some intro course work to start.  He was doing great at walk trot and we moved into canter work.  I’ve done routine canter work with Beau but haven’t pushed it beyond that and since he was soft and supple, engaging his hind end, and moving off of my outside aids like it was no big deal, I asked for a flying change (not knowing what his skill level was, but having ‘upper level dressage’ in his history, suspected he’d know what I meant).  He bucked into the first flying change, probably because I was too strong in my aids, the second one got the front end but not the hind because I was too soft, but the next few were flawless.  I asked him for some flying changes down the rail and he happily gave me 3 flying changes down each rail! Wow! I was blown away.  I haven’t ridden a horse this well trained since riding Linda Ann Star’s school master Silky in my dressage lessons (she is an excellent dressage instructor in Woodinville where I have ridden in the past).

We ended on that good note and as a reward, I put on Beau’s donated Renegade boots and we went out for a trail ride.  He eagerly trotted down our long driveway to the road and back and was looking for more.  I took him out on the trails under the power lines for the first time and we galloped together down the valley and up the hill on the other side quite a ways and then galloped back.  He was sensible, kind, under control and was loving it every bit as much as I was! “Goooood boy Beau Selle!  What a pretty boy Beau Selle!”

I cooled him out on the way back and had a nice time with him grooming and un-tacking before wrapping him back up in a cozy blanket.

What more can I say… I don’t think a ride can get any better than that! He is truly a great horse and is eager to do anything asked of him!  If I could keep him I certainly would, but I still need to downsize my personal herd of 4 and get my current rescue project, Cricket, placed… Whoever adopts him for $750 is truly getting a talented, expensive Warmblood – and best friend, for a steal!  I really hope the perfect home comes up for him! He deserves someone with more time and consistency than I can give him, if that is you, he won’t let you down!

Look for us at the Eagle Mountain Ranch schooling show in Arlington on the 18^th, I’ll post an update about how he does in case you can’t make it to watch us!

Dr. Hannah

Peeling Tomatillos

Hello Human Friends!  Yes, it is me. That dreamy fellow with the chocolate eyes and gorgeous smile writing.  NO!  Not Beau – it’s Dollar!

So I have a funny little story to tell you.  You see, the ‘girls’ got together last weekend to have a cooking class with this gal named Kit.  Apparently she’s some great cook and they were all excited to take a class from her (although I sure didn’t get any outstanding alfalfa-carrot dish…humpf).

Now, as you can imagine we horses here at the barn were quite amused with this.  I mean, these girls are great at mucking out stalls, grooming us, making sure we stay healthy and keeping things running smoothly in the office, but cooking?  Oh boy!  We all knows who grows the hay around here and it isn’t that bunch!

Well I got the down-low from this little filly named Maddy who lives next door to where this cooking extravaganza was happening.  Apparently this Kit lady knows her stuff!  I guess Maddy could hear the laughter a barn away, but she said the smells coming from next door were the sniffs dreams were made out of! Who on Earth would have thought that?  I mean seriously, I love my peeps but a bunch of girls actually cooking something edible?!?

This 4-hour cooking class, however resulted in these girls producing some pretty good grub.  Of course they didn’t share a thing with us horses (and I heard from Maddy that there were carrots at that party).  How rude!  See if I share my hay with them next time they whine about being hungry!

But you want to know the really awesome thing??? I heard that this wonderful Kit person is offering up one of her 4-hour cooking classes for NWESC to auction off!

Now that is cool!  You want to know why?  Because I, Dollar, declare that I am going to win that auction and then make all those girls drool over the tasty stuff that Kit is going to teach us how to make!

Mango Fun

Ha!  Take that my barnyard pals!

I declare that my opening bid for “Cooking with Kit” will be 100 alfalfa pellets!  Beat that you silly humans!

Standard practice (for the past 20+ years) has been to de-worm your horse every two months and to rotate between classes of de-wormers with each treatment, but standard practices have changed!  Are you keeping up with the times?

Read an informative article about de-worming and fecal testing by following this link http://horsesamurai.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/deworming-dilemma.pdf.

Interested in knowing the status of your de-worming program?  You can find out by having a fecal float done at your local veterinary office.

For the month of March, Evergreen Holistic Veterinary Care – Equine is offering $5 off all fecal floats!  Simply bring 1 fecal ball (less than 24-hours old) to EHVC-Equine during regular business hours.  Forms will be available for you to complete and results take approximately 48 hours.  For more details, please visit www.EHVCEquine.com or email info@EHVCequine.com.

NWESC urges you to keep up-to-date on your horse’s health so that you can help your horse avoid any issues resulting in unnecessary suffering.  Please contact your veterinarian to schedule your horse’s fecal float today!

I’ve been sneaking around the barn again!  It’s getting kind of tough for a horse to get a hoof in around here these days as things have been so busy, but I just use that busyness to my advantage…grab a mouthful of hay here, a bite of grass there, a tasty peppermint from Lisa’s office – yum!

Because I feel like Strider is getting all the attention and no one’s paying as much attention to me as I think they should, I’m going to let the cat out of the bag!  Okay, so the cat really isn’t in the bag – that would be mean – and we don’t even have a cat here…so, I guess I’m spilling the beans!

So, there is this company called Zephyr’s Garden that is doing this really cool thing for rescue’s called “Pay it Forward”.  What this means is that the rescue organization, in this case it’s NWESC, and Zephyr’s Garden picks a weekend in which they donate 10% of all of their sales to the rescue (NWESC).  BUT, they also donate a quarter for every person who “likes” their Facebook page too!  How cool is that????

Oh, but it gets better…all of Zephyr’s Garden products were inspired by Georgette’s (the owner) desire to find a more natural way to care for Zephyr, her Belgian Warmblood. For Georgette and Zephyr, it started with a pasture layup for hoof ailments and Georgette’s inability to find natural products to meet Zephyr’s needs.  The poor guy had a list of issues from bug and horse bites, cuts, bruises, and hooves in dire need of fast, healthy growth. So Georgette decided to take matters into her own hands and she researched herbs and created the initial line of Zephyr’s Garden products. From there things just kept blossoming (literally and figuratively)!

What I think is really cool (other than the fact that NWESC is benefitting from Zephyr’s Garden’s generosity) is that nothing is artificial about the products.  In fact, the labels are online for every product and you will see exactly what is included (and what is not).  They also create their products in small batches, themselves (no outsourcing) so what you get is fresh and of high quality.  Then the best thing of all – Zephyr is a show jumper…and he’s barefoot!

If you have a dog, Zephyr’s Garden also has a product line for them!

Anyway, if you are stocking up for spring and the show season, please consider ordering your shampoos, fly sprays, salves, aromatherapy essentials, sore muscle gels and liniments, anti-fungal sprays, hoof care products, canine supplies and MORE through Zephyr’s Garden (www.ZephyrsGarden.com) this coming weekend, February 17^th, 18^th and 19^th!  Remember 10% of all of their sales come right back to NWESC!   

And if you don’t have a horse to buy for…well I’ll just bat these dark chocolate eyes at you because we’d sure appreciate some goodies too!

Pay It Forward Starts TOMORROW – Friday (2/17)!!

Did you know that according to the Humane Society of the United States that we collectively own more than 77 million dogs, 93 million cats, 12 million birds, 7 million horses and countless other species of pets (i.e. guinea pigs, rabbits, lizards, snakes, turtles, gerbils, fish, etc.)?  Despite the fact that we here at NWESC have a special fondness for pets, it is pretty apparent that a good portion of the US does as well!

For that reason, Responsible Pet Owners Month was created to remind us all about the importance of properly caring for our animals – horses included!  Being responsible for our animals means making sure that they have everything that they need on a daily basis.  Sure it can be easy to feed a balanced diet, have clean, fresh water available, and provide shelter, but it is important to consider the things that you might not think about on a daily basis.  Those things include proper grooming, training, attention and socialization, exercise, veterinary care, hoof care, up-to-date identification in case you become separated from your pet, and cleaning up after them…just to name a few!

So to help celebrate Responsible Pet Owners Month, NWESC would like to suggest that you give your beloved pet(s) an extra treat and we’d like to ask you – what does responsible pet ownership mean to you?

Bangwyn is a horse that I am honored to have walked beside for all of her life and most of mine.  She was born into the family.  Over the years, she has done her thing while I have done mine.  She knew me way back in college!  Back when all was freshly possible.  There was a whole big world out there to explore and that we did.  We moved to from Canada to the USA in a rickety homemade trailer.  We raced bareback across prairie fields, splashed through mountain streams, and jumped anything in our path, just for the fun of it.  Both of us pranced through life exploring new territories with the bold carefree abandon of youth.

Our activities changed as we did.  College days were over.  Now we were on the career track.  Devouring all the latest information, fads, and gadgets, we entered the fast paced game of keen intellect and popular activities.  We were yuppies, working hard and playing harder.  We tried all kinds of sports.  Professional training, computerized saddle fit, special bits, high tech blankets, support wraps, heart rate monitors, sport specific conditioning, force plate analysis, nutrient boosters, performance therapies, horsemanship clinics.  Fancy gear and refined taste was our life.  Together we explored hauling, competing, winning and losing.  We experienced the pleasures and limits of what mainstream road to success had to offer.

Following that was the “now what?” phase.  Having seen and done the conventional “best of the best”, there was nothing left to conquer.  This empty spot brought questions.  A different exploration was underway.  With it, the extraordinary in the ordinary began to surface.  It wasn’t all about doing a bunch of stuff anymore.  We began to learn from each other in a deeper way.  To the outside observer, sitting quietly together might look quite boring.  But it was anything but mundane.  It was a blossoming rich inner world experience full of magic and possibility.  The next phase in our journey was underway.  Developing the inner dimension.

If you would like to see Part Two of “Soul Mates” about our experience with colic together, go to www.ConnectiontheBestMedicine.com