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Let your Horse Lead the Way

Carole Herder's Horses Cavallo Hoof Boots

Here's a Question for You...

These are uncharted waters, my friends, and I admit I am scared. I’m going along OK for the most part, but then I hear news and up comes the trepidation, the ‘what ifs’ and the fearfulness. This is powerlessness. Events, circumstances, people, and things – all are swirling around in flux. I don’t know how to help or what will happen next. None of us do.

Have you ever been so scared that you start thinking about really horrible things? And then you look back and say “wow, that was crazy” because none of it happened. The power of the mind can create all sorts of scenarios. Steven King is particularly good at it.  But he imagines with intention and some control, rather than letting an unwieldy mind get the upper hand.

 

Look in the Mirror

Horses can teach a lot about managing your thoughts because they read them and reflect them back at us. They pick up on our feelings. We’ve all had times when we go out riddled with anxiety or sadness and end up having a horrible time with our horse. Alternatively, we go out full of joy and have the best ride ever. They can scare us or comfort us, and often it’s as a result of our projection. 

My Story of Fear

Lurking Around the Next Bend

I had my big foundation-bred ranch horse, Slash, for a couple of months when I moved out to this place – heavily overgrown rain forest. I trusted him.  We had a bond right from the moment we met. I was thrilled to get out there, and I confidently hopped on his back, and off we went to explore this labyrinth of old-growth trails. It was a thrilling adventure. Everywhere we turned, there was another way to go. We just kept right on going, down, around, over, and through. Rushing creeks, rocky beds, and snarly roots. Across old logging bridges and onto another trail. One path after another. More beautiful and exotic, the deeper we got. Then it started getting very dark.

I had this idea about a loop and felt that if we could just keep on going, the trails would bring us out near where we started. Instead, the trails got denser and then disappeared altogether. I was about 2 hours in and had to turn around. I was nervous, and Slash picked it up. The more he pranced, the more nervous I became. You know how it goes.  Not only were the cougars waiting to pounce from overhead, but a big Momma bear was also around this next corner. And even more creatively, there was an escaped and insane serial killer, barely surviving out here and ready to feast on my dead carcass. Every shadow represented another evil threat. I was very talented at really freaking myself out.

 

Edit your Story

I haven’t thought of this for a long time. And now I remember it like it was yesterday. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of life’s teachings. Now more than ever, the lesson is to remain calm and situated in real-time. It doesn’t help to project creative thought into the worst possible scenario. Right now, it’s vital to take control of the story we are telling ourselves. When it’s horrible and scary, and we’ve managed to create the worst possible nightmare – we need to change it. Come back to today and right now and start re-framing the gruesome tale into something uplifting. Are we OK? Is our family, OK? Do we have a roof, clothes and food? We’re OK. And even if I did happen to be dying, do I really know its horrible? Maybe even dying is OK. Maybe it’s OK, wherever it is we go. Is this possible? As far as I know, no one has told us any differently.

The world needs us to feel comfortable, and our animals are here to offer their assistance. Let’s allow them to. Let’s make a choice to feel good. Once again, Pioneers and Trailblazers, we can lead the way. Feel the love. Feel the peace. And spread it. Get out and ride your horse.

Carole Herder - Cavallo Hoof Boots with her dog Danny

Our Feel-Good Advantage

And now Cavallo community, its time to feel grateful. Why? Because of our lives and our animals. Our horses. Our dogs. The beautiful 4-leggeds in our lives, who give us a fantastic ‘feel-good’ advantage. We commune with nature. We have barns to go to and fresh air to breathe and open spaces to hang out in. Yesterday I went out to the field and stood with my guys. Being there with them calmed my mind, and the troubles and worries started to slip away – just like feathers on the breeze. Ahh. The horses got proper grooming, and I got my solace and sanity back. Take this time to just be with your horses. And let your peaceful feelings blossom and spread. 

If you Have Horses, you Know What Fear is

With the help of dear, now-deceased Lisa, the Blue Healer, we made it out of the forest alive. Tired, crying, and prickly with tension, we surfaced back in the barn some 3 hours later. The reason for this story is that it was a severe and real lesson in mind control in the face of fear. To be honest, I didn’t do very well. I think I am better now with practice. Like most of us, we learn what we must.

If you have horses in your life, you know what fear is. I am not saying we all get lost in the forest in the dark. But our prey animals can unsettle us with their behavior. They speak a different language. You also know that the fear passes. You come out of it. And things return to normal. Let’s trust that this virus will give soon, and for now, know that we are all in this together.

 

As it Should Be

Here’s my barn and that’s Slash on the left. He is 34 years old and perfect as ever. The barn doors are open. They can pass from one side to other.  The footing in the paddocks varies from crusher dust, gravel, mud, and sand. The fresh grasses are starting to grow in the fields. They are barefoot, nibbling delicate shoots and happily roaming around. Everything is OK and as it should be.

Cavallo Hoof Boots Barn
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