Excerpts from the book, Beyond the Dream Horse: A Revealing Perspective on Attaining a True Relationship
Beyond the Dream Horse
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
At First Glance
Communicating like a Horse
A Slap in the Face
Self-Created Wall
The First Hint
The Magical Forest
A Brief Respite
The Three Horses
The Night-Mare
Perception
The Day it all Changed
The Crossroad
The NHE Experience
Unlocking Learning
NHE From the Inside Out
To NHE or not to NHE that is the Question
Bridging the Unknown
Conclusion
References
About the Author
Contrary to the many shades of grey in modern life, feelings are quite simple. They are good, or not. Aside from regret, a sense of loneliness, or frustration, anger, solitude, sadness can emerge when our brains and our hearts follow diverging paths. I hope that these writings will help to give even greater value to your own feelings about sensing what is right for you and your horse. It may prove invaluable for anyone thinking about getting their first horse. The ability to bring about desired changes is not all so complicated or obscure as it may seem. It is my hope that this book will give you the strength and courage and confidence to follow your own instinct. It is not easy to cast off all that has accumulated within us during a lifetime. There is a lot of clutter that suppresses and diminishes the flame within our hearts for many things. Most often, a flame continues to flicker, buried somewhere deep within us.
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He walked calmly and relaxed with his neck slightly below horizontal and as we passed a bush with fresh flowers, he closed his eyes and stroked his face alongside them. I think my mouth fell open and my heart swelled. In that small moment, I realized that he had lived the standard, domesticated horse life from the very beginning. Our outings and this spring bloom were the only times he had encountered nature. Being on a cleared path, surrounded by sheltering trees in the winter was one thing, but this was entirely new for him and he obviously loved it. He was exploring the scents, seeing, and feeling flowers for the first time.
It made me realize how much I take for granted and overlook in daily life, even in what I considered our private paradise. It reminded me again of the reality that most horses live despite the different feelings that may attract us to them in the first place. I dismounted and we went back to the bushes and flowers. I had never done something like that before and I had no real plan or expectation of what would come of it. He had been doing for me what he figured I wanted. I felt that, by letting me ride, after building a relationship and the way we worked together, this horse was showing courtesy and kindness, not submission to a human master. When we stopped and he knew that I noticed what he did, his eyes lit up. He seemed like a child that was granted a day in Disney Land when we went back to the flowers. I was actively thinking about the importance of being in nature, yet, being familiar with that path through the forest, it became routine. There I believed that I was spending time among the vibrant beauty while I was passing it by most of the time. Looking but not seeing. We went off to explore a completely new world off the beaten path… with me on foot.
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Waseskun is a Cree word meaning the dispersion of clouds after a storm and the moment when the sun breaks through with blue skies. Standing outside at night, feeling and smelling the air, the noises of nature and the sky speckled with starlight, the ground aglow from a shining moon is also like opening a door for my spirit. I would have the same feeling in a quiet sunrise. Life does not change much around us, but our perception of it does. Sometimes it could change drastically from one day to the next.
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I believe that there was an ancient knowledge that was lost that we are slowly rediscovering again on our own. It seems to be a shadow of a memory within us. It seems to be a growing yearning for a more harmonious existence within our world.
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Nevzorov Haute Ecole... Why was it controversial? Because it did not simply advocate non-violence and respect for horses, it also stood by its scientific findings for the welfare of the horse. It revealed the negative physiological responses in horses affecting overall soundness and neurological and myological (muscle) damaging and cascading effects from standard horse use and training and equipment. It cast aside any of those standard norms of human control over the horse. What that means is to educate a horse without punishment, without any physical restraints, without inducing pain or the fear of it. No force, no bridles, no bits, no spurs, and in keeping with the welfare of the horse, no horseshoes. To most non-horse people that would seem to make perfect sense. To private horse owners, it seemed like a dream come true. To the standard horse world it was, literally, un-believable.
My student found Phantom impressive, beautiful, smart, and maybe, just as lonely or misunderstood as she was. I often had students that the only time that I would see them smile was when they were with a horse. It was not simply because they were riding a horse, but because they had a longing to be accepted by the horse and a deep appreciation for whatever the horse would allow, riding or not. The typical view of the Arabian that most people considered violent and dangerous and advised us to put down was actually purposefully delicate and responsive for a twelve-year-old girl riding upon her back. It is not easy to describe and even more difficult to explain how to do it. The main ingredient has to come from the student. In that sense, I did not teach them anything. I presented an opportunity to allow it to flourish. They were opportunities to let that invisible wall finally fall.