a meeting with White Feather...

i recently had a meeting with one of my elders White Feather, a respected and beloved Blackfoot medicine man, and posed some questons to him about many wild horse issues on a day when my heart was heavy. what he said rocked my world and i'm still thinking on it. when i mentioned the many attemps that folks are making to save the horses he asked me "what makes you think they want to be saved? do you not understand that the wild ones are perfectly capable of making the decision to stay or leave themselves? do you not understand that they have and have always had other, better, realms to live in? perhaps this is where they have chosen to depart to and they are letting the evil hand of man deliver them there". i started to cry when he said this and he reminded me again that what happens to them may truly be of their choosing because life here for them has been tragic and hard. he reminded me of a tribe of people in australia we had talked about years ago who had consiously decided as a tribe, to die out, go away, cease to grow, because things in the world had become too painful and foreign  for them. and, he reminded me too that we keep imposing what we think is good for animals upon them and that this is not a noble thing it is a weakness that humans have. thinking that they know what is best for another, especialy an animal. he asked me "how can you tell your horse is happy?" i said i look at his face, his expression, body language etc. and, i ask him. he said "yes, good. and does that decide your opinion about whether he's happy or not?" i said that yes for the most part it does. he then said that very few people truly have the ability to hear their horses and that many think they do and make up rules and ways of treating them based upon false readings. when i asked him how one gets better at it he said that it is given gift. not something that can be bought or read or learned only given or inherited through blood. when i asked him if the fight by man to save them is futile he said "in the long run... yes. but it puts good medicine in the air and it makes us silly two-leggeds feel better. nothing wrong with that." he smiled and wiped away my tears...

bitey and tall...what a combo

healthy boy happy and growing...



sexylegs!



when we went to twin peaks last year and found pableu's band, it was obvious to everyone there that his daddy, the stallion BraveHeart, was a really tall fella. well, his son is certainly following in his footsteps. he's lotsa leg and...his legs are muscular and strong. he's sleek and shiny now that summer is here and growing by leaps and bounds. his freckles are dominant on his muzzle and around his eyes and he has flecks of white coming in under his dark fur. his cloud blanket is prettier than ever and he has a nice and shiny tail and mane. he's so good, and stands still for grooming and loves it. but...he's still so bitey! he bites everything. the brush the gate his lead his treat bowl my shoes my hair and when he can, me. he's not biting to hurt he's just baby-bitey just like any young creature with new teeth. when i go in his corral and i'm in there for a while he stops and we can have a good time but until then, it's like having a big, pesky mosquito buggin you! but in spite of it all, he's wonderful and i give thanks everyday that this little fella is still here with us and that he made it through the torture of being captured and ripped away from his beautiful family and the life we saw him living in the wild. he has many here who love him and i think khe knows it. come see him and tell us what you think!

poop salad

healthy and oh so fragrant!

there are  times when i just don't feel like scoopin' the poop. it's a hard job made even harder by the fact that the horses corral has sand ( it's actually ash) in it so it's like walking on a beach with deep sand. but...it has to be done and so i have reconciled with it and actualy like it most times now. it's a meditation, an alone time, a time to be in the horses house only with them listening to the birds and coyotes and whatever else happens to be going off out there. it's where i loose feeling mad or sad or any other yucky feelings i might have and where i come to love where we live, my husband, our life and all that rings and sings in my heart. i create stories out there, spin ideas, sing songs and act like the nut i am. when i get tired i sit down and helaku usually comes over to visit or i just sit and be. with them. in their world. surrounded by some of the most awesome beauty this county has to offer. i also check out their poop. that's right. i look at it. closely. to see if it's healthy, if has any critters in it and how it's holding together. it's an important task if you love your horses and i don't mind it at all. i can see where they roll and sleep, what they nibble on and how they travel. i look at their hoofprints and check out their coats and eyes while i'm out there too. all in all it's a good time. and when the wheelbarrow is full and i'm trudging it out to the big pile out back, i stop along the way and pick some weeds to throw on the top. it looks like salad. noooo not one to eat but one that has nourished me in ways most would find hard to comprehend. poop salad. YUM!