Jun 9, 2012

In Which I Practice What Was Preached



Its funny sometimes, when you look back at your life, how there seems to be a confluence of events that just catches you up and carries you along in its wake, often without you even realizing it. That’s how I feel when I look back at those years in Western Mass. What a series of interesting coincidences occurred, time after time. If I were more of a WooWoo, I would call it Fate, or Kismet, or Serendipity, or God's Will. And maybe it was all those things. Regardless, events transpired in such a way as to set me on a path of discovery that I am still on. And for that I am grateful.

I wrote that I had met a family that knew Sally Swift. They were horse people, the best kind. They had a neighbor. This neighbor also had horses. They too were horse people, but the worst kind. They had a pony, a pretty grey Welsh mare,that their kids rode. She offended them in some way one day, so they put her on the hot walker. And left her. To go to a horse show. For the weekend. In August ‘To think about things’.



My friends noticed. They knew the people were gone. They saw the pony on the walker. And still on the walker. And still. They investigated. They found a pony whose nylon halter had shifted and torn her face, ear, and eyelid. They found a pony exhausted, dehydrated, head covered in gore. They took her off the walker, got her across the street to their cool and shady barn, and called the vet.

Upon return the next day, the pony’s owners were Very Angry. How Dare They Interfere! Quarrels and accusations ensued. Suffice to say, by paying the vet bill plus some extra money, I got the pony.

We renamed her Dixie. And she was a mess.

And so I had a frantic, sad, pretty unbroke pony, with stitches and wounds, who needed meds and handling, who was terrified, bullish, and aggressive.

What to do? I couldn’t halter her without her flipping out. I could manhandle her, and I admit I had to at the beginning, just to get her to my house and in my barn. But I didn’t want to do that. She was so fragile and had been through so much.

This all occured during my CR and TTouch clinicing days. It was worth a try. She would be the perfect test case.

And she was.








9 comments:

  1. OH Abby, when I see a new post I'm so eager to come read, then my heart is broken that there's not more, more, more and even more. Now I'm not only hopelessly waiting to read more about Bryan, I have to wait to learn more about the little pony....Hurry hurry hurry.
    All that said, I've heard the expression "died and gone to heaven" well, I think this pony and Bryan have landed in horse heaven on earth...

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  2. Bless you Dianne. You now, this is the pony that ended up going to Tamara's and making pony babies >;-> I am so glad you like what I am doing here, you have no idea. I wish I coud write every day! And Im glad you don't mind that I segue around. It does all tie in, in the Big Picture >;->

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  3. People never cease to amaze me. :op

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  4. 'Letting them think about things' is so common. I have heard it used as an excuse for all kinds of horrible things. Even as a kid I'd think 'really?!' All we can do Bec is butt in when we can, do what we can, and set a good example. Oh, and arrest and stone the ones who do these things. Just kidding. I wish!

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  5. This breaks my heart.

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  6. I would love to say and do,"an eye for an eye". Hey, just tie them up in the sun, wind, and rain for days, with no water or food, made to walk and walk and walk.....but then I realize I would be coming down to their level. The only thing that keeps me sane is thinking that God must have a special hell for people like that.

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    1. Oh, trust me, Elaine, I believe that God loves all the creatures he created, and that there is indeed a special place in Hell for those that harm the helpless, whether human or animal. That certainty saves me, as well.

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  7. I'm horrified that pony had to go through that. I was talking with a trimming client today about a barn she used to work in owned by some very rich folks. Somebody convinced these folks that they needed to import a bunch of completely wild Lipizzaners to train as carriage horses. They got the horses, couldn't handle them, and then imported a trainer for them. On the very first day the trainer couldn't get one of the horses out of the stall. So she hooked a rope to a tractor and pulled him out. Not surprising the horse was dead by the end of the day- and no, she was NOT fired.

    It does not compute.

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