Aria’s next Foal — Pockets of Emotion

News Flash:

Aria is pregnant with my next 4th generation foal!!! :)) :)) And she’s due to foal in about two weeks! WOW!!!!!!!!

(For more on Aria, see:  Aria, my Pegasus and Aria! Coming Together. . . )

I hauled her off to visit “Mr. Right” last fall. This stallion a smaller, quiet, Quarter Horse from the Coast. An ocean, surfer-type sorrel with a sun-bleached mane, who’s galloped the beaches near Santa Barbara for more than two decades.

This will be my 12th foal, and Aria’s number two :)) So very exciting!

I’m hoping for a colt. A next-generation Starboy (he’s now turning 29).

Brave Move

It takes lots of bravery to breed. To take the chance to create a next generation.

Some breedings work out great. Others don’t.

But think about it — unless someone was brave enough to breed, your horse wouldn’t exist.

My horse(s) wouldn’t, either.

So I took the chance, and threw the genetic dice, once again.

Aria, Ella, and filly Hokuleia, top of the world . . .

Flashback — Childhood Memories

Favorite foods.

Favorite pets.

Toys.

TV shows.

Are we having fun yet?

Cartoons.

Disneyland.

Camp outs.

Days at the beach.

Dreams of what my future Life would contain (horses!!!)

These memories awaken precious Emotional Pockets that remain fresh and accessible, years, even decades later.

Sky Rocket

When I was in elementary school, my classmate, Susan Ball, had a medium-sized, red-colored pony named Sky Rocket.

I remember climbing on double, behind Susan, bareback onto Sky Rocket, one fresh Malibu Spring day. Maybe fourth grade.

Smells of mustard flowers, black sage, salt and sea, fill my sense-memories.

Zippy little Sky Rocket knew exactly how to get us off :))

After a few steps, he dipped, scooted, and turned out from under us. We emerged, dusty, giggling, but otherwise unharmed.

Ready to ride again.

This snippet is one of my treasured Pockets of Emotion from my decades-distant Malibu childhood.

Especially, because it included a HORSE!!!!! The object of my Life-long desires.

Little Dawn with Breyer Horses — Grandfather photo

So I landed, emotionally, on Sky Rocket as a potential name.

After all, this being the 50 year anniversary of our USA Moon Landing — and Starboy’s next generation — it only seems fitting.

Since she’s due to foal soon, I’m busy putting up extra fencing.

Dusting off my dog-eared copy of Blessed Are the Broodmares.

Praying.

Loving.

Lots of good hay.

Lots of good vibes.

Filly Aria, 2007

Hoping, praying for the best!

DawnHoof

Aria, Running (age 3)

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Please visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

Copyright 2019

Photo Credits: Jetsons, Hanna Barbera; photo of Dawn, Aria and Fae, C. Briscoe; all others, Dawn Jenkins (DawnHoof)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horse High :))

It’s a wonderfully recurring theme throughout my Horse Life . . .

“The more I ride, the more I want to ride! The more I ride, the more I must ride !”    DawnHoof 

The more I ride, the more I experience that effervescent, single-minded, can’t-wait-to-do- it-again, fluttery feeling:  Horse High!!! 

Enjoy this post I wrote last fall. My wonderful ride on Fae in our woods tonight brought back my Horse High, and I decided to post this now, in honor of all the Great Rides we Horse Humans live for . . .    DawnHoof

It’s the Horse High that keeps me a Horse Girl.

Not just my owning, caring for, and feeding my horses every day . . .

Not just that I can ride.

But that I do ride!

Again. And again.

And again.

Not a Given . . .

Yet sometimes the High alludes me.

Occasionally, rides go bad, or leave me flat.

Sometimes it’s tough to get out and ride at all!

Be it weather — too hot, too cold. Conditions — too slick, too much snow. Time — too little daylight, too much work. Or my own energy levels — too tired, or just not quite “up”.

But most of my Horse Adventures fuel the High I feel today, from all the great rides and carriage drives I’ve experienced recently :)) :)) :))

Keeping Stats :)) 

You may not know, but I log every ride! Like in my old days of piloting airplanes, every hour spent in flight, every destination, every landing, recorded in flight logs.

I record my rides in a series of yearly At-A-Glance type organizer books, (going back more than twenty years!), along with my day-to-day work, travel and activities.

Rides are circled and flagged, so they stand out and can be tallied. Time, horse(s) and destination, all recorded.

Spirit of my Jeep :))

I treasure these records, as they paint the overall picture as to how my Horse Life is playing out, over the larger scope of time.

Going back through the years and adding up my number of rides and hours spent in the saddle — I’ve noticed, as I’m getting older, the numbers tend to shrink.

You might be tempted to think, “One day, when things slow down — I’ll live the Life of my Dreams.”

Oh, so naive.

You might find, as you age, you won’t quite have the energy levels you have now.

(Like our vehicles, our own body mileage starts piling up, and we require more maintenance to perform at previous levels of expectation :))

“A good reminder to you younger folks — On with it! Get out and get on with your Dreams! Find a way to manifest the Life you’ve always wanted . . . right now.”    DawnHoof

Magical Truck Odometer :))

The Urge to Call it Quits . . .

In fact, from time to time throughout my more difficult years, when the High has partially alluded me, I’ve actually considered finding a new home for my herd.

This happened a couple years ago. My rides had gotten less frequent, and some of the thrill had gone.

“If I’m not riding as much, and not enjoying it like before,”  I asked, quite seriously . . . “Would my horses be better off with someone else???”

Sample Mind Map

Mind Mapping my Solution

So I did what I always do when faced with a Life Dilemma:  I got out felt markers and poster board, and started a fresh Mind Map to explore the topic.

I Rode.

I came home.

I Mapped.

I rode again.

Over the course of a week, I had my answer:

• No, I don’t need to re-home my herd :))
• I am an excellent horse owner — but my Life has shifted at this stage, and my horsing must now adjust
• So, rather than find faults, change my expectations and enjoy the phase I’m in now
• Create joy in all that I do with my horses, whether I ride, or not :))

In shifting my approach, I’m happy to report, my Horse High, which powered the dreams of my childhood, has returned! 🙂 :))

Little Dawn with Horses

Altering my Expectations

I reset my goals and expectations to include accepting a bit less time in the saddle, yet allowing myself to enjoy this “golden autumn” phase of Life and Horse . . .

(Like the colors and light that grace the fall equinox season.)

From my Mapping, I discovered that my Horse High shows up most when I shake up the usual mix :))

• Hauling and riding somewhere fresh
• Inviting a friend to join me
• Making some daring change to my everyday routine

Road Trip!

So recently, I took action — and loaded Aria and Laddie in the trailer, and headed toward Lockwood Valley.

Earlier this summer I joined an endurance-riding neighbor for a big evening/moonlight ride (4.5 hours!) up Seymour Canyon, an old haunt I hadn’t ridden in years.

Now I set out for an encore ride of just the lower, easy part of Seymour, riding Laddie and ponying Aria.

Golden Seymour Canyon

Up, up we rode.

Up the dirt track.

Past the dried creekbed.

Silhouetted trees.

Exposed roots.

Magical Sunbeams :))

A single doe,

Large eyes and ears,

Paused. Looked —

Leapt off into

The underbrush —

Laddie’s neck high,

Eyes following.

Upward. Onward.

Past ramshackled remains

Of previously inhabited

Trailers and outbuildings.

Abandoned gravel pit.

Grass-lined, dried-out ponds.

Thirty-mile vistas.

Up, up, ever up —

Winding past private

Fenced-off areas,

Along the forest line.

Outside the fence,

Outside of time . . .

To Golden Seymour Flats,

Ablaze in once-a-year

Perfect fall glory.

My saddle warm,

Welcoming.

My horses eager.

Forward. In sync.

My body fit, fine.

Walking, swinging.

Trotting, loping,

Galloping into freedom —

One-and-a-half hours

Of constant, fluid motion.

Heading back,

End-of-day light.

Satisfied. Complete.

High on Horse!

High on Nature.

High on Life :))

Recovery

The day after a big ride, my lower back, neck and shoulders wake up stiff.

But they work out of it . . .

More powerful than that, my Soul wakes up refreshed, yearning for more.

Dreaming. Recounting. Re-living —

Bursting out in an effervescent, obsessive, Horse High!

:)) :)) Old Fashioned Horse High :)) :))

So today, all I could think was:

• Where to go next?
• What day could we go?
• Which horses should I take?
• How far shall we ride???

High, Again :))

So I rode again, tonight —

Another hour-and-a-half,

In the moonlight.

Gliding. Floating.

One with my mount.

Dreaming again now —

Where to go next?

Which horses to take?

What’s up for the rest of the week??? :))

~~~~

Please visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn ,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

Copyright 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Ride of the New Season :))

“Riding is the privilege we earn from the care we give [to our horses].”  DawnHoof

Ah, the First Ride of the New Season —

Such a long time in the making.

Born from the perils of WINTER.

Wind. Rain. Hail. Snow.

Mud. Ice. Frost. Muck.

Keeping me out of the saddle —

Keeping the horses fallow in their deep, muddy fields.

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The Trials of Winter

Here, in our 6,000′ mountainous elevation,

I haven’t ridden since Fall’s golden foliage faded, and

Winter’s frigid arrival. Instead, my tasks —

Month after month:  Hay bales purchased. Hauled. Unloaded.

Day after day:  Breakfasts and dinners measured. Fed.

Night after night:  Icy roads. Frozen hands. Gusting windstorms.

Six long months:  Facing the elements. Focusing inward.

Awaiting the return of Spring.

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Hints of Change

Yet, slowly, the seasons begin to shift. The days, at least some, warming.

Cottonwood catkins burst, and fall, carpeting the Earth in burgundy festoons.

Verdant leaves soon to unfold, like tiny umbrellas, vanishing the gray

Trunks and branches, naked, exposed for so long.

All this, signaling one grand thing:  SPRING!!!

And the ability to join my horses in the saddle, and

Head back out onto the trails, again!

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Lifetime Achievement

To the uninitiated, it seems that all horse-people do, is RIDE.

Yet to us horse-minded humans, we know that all we do, is CARE.

Like for a small child:  Food. Water. HoofCare. VetCare.

We end up spending more time hoping to ride, than actually riding.

Riding is the privilege we earn from the care we give.

It all looks so easy — the human, on a whim,”hopping” onto a horse,

Without a second thought. Oh how foolish that would be!

We merely make it seem Easy. Spontaneous. Unplanned.

Rather, Weeks. Months. Years go into it.

(Years raising. Years waiting. Years training.)

Lifetimes compose our Rides —

Alongside endless interruptions:  School. Work. Child-rearing. Weather.

Lifetimes spent developing, deepening, the finer nuance —

The “Secret language” we share with our Horse.

~~~~

The BIG Day! 

Oh, the JOY of finally “hopping on”, once the

Groundwork is complete:  Hooves trimmed. Shoes in place.

Winter’s wet earth dried out — solid, not mush.

Hair coats shedding. Manes untangled.

Exuberant-excess-energy worked down. Out. Safely,

First, without a rider, running in their field —

Bucks and twists and bursts of gallops at Liberty.

Free! With no one yet on their backs.

(This done daily for a couple of weeks, just to be sure ALL the bucks are out.)

And so, Today:  Sun finally shining :))

Temperatures rising: 40s, 50s, 60s!

Horses:  Worked. Shod. Prepped.

 Just Today for the first time since late fall!

Tuned up. Relaxed. Finally — Ready to RIDE!

~~~~

Ride On!

At the tie-up area, I bring out saddle and bridle.

Aria gives a sniff. Calmly accepts the routine.

Dips her neck with open mouth for her bit.

At the mounting block, I land, softly in the fur-lined saddle seat.

Aria turns and strides. Silky. Forward. Engaged.

Out the gate, Starboy in tow on a rope, behind us.

Up the road. On Terra Firma now — not mud or ice.

Light, free. Swinging along with the motion of the horse —

I’m a kid again! Warm sun on my face. Cool breeze in my hair.

Horse and human, finding our rhythm. Effortless. Bliss!

Little Dawn with Breyer Horses — Grandfather photo

Little Dawn jumping :))

Favorite “horsey” sport!

“Lifetimes compose our rides . . . spent developing, deepening, the finer nuance — the ‘Secret language’ we share with our Horse.”   DawnHoof

Childhood Realized

In lilting voice, I sing Aria’s praises.

I’m living my childhood dream!

Horses and trailrides. Laughter and love.

I see, again, our shadows streaking over treebark;

Flashing across patches of newly sprouted grass —

The very same artwork I rode as a kid.

The moving, fleeting shadows that weave the Story of my Life.

As we climb now, Aria surging, soaring into the trailway,

I notice the sound of her breathing. Saddle leather moaning.

Hoofbeats on hardpan — the same music that’s always enthralled me.

Over and over, I praise her. And stroke her.

In all this, my Heart sings. I ride, again, the Soundtrack of my Life :)) and

Relish in the beauty, and the GLORY of riding this

Wonderful. Responsive. Intelligent.

GREAT MAGNIFICENT HORSE :)) :)) :))

~~~~

Join Dawn for a Soul Horse Ride!  Experience the thrill of becoming one with your Horse . . . Join Dawn and her homegrown herd for a  Soul Horse Ride in the Frazier Park Outback!

Call to book your Life-Changing Adventure today:  (661) 703-6283

~~~~

Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

Copyright 2019

Photos: Dawn Jenkins

Additional photo credits: Grandfather’s family archives

 

The Life of My Dreams . . . I Believe in Magic :))

Ah, the frailties of our human Lives . . .

How do we know if our Life will work out?

How do we cope with the hand Life seems to deal us?

What do we do about uncertainties???

“Do you believe in Magic? (Like the Lovin’ Spoonful song from my 60s childhood.)

I have to say, I do!”  DawnHoof

Reflections . . .

Twenty eight years ago, something wonderful happened — Starboy, my Horse-of-a-Lifetime, was born, in my arms, outside my dome house, up a canyon, in Malibu.

Yet that same night, twenty eight years ago, something awful happened — my (then) marriage fell apart.

So much uncertainty. So many questions.

How were my two young daughters and I to make it? How would I feed and care for all the horses? How would our lives work out???

Flash forward . . .

To tonight — Starboy’s twenty eighth birthday . . .

When I rode my same Horse-of-a-Lifetime into the forest, into the moonlight (aligned with Mars, no less!) under the vast canopy of September 19, 2018 stars.

Starboy Moonlight Ride

Long shadows

Dipping. Drooping.

Dark across the forest floor.

Starboy’s hooves, resound

Upon the path, like heartbeats —

Steady. Musical.

Twenty eight years

His melody strums the earth,

Graces the moonlight,

Carries my weight, still.

Twenty eight years

Starboy’s movement, rocking, 

Swaying. Dancing moonbeams

Sparkling off his flowing mane.

Filling my heart with peace.

Wonder. Love for Life.

Like that first night

When he was born —

With so much promise,

:)) Fulfilled :))

Yet alongside the joy,

I remember the sorrow.

The uncertainty. The loss.

And I realize — WOW!!!!

All is well!  Everything

Turned out beautifully!

My children:  Grown, happy.

My horse dreams:  Fulfilled.

My (now) marriage:  Deep, fulfilling :)) :))

Our home:  Beautiful.

My Life:  The Life of my Dreams.

I achieved the accomplishment

We all wish for — hope for.

And I marvel — at the Magic!

And I thank God . . .

And I thank goodness.

And I smile :))

And my gratitude runs deep.

And strong . . .

Like Starboy!

Señor Starboy — camp clown  :)) :))

What about you?

Is this Magic limited to just a few? Heck no! I believe it’s truly available to us all.

Where are you in your Life right now? Joy? Sorrow? Uncertainties?

Pray. Do your best. Follow your dreams. Look up.

Make your best decisions whenever you come to a crossroads.

Dust yourself off when you fall. Get back up and go at it again.

And you’ll get there. It might take a while.

But be encouraged — you’ll manifest the Life of your dreams :))

Do you believe in Magic?

Do you believe in magic in a young girl’s heart
How the music can free her whenever it starts?
And it’s magic if the music is groovy
It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie
I’ll tell you about the magic, and it’ll free your soul
But it’s like trying to tell a stranger ’bout-a rock and roll

If you believe in magic, don’t bother to choose
If it’s jug band music or rhythm and blues
Just go and listen, and it’ll start with a smile
That won’t wipe off your face no matter how hard you try
Your feet start tapping, and you can’t seem to find
How you got there so just blow your mind

If you believe in magic, come along with me
We’ll dance until morning till there’s just you and me
And maybe, if the music is right
I’ll meet you tomorrow, sort of late at night
And we’ll go dancing, baby, then you’ll see
How the magic’s in the music and the music’s in me

(The Lovin Spoonful, 1965 — lyrics)

~~~~

~~~~

Please visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn ,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

Copyright 2018

 

 

Boot Up!

DawnHoof’s Prescription:

               “GO! Get out of the house — and RIDE!” 

The horses are shod,

The rider is fit.

Once out the door,

We’ll get on with it . . .

 

Summertime calls,

The daylight so sweet —

Winter rides fail

To create such a treat.

 

Now is the time

To head for the hills,

Headstrong on hoofbeats

That bring me such thrills!

 

Socks on my feet,

Boots fit to ride —

This all must happen

Before going outside.

 

So suit up and Boot Up,

My dream horse awaits —

Ready to carry me

To my happiest place.

 

(The only thing stopping

Me now, I admit,

Are the socks and the Boots —

So: “Get on with it!!!”)

 

Post Ride Report:

 

And I did :)) And I rode :))

Endurance-paced speed,

For 2 1/2 hours on my

Swift-moving steed!!!

 

The farthest I’ve been

In nearly a year —

No clue how the time flew,

On Aria, my dear :))

 

So suit up and Boot Up,

My dream horse awaits —

Ready to carry me

To my happiest place.

 

And when I have time next,

Put on those cool Boots!

For horse dreams lie empty

Unless my Boots scoot :))

For more Posts about Aria, see: Aria, My Pegasus, Aria! Coming Together, and Touchstone — Full-Gallop!!!

~~~~

Copyright 2018

~~~~

Join Dawn for a Soul Horse Ride!  Experience the thrill of becoming one with your Horse . . . Join Dawn and her homegrown herd for a  Soul Horse Ride in the Frazier Park Outback!

Call to book your Life-Changing Adventure today:  (661) 703-6283

~~~~

Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

Touchstone — Full-Gallop!!!

Aria Running

“I became a young girl again, flying full-speed through the woods — One with my horse –”                                         DawnHoof

When was the last time you ran — flat out — Full–Gallop!!! ?

Heart and hoofbeats teleporting you straight back to

Long-ago youth. Back to Days when horses and cowboys

Filled the dreams of everyday girls and boys . . .

I was all teenage again tonight, this ride on my AMAZING Aria,

Fleet and fit and flying across the forested earth . . .

Flushing birds of prey from their evening roosts, soaring above us,

Startled by our roiling, energetic blast.

This full-out ride a Touchstone to the best and fittest times of my Life :))

Back to my childhood first-horse, Rebel, Galloping the endless

California chaparral. Alone. Lithe. Energized. Elated!

Back to Fanta (Aria’s Grand-dam). Bold. Big. Inexhaustible.

What other mechanism can do this for me?

Safe in my saddle. Hooves pounding. Exuberant! Free!

Fluid on the back of my own swift-moving childhood fantasy —

The culmination of my Life-long dreams :))

Delivering the rush and speed of downhill skiing.

The thrill of bobsleds at Disneyland’s Matterhorn Mountain.

The rocket-propelled thrust of jet-fired engines . . .

Combined with the heart and love of the line of horses I bred —

Filly Aria, 2007

Aria — the horse I raised, trained and nurtured. On hooves

That I learned to nail with high performance, precision horseshoes —

Preventing overreach — enhancing her natural movement :)) :))

My same saddle I flew with Fanta, Mentor — holding me again. Safe. Secure.

Flying now, across the forest — Touchstone to my younger Days.

Timeless. Free. Galloping my way across the Story Line of my Life :))

Energized. Alive! No matter what my age :)) :)) Tonight, running —

Flat out — Again! On my Amazing Arabian-cross mare.

~~~~

Copyright 2018

~~~~

Join Dawn for a Soul Horse Ride!  Experience the thrill of becoming one with your Horse . . . Join Dawn and her homegrown herd for a  Soul Horse Ride in the Frazier Park Outback!

Call to book your Life-Changing Adventure today:  (661) 703-6283

~~~~

Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

 

 

The Vast, Great Sea of Horses

Horses . . .

We only see the outside.

Like standing by the shore of a vast, great sea.

When we stroll the ocean’s edge, we know what we are likely to find there . . .

Nature. Air.

Color. Texture.

Ripples. Wavelets.

Seabirds. Sand.

Sparkling sunbeams, moonbeams, gracing the surface with magical glints of dancing, ever-changing light . . .

~~~~

We know, when we are near the sea, what we are likely to feel . . .

Vast. Open.

Fresh. Alive.

Ageless. Outside of our day-to-day limitations of space and time.

(We revert back to childhood.)

Tempted to take off our shoes, get our feet wet.

Sand beneath our toes. Shocking cold of the water.

Maybe even splashed by an unexpected wave — and now our leggings, wet for the rest of the day :))

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DawnHoof:

I grew up in Malibu, on the beach, with Nature and sand and surf, outside our back door. From a small child, I experienced the ocean, in all her moods.

A Vast, Great Childhood Wonderland!

~~~~

Blustery Spring and Fall

Calm Summer perfection

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Childhood Memories —

My brother and I, puttering endlessly through the sand dunes, scooting on our knees — and the squiggly tracks our legs and hands left in the sand.

Forts with make-believe kitchens, “baking bread” out of a brown, loaf-shaped cork we found, after it had washed ashore. (That item was a particular rare treasure :))

Listening to Roy Orbison’s Pretty Woman on my transistor radio one perfect beachy day, at the very time a shapely, bathing-suited brunette — I was just a dorky kid — swept past my sand-dune-fort, swerving and curving with each stride . . .

Orbison singing, “Pretty woman, walking down the . . . beach, Pretty woman” and remembering this scene for years to come, whenever I hear that song. 

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Winter, with her storms

Spellbound, in terror, and awe

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Late-night fierce, far-away storm. Lightning strikes, firing off on the horizon way out to sea. Blazing explosions of Nature’s wrath — complete with roaring, booming thunder. All us kids piled on Mom and Dad’s bed, shivering in fear, watching the spectacle.

Windy, fall mornings at the bus stop, watching the surf while waiting to go to school. Wishing that summer was not over, and yearning to be back at the beach . . .

Moody. Changing.

Foggy. Sun.

Windy. Cold.

Burning sand.

There is a Life and Culture, that comes with the sea.

DawnHoof:

Dad had a boat — 14′ motorboat, green fiberglass. Evinrude outboard engine. It smelled like gas and fish and oil . . .

~~~~

He’d put-in at the pier at Paradise Cove, where a crane plucked up the boat, dangling from a sling, and hoisted it slowly, down into the inky water below.

Dad and some family/friends would motor out, around Point Dume, and up coast to the waters outside our Trancas Beach home, and drop off a rubber, air-filled Voit surf mat, just inside the wave line.

The crashing surf would tumble the mat in, and one of the bigger kids/adults would paddle out on it, past the breakers, and climb into the boat . . . (I think adult beverages might have been involved :))

~~~~

One day Dad and the boat almost ate it — frozen in my memory, I can see it, even now.

A BIG wave cresting behind. Building. Forming. Ready to break. His little boat in too close for this unexpected rogue.

All of us on shore yelling. Pointing. Jumping. Shouting.

~~~~

“DAD!!! BEHIND YOU!!! WATCH OUT!!!!!”

~~~~

Dad standing, like a jockey, one hand on the wheel. Smiling, waving — forever the showman — thinking it all great fun.

(Crap! Dad!! LOOK — turn the boat!!!! This CAN’T happen to you!!!!!)

Dad waving. Us yelling. The wave building, cresting, like a mountain, ready to smash and destroy . . .

~~~~

Then Dad, in that final possible moment, glancing sea-ward — still standing, clam — turns the boat and slices through the top, airborne, rocketing out, crashing down — safe, onto the sea behind.

When he got home, hours later, all he could do was laugh.

~~~~

(Read more about DawnHoof’s Studio Musician Dad here, and listen to his wonderful music :))

~~~~

So, also, is the Vast, Great Sea of Horses

Life and culture.

Mood and magic.

Calm and storm.

Story and lore.

Terror and awe.

We only see the outside, the “shore” of the horse . . .

Manes and tails.

Hard hooves. Soft noses.

Yet what lies within?

What memories do my horse’s seas carry?

DawnHoof:

So just as I grew up with Nature and the beach, my daughters grew up with Nature, and our horses — right there, outside our cabin door. (On occasion, in the foyer of our home!) And later, stabled at nearby ranches.

~~~~

Their memories include:  Milking goats. Sleeping in full-sized Sioux Indian tipi.  Dressing up (like a baby doll) our numerous newborn (horse) foals. Carriage rides. Wildflowers. And standing up atop the horses, just for fun :))

Laying, snuggling and singing with the goats, the horses. Chasing chickens and ducks. Eating vegetables straight from the garden. And the sweet smell of damp, wet earth.

My daughters’ family lore includes:  Working and earning money at our vaulting and carriage (camp) gigs as my helpers, wranglers, muckers.

Saving their earned money in special, hidden envelopes — “checking out” whatever money they would spend with a simple, yet effective, handwritten accounting system.

School-free days — escaping into the woods, on horseback, by themselves. Galloping. Racing. Laughing. Crying. Climbing trees. Playing flutes . . . and Daydreams . . .

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Long rides on dark starry nights. Fast gallops and sharp branches tearing clothes, poking flesh. Famous stories of all the near misses . . .

Like the icy wipeout at Wounded Knee Rock, leaving only one small injury, one shiny scar (fortunately on me). And like Dad’s near miss with the wave, but for God’s grace, that near-miss could have been fatal.

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And when we gather together, when we reflect back — Dad would approve — we share lots of lively laughter :))

(See Dawn’s posts, Virtual Rides, for more family horse stories.)

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As with the Ocean, So with our Horses

And just as we experience the sea by surfing, swimming, floating, diving, boating — just as she can be mapped, measured, traced and traversed, no one will ever really know all her secrets.

Endless treasures abound within her watery depths.

Each one of us who encounters her, experiences our own, personal ocean-legacy.

And so it is with our horses.

Because in the presence of a horse, like the sea, far more lies beneath her surface.

She can be brushed and led, trained and coaxed, saddled and ridden. Her DNA can be mapped, measured and traced. But we will never really know all a horse’s secrets.

What is her story? What is her lineage? How did she get here?

How many children has this horse carried?

How many lives has this horse touched? Changed? Encouraged?

Who are her favorite stablemates, and which ones, now lost, might she pine for?

What motivates her? What does she enjoy?

What are her fears? Hopes? Limitations?

Who are her human loved ones?

What animals cruise by her corral at night, frightening her? Feeding her nightmares?

(We have bear where our horses live!)

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In our horse’s presence, we know what we are likely to feel . . .

Vast. Open.

Fresh. Alive.

Ageless. Outside of our day-to-day limitations of space and time.

(We revert back to childhood.)

Tempted to put on our boots, go closer to where she is, and stand near her.

Wrap our arms around her neck. Whispering. Scratching. She, stretching and moving her upper lip in pleasure . . . sharing a bonding, intuitive moment.

Maybe even moved to mount up and ride. And now our leggings, sweaty for the rest of the day :))

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Ode to Our Horse —

So as we experience all that comes with horses,

Boots and saddles

Dust and manure

Life and beauty and majesty . . .

We celebrate the exuberant treasures,

The rich, deep wonders

Hidden within

The Vast, Great Sea of Horses :))

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Copyright 2018

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Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

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Little Dawn with plastic horses at Grandfather’s house

Join Dawn for a Soul Horse Ride!  Experience the thrill of becoming one with your Horse . . . Join Dawn and her homegrown herd for a  Soul Horse Ride in the Frazier Park Outback!

Call to book your Life-Changing Adventure today:  (661) 703-6283

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