Where Starboy Runs

I found this entry in my journal, dated March 2009, when the economy was failing, falling — much like the Virus and economic uncertainties we experience today.

“Not sure if we can pay our bills, feed our horses, keep our house . . .” I had  written at the uneasy hour of 2:16 am, followed by the poetic lines.

Yet we managed to survive that downturn, even thrive, after it had passed. A reminder that, God willing, we shall emerge from our current woes, as well.

Stay in peace!   DawnHoof

Where Starboy Runs

The world shifts and changes,
frightening change —
yet Starboy, stays his course.

The economy flaps, stalls,
nearly collapses —
yet Starboy trots effortlessly.

He lilts along the pine-scented
trail, eagerly moving forward,
floating, steadfast.

Down the open ravine, back up
the other side. Past the waterhole
where bob cats lap.

Grassy spring sprouts fight their
way out of hardened earth,
carpeting the meadow in green.

We turn homeward now,
Starboy’s pace invigorating —
his surging trot, soft as the wind.

Ah that I might live life like
Starboy, gently moving on,
like a dancer, into the second act . . .

Beyond the stock market.
Beyond the mortgage payment.
Where Starboy carries me —

Off the stage, beyond the curtains,
into the forested wonderland
where Starboy runs.

Update —

Starboy runs in greener pastures now. Born in my arms in 1990, living thriving and serving his entire 29 years as member of my herd.

Sadly, Starboy passed away last November — to my stroking, singing, praises, and prayers. The same voice and hands that ushered him into this world, cradled him out . . .

Run, Starboy, run! We’ll ride, again, when I cross over to your side of the rainbow.   DawnHoof

Copyright 2020

Photos:  Dawn Jenkins

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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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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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Evaluating Your Horse’s Shoeing

“The more you, as a horse owner, know about how hooves function, what to look for, and how to talk about your horse’s hooves, the more effective you will be in evaluating and caring for the foundation of your horse’s athletic abilities.”  DawnHoof

Evaluating your horse’s shoeing presents one of the ongoing difficulties horse owners face.

Oftentimes an owner senses that “something is wrong with the shoes” but cannot put a finger on the proper verbiage. Talking with the farrier or even the vet can be frustrating and make an owner feel less sure of her instincts.

“One thing I can say for sure. No matter where you live and ride, there are a lot of horseowners frustrated with their horse’s hoofcare!”   DawnHoof

Shoeing horses involves more than applying a shoe to a hoof and keeping it there. The feet are the foundation, the platform of your horse’s longevity and athletics.

If the foundation is off, the movement is off. The performance is off, and the horse is off — however subtly.

We want our horse’s movement supple, connected, and with impulsion.

But more and more she moves heavily, reluctantly, stabbing at the ground. We try changing saddles, bit, bridle, teeth floats, supplementation, body work, injections – to little or no avail.

Instead of coming home with a smile on our face, more and more we suffer discouragement.

Shutterstock Image

It turns out farriers are taught all kinds of nifty metal-working skills, but seem reluctant to learn to recognize and deal with subtle lameness issues. This kind of stuff takes more time, more education, more attention . . . and most farriers are pretty busy.

And subtle lameness issues, especially involving the hind-end – the horse’s motor – migrate forward over time into full-blown lameness issues in the fronts.

Thus, what might have been prevented early on, becomes a career-ending catastrophe.

Myself a life-long horseperson, (I’ve bred and raised four generations of Arab-crosses, and have a rugged endurance, carriage and trail-riding background :)) — I like to say: “I’m ‘one of us’ [horsegirls] who infiltrated the farrier’s world.”

My hoofwork started in 1990 with my farrier Uncle, Ink Knudson, who taught me to trim (and eventually shoe) my own horses, with an emphasis on therapeutics — and it’s grown from there.

Over the past thirty years, I’ve studied with the best: Gene Ovnicek (Natural Balance), Doug Butler, Myron McLane, Dr. Ric Redden, Dr. Chris Pollitt, Dr. Barbara Page, Dr. Robert Bowker, Pete Ramey, Epona Tech, and many, many others, as well as working side-by-side, (think x-ray-by-x-ray!), with my local and very talented veterinarians.

I’ve covered farrier and veterinary events as a journalist, and have been privileged to have several of my writings published in horse and farrier periodicals. (Anvil Magazine, American Farriers Journal, Professional Farrier, Holistic Horse.)

Even more, I’ve learned from the horses themselves.

Working as a farrier and barefoot trimmer in both California and Hawaii, and traveling between the two regions every shoeing cycle for fourteen years, I am privileged to have worked on performance, pasture and backyard horses in various environmental settings.

One thing I can say for sure. No matter where you live and ride, there are a lot of horseowners frustrated with their horse’s hoofcare!

The more you, as a horseowner, know about how hooves function, what to look for, and how to talk about your horse’s hooves — the more effective you will be in evaluating and caring for the foundation of your horse’s athletic abilities.

It is my pleasure to share some of my knowledge about hoofcare with you!

• Call for a consult:  (661) 703-6283
• Schedule to have me out to train you to trim or shoe your own
• Learn how to better communicate your horse’s hoof concerns with your vet or farrier.

Dawn Jenkins, Lady Farrier (aka DawnHoof)

Frazier Park, California

(661) 703-6283

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Copyright 2020

Photos: Dawn Jenkins; Zebra image, Shutterstock

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Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn ,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

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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I Was a Teenager Again, Today . . .

This has been a season of very little riding, compared to the rest of my years — years filled with all-out endurance trail riding on some of the best horses, best trails on the planet!

Am I just getting old? Why don’t I ride as much as I used to???

My Wise-Woman Hawaiian friend, Wendy, suggested, “Perhaps if you had someone fun to ride with, you would ride more.”

Perhaps — but who?

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So, as today was cool, my time was free, the horses shod and ready — I called up Hollie and asked if she’d like to ride.

“Yes!”

Fantastic!

She met me in an hour, and up we saddled, and off we went. Off into the woods. Into the wonder of riding a willing horse . . . She on Lad, me on Aria.

(Turns out, she hadn’t ridden enough, on her horses, either. And her horses don’t have the same trail access as mine.)

So she clamored up onto Laddie, all 16+ hands of him, quite a bit larger than her two, and onto my Aussie “guest saddle”, perfectly fitted to her size.

Off into the woods we went, happy girls, happy horses . . .

“I’m so jealous of this horse,” she said of Lad. “He’s PERFECT! You’re so lucky to have him!!!”

Yes. I really am!

But without Hollie, who last rode with me and my daughters almost ten years ago, I wouldn’t have giggled, laughed, whooped, full-out-galloped, and had the AMAZING RIDE we had today!!!!!

Feeling the exuberance of horses! (see photo credit below)

Although she’s young enough to be my daughter, too, — today there was no age difference between us.

We were two teenagers again, Little Dawn and Young Hollie, riding to our heart’s content on Aria and Lad — the horses both completely willing and into it.

Swooping round the loops and bends of my secret “Sneaky Trail” — Hollie and I, whooping and loving it.

So rare to find another human who can meld with a horse, with my horse, without complaint. Flying across the earth at endurance-pace speed, tireless. Free!

Once we hit the galloping place, Lad, lagging a length or two behind, as usual, suddenly poured on speed — and overtook Aria and me — lunging with leaping strides into all the dignity of his Arabian-cross ancestry. Draft-horse-genes be damned!

He rose to the Endurance Arab in him, and FLEW out in front. So great to see :))

Aria fleet, airborne. Her gait fluid and swift, like silk, and satin, and velvet. Covering the ground in effortless flight, carrying me back to my teenage years of all those horse dreams I lived for. (see: Laddie, Light my Fire)

There, on the ground, on the trees, I saw my shadow, the same one that accompanied me on all my childhood rides. How could my shadow look so young? So nimble?

With motherhood and all the years since, my shadow still rides, upright and strong, firm in my Western-Australian saddle.

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So if you find yourself lagging in your adventures, putting off the rides you know you love — is there someone fun you could call up and ride with?

I certainly hope so!

Hollie and I hope to arrange more of these “spontaneous outings”.

Because we both LOVE the thrill of riding perfect horses.

And we both LOVE the feeling of being teenagers, again!

DawnHoof

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Copyright 2019

Photos: Dawn Jenkins

More on photo of Alice Sisty jumping a Cord car: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/37858453097266917/

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Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn ,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

~~~~

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

~~~~

 

Aria — No Foal, No Foul :((

After breeding, feeding, caring, fencing, waiting — turns out, Aria is not in foal, after all.

My neighbor, who has assisted an Equine Reproductive Veterinarian for many years and has lots of experience with mares and foaling, tells me, in several cases, they would ultrasound a mare. View the foal. And in subsequent visit(s):  no foal. Gone! Without a sign. What the heck???

So I went online, and found this:

Pregnancy Loss in Mares

“The failure of fertilized eggs to result in a live foal about 11 months [after breeding] is one of the more frustrating aspects of horse breeding [1, 2].

Most of the losses occur in the first 35 days of pregnancy and the embryo is resorbed . . . In fact, around 20% of mares that conceive will lose the embryo before day 50.” (source)

So, somewhere in the process, Aria seems to have lost her foal.

(This happened one other time, years ago, with my mare Lacey. I took her to the Vet a couple weeks after her due date, wondering what was going on. “She’s not pregnant,” the Vet Tech said. “Well, if she’s not pregnant, than what is she?” I asked, looking at my pendulous-bellied mare. “FAT!”

But then, there was the goat I bred that appeared to not be pregnant. I went out of town, and a friend was looking after my animals. “The goat is having her baby!” she told my housemate. “No, haven’t you heard. The goat is not pregnant.” “Than what is coming out of her???” A healthy, single, black buck :))

Shutterstock Image

So now, Aria is on a weight reduction diet (she did get fat!). I’m searching for another stallion.

And we’ll try again.

One thing I’ve learned in my many decades with horses:  Try, try again!

That’s how I got my beautiful horse herd, after all.

Some things work out, others don’t. But if we don’t try, don’t give it another go, we won’t receive.

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Copied here is my previous Post on the Good and the Bad with Horses, originally posted in 2014. This pretty much sums it all up.

One-Third ~ Two-Thirds (the Good and the Bad)

Much of the time with our horses (as with much of life) everything goes wonderfully — just as it should. Our horses are sound, healthy, happy.

We ride into the sunset with flowing manes and golden rays.

But what about the times when things go awry — the hoof, the leg, the eye we count on to function normally, suddenly limps, swells, inflames?

I’ve come up with a philosophy that has helped me though the tough times of life, and horse stewardship, and I’d like to share it with you.

~~~

Most of the Time, Things go Right :))

Most of the time, thankfully, things go wonderfully right. We ride our healthy, sound horses and live the dream we envisioned when we first set our sights on owning one.

“My horse is coming along beautifully!”

“I had the BEST ride over the weekend!”

“My mare is in foal — I cannot wait to see what this foal will look like!”

Yet in all this wonder, we tend to forget — we are experiencing the Perfect Two-Thirds of Horsemanship, when everything goes according to plan. :))

~~~

But ~ Sometimes, Things go Wrong :((

However, as we dance with horses through the long-haul of life, we will, from time to time, experience the Flawed One-Third, when things go wrong. (Yes, hopefully this will be an even smaller proportion . . . )

Some mysterious injury occurs.

You come out to ride, but your mare’s leg is blown up.

You go on an amazing, fast-moving ride, but your gelding takes a bad step, and is now off, limping . . .

A bout of colic.

Or worse . . .

You have to call out the Vet or haul to the Hospital.

Worry.

Time lost.

Money spent.

More worry.

No riding . . .

~~~

Your mind works overtime in an endless loop.

“Why did I let this happen?”

“How STUPID was I to not ______________!!!”

“How can I be sure this will NEVER happen to my horse again?!!”

You start feeling sorry for yourself.

All your horse friends are out enjoying the good weather, their sound mounts . . . and you are unable to ride yours.

You start wondering if this is the way it’s going to be from here on — are ALL hopes dashed of EVER riding and enjoying your horse again?

~~~

As a horse owner, breeder, trainer, farrier over the past fortysomething years (I’ve raised four generations thus far :)) I can tell you, I’ve been through all this.

The two aspects, good and bad, seem to go somewhat hand-in-hand.

And I can tell you, sometimes it doesn’t seem at all to work out. Sometimes a horse must be euthanized. Sometimes a horse must be determined to be unsafe or unusable.

But MOST of the time — Two-Thirds of the time, everything works out beautifully. :))

So you know what I’ve learned to do?

(I’m repeating it here, as much for me to remember, as for you to hear!)

I’ve learned to get over the worry, get through the bummer as best as possible — as if it were a test — bless the One Third, and move on.

Because without the One-Third, I would never have the Two-Thirds — the beauty, wonder and perfection my horses bring my family and me.

(Like the photos, above and below, from last fall of my daughter, Ella, enjoying our horses. :))

~~~

But this summer presents a different picture.

Lately, it seems the One-Third has been busy at work.

A mare with a blown leg, a large hospital bill. Another horse with an inflamed eye.

Oh, I can feel sorry for myself.

But I’d rather feel grateful that the leg has quieted — the mare will heal!

The eye has toned down.

I’ve found it better to focus on the Perfect Two-Thirds, and do what I need to do to get through the Flawed One-Third, than to worry and drive myself nuts!

~~~

So when horsing (or life) seems to go South on you, when bad things happen to good people, good horses — take a deep breath.

Ask:  What do I need to do now?

And DEAL with it, the best you know how.

Take your lump and get over it.

And focus on the goodness.

And be grateful for all the perfect rides.

And consider the time you spend nursing a sick horse as bonding time with your beloved.

And know that, in time, as long as you stick with your positive horsing program — the Two-Thirds shall prevail.

And yes, you will be riding again.

And laughing!

And loving your horse, in all her soundness!

~~~

And if you discover that you do have the wrong mount, if all that’s associated with a certain individual seems to ALWAYS go South . . . determine when to cut your losses — search for the horse that will better serve your needs.

And move on into the glory of horsemanship you envisioned from the start.

~~~

~~~

Copyright 2014, 2019

Photo credits: Rainbow, Dr. C. Ravenscroft; Aria laughing, Z. Schultz; Zebra, Shutterstock; Dawn on Aria, riding client shot. All others, Dawn Jenkins (DawnHoof)

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

~~~~

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??? :))

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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.

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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!

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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 :)) :)) :))

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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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Please also visit my Life Blog, Journal of Dawn,

for Strategies and Insights into the

Journey of Life

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Copyright 2019

Photos: Dawn Jenkins

Additional photo credits: Grandfather’s family archives