Mill Swamp Indian Horse Views

Saturday, November 22, 2014

A Lesson From a Weed: An Old Post Written After the Drought Broke In 2010

We are now in our fourth day of rain. Last night was by far the heaviest. Streams that have been non-existent for months now gurgle and swirl with froth and foam. Remnants of crab grass turn green and weed roots that broke the ground with new growth two days ago now have tender shoots six inches long. Of course, one cannot call it pasture and it barely qualifies as forage, but the horses love to be eating something tender and green. The weeds are still sparse. A horse might have to walk five steps between each nibble, but they are there, reminding that life is resilient.

The weeds are teachers. They teach the importance of simply hanging on. They remind us that though life on this Earth is sometimes characterized by pain and devoid of pleasure, it is not perpetually so characterized.

Small trees have died on my property during this drought. But the weeds have held on.

Somewhere inside me there is something that knows that one day the grass and clover will return. But for right now the sight of sprouting weeds is enough.

On Line Classes

Contact us at msindianhorses@aol.com in order to learn more about enrolling in our informative and affordable on line class on Natural Horsemanship, Natural Horse Care, and Natural Hoof Care. This no frills instruction explains how the training techniques, horse care and hoof trimming methods used at Mill Swamp Indian Horses.

"The Horse, The Herd, and The Hoof", allows even novices to develop the kind of relationships with their horses that we all should strive for.

Tuition for the 15 session class is only $160.00. Enroll now.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Mandatory Focus and Mandatory Lightness

I have not found anything that teaches focus as well as archery does. Archery depends on lightness of release. Riding on very narrow (often less than six feet wide)trails that have turns much over ninety degrees and doing so at a brisk trot teaches a rider to focus on terrain and to be able to guide the horse using the lightest of cues.

Failure to do so will result in bumping one's knee on a tree. It is a great training tool for rider and horse. Our new training trails are going to give us better riders and better horses.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Living A Three Dimensional Life

The deer was stunning as it stood by the edge of the field, the largest pinto colored buck that I had seen in front of my home. The soy beans were golden, the morning sun truck the odd white patterns on his side-- reflected sunlight darted from ivory colored horns--movement a study in power as he carried his heavy head in front of his body.....

....but the picture stunk. Cold, flat, no movement, a side view of an odd colored deer--that's all--a meaningless one dimensional misrepresentation of reality.

Our program succeeds because we work hard to maintain a three dimensional view of life. Learning to ride horses in a circle in a sandy arena is not the goal of our program. That is one dimensional horsemanship--that is one dimensional living.

The practice of natural horsemanship requires one to learn not only a new form of communication, but a world view and a perception of reality that is entirely alien to humans. Humans, as omnivorous predators, have nearly nothing in common with horses. When a person learns to enter the horse's world by truly understanding the horse's mind the person expands his ability to relate to others who come from a different world.

That matters.

If You Love Me Then Feed My Sheep: The Morality That Underlies Livestock Conservation

Preserving nearly extinct livestock breeds is not just a hobby. It can lessen starvation worldwide. It can feed hungry children.

No animal--- not pigs, not cattle, nor even chickens, are consumed world wide as much as are goats. Goats can convert low quality vegetation to high quality protein better than any other domestic livestock. Like all livestock, they have limitations as to the environments in which they can thrive..

Goats do not do as well in wet, swampy conditions. They are very susceptible to internal parasites and live best in dry regions of the world.

Except for ones like Sea Biscuit, a Baylis Colonial Spanish goat shown sitting on a hay bale at my horse lot. These goats thrive in swamps, surpass modern commercial goat breeds in ability to produce live kids in non-factory farms, and in their ability to convert poor forage to meat.

And they are going extinct.

Would you not be much prouder to live in a nation that flooded the third world with breeding stock instead of sophisticated weapons?

These goats are weapons of mass survival. And nearly no one has even heard of them or other obscure breeds of livestock that can be a big part of reducing global suffering. That is why the Livestock Conservancy is such an important organization. Go to their web site. See how you can be a part of the vital work that they do.

I recognize that my priorities are out of step with the rest of my culture, but I can't help but feel that this is a more important topic than a naked Kardashian.

Perhaps you all can break the internet by flooding The Livestock Conservancy at http://www.livestockconservancy.org/ .

The Look Of A Winner

Sitting at the office--heavy trial about to happen in Circuit Court--I am getting fired up to prosecute this defendant--clearing my mind--focusing.....

And the case gets continued. Adrenalin crashes--move on to the next task---some news flashes across my computer--Tejas Indian Horse Club announces the winner of their essay contest--first prize is a young Colonial Spanish gelding--

And the winner is a wonderful young rider of mine--Chloe. This is a very lucky horse. His owner will train him with natural horsemanship. He will join our herd and Chloe's family in early December.

Do you understand how exciting this is--for Chloe?--for all of us at the horse lot?

Chloe is a first rate student--she is learning horses and she is applying what she is learning. Every one of my riders who becomes a first rate trainer share two rare traits. Each has an intense ability to focus their attention on the task at hand. And, oddly enough, even when very young all of the first rate young trainers project a physical image of gravitas.

The other traits that they share are too rare, but not as rare as intense focus and gravitas. Those are the traits of kindness, generosity, and gentleness.

Those kids are winners--Chloe is a winner too.

(The picture above is of Chloe and Samson, one of our Corollas)

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