What It Takes To Keep Our Program Growing

Mill Swamp Indian Horses is a program of Gwaltney Frontier Farm a non profit breed conservation program. We have no paid staff and everything that we do is done by volunteers. 

 In fact, we do so much that we document it so that others can understand what is possible. We record the number of miles each rider rides in a lesson and record the cumulative figures. In 2019 we rode further than from Norfolk to Oslo, Norway. Let that sink in for a moment. Here is what goes in in our program-- Gwaltney Frontier Farm Educational Foundation, Inc is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit that supports educational programs at Mill Swam Indian Horses, the program name of Gwaltney Frontier Farm. As is the rest of the nation, we are in a holding pattern for many of our programs and are looking forward to being able to get fully back into gear soon. Below I will set out a list of some of the services that have been provided until the virus suspended things and that will be resumed the moment that it is safe and legal to do so. We work to preserve and promote nearly extinct strains of historic heritage livestock, including Colonial Spanish Horses, particularly those whose lineage goes back to the Outer banks of North Carolina, the area around the Grand Canyon, Choctaw horses whose ancestors carried Native Americans on the Trail of Tears into what is now Oklahoma, Galicenos and Marsh Tackys, the horse of Colonial South Carolina. We also feature rare strains of Spanish goats and early Colonial Sheep and hogs and even raise Scottish Highland Cattle. 

We have recently begun to feature Mammoth donkeys of the type that George Washington used to develop larger, stronger mules. We teach children and adults to humanely gentle and train the horses to saddle and we teach riding lessons. We have never turned anyone away for inability to pay program fees. It is important to keep in mind that we have no paid staff. Everything that is done is done by volunteers. The program is on nearly sixty acres of land that the program uses at no charge. We hope to  return to having our Friday program in which children are taught soil and water conservation, microbial farming, pasture development, Natural Horsemanship, livestock care and handling, Colonial gardening techniques, composting and vermiculture. Perhaps most importantly, the kids learn to work on the farm and use problem solving skills and team work to take on very large projects, e.g. clearing brush and wood land for pasture conversion and fencing that land in for efficient, environmentally sound use. 

We have a program fee, but no family is ever turned away for inability to pay the fee. In order to make it easier for entire families to participate in our programs, those for which a fee is charged are charged on a per family basis. This makes it possible for large families to participate and encourages parents to participate right along with the children. Our educational program includes a free Old Time, folk, blues, gospel and American music lesson program. At no additional charge program participants who wish to do so gather weekly to learn to play and perform on stage. A few adults join in with up to a dozen or more kids and play such instruments as banjos, fiddles, mandolins, dulcimers, harmonicas, wash tub bass, dobro, tenor banjo, tenor guitar, bouzouki, kazoo, autoharp, and even a wash board. The kids have played many professional engagements. All of the performance payments are donated back to the program.

 Perhaps the most important aspect of what we do involves healing and helping people who have experienced extreme trauma in their lives. For over seven years, until the virus outbreak, we provided weekly programming to those who are in the in-patient PTSD program at the Hampton Veterans Hospital. We have never charged for this service. We provided monthly programming to Mid-Atlantic Teen Challenge, a substance abuse treatment facility at no charge. Although we are not a therapeutic riding facility, many people who suffered significant abuse as children or adults benefit tremendously from interaction with our horses. 

 We have provided, and look forward to providing more sessions to first responders, medical professionals, and other professions both in using techniques of natural horsemanship to more effectively communicate with traumatized people and to use the horses to deal with the trauma that they experience on the job. That is what has been going on at the horse lot for many years and I hope that we will be jumping back in with both feet soon. If you would like to be part of our program you may email me at msindianhorses@aol.com. Fess for riding lessons are $160.00 per family per month. 

And this is expensive. We seek grants for big ticket items like repairing the path to drive to the tack shed, construction of our artesian well water system, construction of the shaded area for our Veterans Programs, and posts for conversion of woodlots into silvopasture.

Last month was our most expensive month ever. Hay bills, feed bills, and veterinary bills exceeded $10,000.00 for the month. These are items not covered by grants. the amount of volunteer work that goes into our infrastructure is inspiring to see. Over the past several months construction of  a riding arena, a shelter for the Veterans program, an over haul of the path (still on going and soon to be completed) and land clearing for acres of new pasture, development of a training paddock on the New land have put us in a great position to explode in programming when the virus breaks.

Those kinds of volunteer hours are easy to see. Countless other hours go into daily feeding, computer work and on line sales, maintaining our riding log records and volunteer hours records, keeping registrations for horses current, program development, riding and music instruction, tack care and replacement, weekly hauling of trash to the dumpsters, purchase of feed, helping put out and roll out hay every single week, scheduling of programming, paying taxes and keeping all of our bills paid on time, sowing pastures, mowing pastures,  and a myriad of other contributions of time, work, and expertise. 

And it is worth it.

Horses, Sourwood and All Of The Things that We Do Not See

The horse notices everything and understands nearly nothing. The human notices nearly nothing and understands somethings. I will soon be sixty one years old. Between decades of hunting and many years in the saddle I have spent as much time in the woods as could be hoped for in this century.

While converting a large section of mature, mixed wood forest into silvopasture I encountered a strange bent tree that I was certain I had never seen before. Because of its rarity I decided to leave it to grow. As I cut through more of the forest I found several score of them. 

I began to notice this odd tree in mature hardwood forests every time I rode in the woods. Yet, I had never noticed it before.

And now for the real shock, I could not find anyone else who knew what it was either. I could not find anyone who had noticed such a tree before.

It is a sour wood tree. I was blind to it's existence all of my life.

The overwhelming majority of horse owners are in a similar boat. They have been exposed to horse behavior for decades and have never noticed or even remotely understood what they were observing. They interpret horse behavior through the prism of human or canine behaviors. 

A horse is not a human, and it certainly is not a human infant. A horse is not a dog. A horse deserves the respect of being treated as a horse. The horse deserves an owner who works to understand the mind of the horse. The horse deserves an owner who has the courage to reject the edicts of the established horse world and the intellectual curiosity to put the hours of solid research into understanding the mind of the horse. 

Leaven: Building a Program Like Ours

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! When I opened the computer I received a wonderful message from across the country from a person who is looking to develop a riding program using mustangs. She explained that she had been following our blog and was nearly finished with my book, "And a Little Child Shall lead Them" and she wanted to know what she could learn from our program. She might be coming out in a few weeks to see how we do things.

Three important points arise from this note:

1. The most important thing that we can do is to present a program whose strengths can be replicated in other programs across the country. We reach hundreds of people personally, but it is by using our program as the leaven that helps countless others make bread that we can have the greatest impact. I am always available to consult with anyone looking to build a program like ours. I will happily tell you every mistake that we made in the process and will share every insight gained. Of course, there would never be a charge for this assistance. It has been said that I can get a bit evangelical in my drive to help other programs grow. I plead guilty. Helping grow more programs like ours is the most important contribution that I can make to building a newer world.

2. What we do is not beyond the reach of any one who is willing to work hard to learn natural horsemanship and the impact of trauma on humans. The interplay between the two gives us the ability to shine lights into very dark worlds.

3. This contact learned of our program though our blog. We need to make sure that blog posts reach a wide audience. That means that by sharing blog posts on facebook, sending an email to friends recommending the blog, and signing up to get blog posts sent directly to your email you might be the spark that ends up inspiring someone to build a program like ours.  

It is so easy to do so. In the length of time that it will take us to feed up this morning each of you can reach thousands of people. Perhaps one of those thousands will start a program for veterans with PTSD. Perhaps one of those thousands will start a program to preserve and promote nearly extinct strains of Colonial Spanish horses. Perhaps one of those thousands will start a program teaching soil and water conservation and microbial pasture development to young people. Perhaps one of those thousands will begin a program assisting a local substance abuse facility for young people. Perhaps one of those thousands will begin a roots music instructional program for young people that instills an understanding of  sankofa in those kids.

All of that can happen simply because you pressed a button on a computer. It is such a little thing, but so is leaven.

Overcoming the Fear of Being Afraid: Why Getting Back In The Saddle Is So Important

Riders fall off. Riders who wish to remain emotionally healthy get back on. Kids who fall, without strong emotional support and guidance, often make life altering decisions to surrender to fear and never get back in the saddle. For many it is the beginning of a life of anxiety, avoidance behavior, and risk aversion.

Adults need to work hard to help kids understand their feelings. It is not at all unusual to have a child loose control of a trotting, or even cantering, horse and then gently fall off when the horse stops. The child does not want to get back on because  (they think) that they are afraid of falling off. This is true even when the fall itself was a complete non-event that did not cause the slightest injury.

On the other hand, the feeling of being on the horse without having the horse under control  for the seconds prior to the fall is terrifying. Often it is not the fall that is the problem, it is the terror that comes before the fall. No one, child or adult, would look forward to experiencing such a loss of control and its associated feelings of terror. 

Adults can help the child by leading the child to an understanding of exactly what it is that the child fears. There are two important concepts, often quite difficult for a child to accept, that can lead to break throughs in combatting riding anxiety.

Help the child verbalize and relive the event. Let the child talk about how scary it was. Talk to the child about how horrible it feels to be that afraid. Let the child talk about how scary it was to want the horse to stop while having those wishes completely ignored. 

Then move on to the hard part. Talk to the child about how they could have gained control of the horse. Make sure that the child understands and can fully apply the one reined stop. Have them sit in a chair with reins in hand and practice, over and over, what we can do to bring a horse back into control.  Help them learn that they are not helpless when riding. 

Then move on to the part that is even harder. Explain that the fear is natural and that it is ok to be afraid, but help them understand the difference between being scared and being injured. Help them understand that as horrible as it feels to be afraid, fear, in and of itself, will not cause injury or short term pain.

Help them understand that being afraid of fear is a problem that can be over come.

And most of all let them know that you understand how hard it is to get back on and that you admire the maturity and judgement that they are showing when they confront their fears. Every time one confronts a fear and faces it down one has achieved a victory that creates positive emotional capital. Those victories matter as one faces life's future challenges. 

Few things are sadder to see in young people than full blown anxiety disorder. There are few things that horses can do that are more important than presenting challenges and giving opportunities for success to young people. 

A kid who has his pocket filled with specific incidences of times when he successfully over came fear will one day grow up and will likely face dark nights of the soul. At such time a person is forced to conduct  brutal self analysis. As the crisis looms before that adult they must ask at their very deepest level, "Who am I?'

A child who has been guided to take on challenges can often answer that question with the deepest of sincerity.

"Who am I?"

" I am the person who does not give up. I am the person who works hard. I am the person who endures. I am the person who struggles. I have proven that I am the person who does not back down."

There are few times in a kid's life that they are more in need of calm, patient, loving direction than when they confront terror after having fallen. Providing that guidance is not easy. But it is necessary. 

The Round Pen's Most Important Lesson

Natural Horsemanship requires the human to communicate with the horse. It requires the human to provide leadership and it requires the human to negotiate with the horse.

The inability to lead, teach and negotiate with another creature is what causes most of the failures that occur in developing a solid relationship with the horse. The round pen forces us to come to grips with one of Lincoln's most important insights. 

" I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me", he wrote in a letter to Albert Hodges.

Our false belief that we can be in control of life around us can be cured by spending time training scores of horses, particularly wild ones. We cannot dictate the behavior of horses, or other people, any more than we can dictate the behavior of the wind and the clouds. The fear of losing control is often the driving force behind the desire to have power over others. I learned to set aside any desire to accumulate material goods scores of years ago. I have only learned to set aside the desire to control the behavior of those around me within the last decade. 

Spending hundreds of hours in the round pen with horses who are without knowledge of people makes it possible to understand how vain and worthless it is to believe that one can control the actions of others by decree.

It is comforting to think that the exercise of power will produce the desired result, but the reality is that the exercise of leadership and communicating by example is often the only way to produce the desired result without creating additional, often unforeseen, problems. 

The round pen teaches the limitations of coercion. 

The lesson applies outside of the round pen as well. We have to make adjustments in our lives as a result of a virus that has now killed one out of every thousand Americans. I want program participants to use good judgment and apply safety precautions at the horse lot. I want masks to be used.

I could make a rule that simply says if you do not wear a mask you are expelled from the program.  In short order, tremendous dissension would be created by those who would religiously wear a mask in my presence , but promptly remove it as soon as I am out of sight. A fault line would be created in our program, separating people and limiting compliance.

Or...I can try to be more diligent in remembering to wear a mask myself when in proximity to others. Doing so will not create complete compliance. Neither would a draconian rule. 

The greatest challenge that our program faces is our need to increase access to grazing and foraging to more land for our livestock. We are doing so by converting about 15 acres of a mature, mixed species wood lot into silvo pasture. It is accurate to say that the future of our program is dependent on getting this job done. It is also accurate to say that regardless of how often I seek to explain the urgency of the task at hand, most of the families in our program fail understand why we need to spend several more hundred manhours of work getting this land cleared before spring.

I could have a rule simply requiring every family to forgo riding until the woodlot is converted to silvo pasture. Doing so would increase the amount of work that some program participants  put into the project. It would also cause some  families to leave the program in hopes of returning when we begin riding again.

Or...I can continue to work to educate program participants on the absolute priority of this task, while putting every bit of personal time and effort that I have into getting the job done. Years of working horses in the round pen have made the soundness of this approach clear to me. 

Look not just to Lincoln to understand leadership. Take a look at the leadership by example shown by Gall and Crazy Horse at Little Big Horn. Jesus' leadership is perfectly exemplified in the call to follow. One cannot  follow another unless that person is walking out ahead. 

Walking out ahead is the essence of leadership.

I have never been cursed with perfectionism. With the exception of substance abuse, I think that perfectionism is responsible for more emotional anguish than any other factor that occurs commonly in our world. Perfectionism is rooted in the belief that we control, that we can control, that we must control, that if we just worked harder we could control...

But life teaches otherwise. 

In about two hours it will be twelve years since my little brother died when his shotgun accidently discharged while he was hunting. No philosophy or theodicy will ever cause me to understand why this could happen. One of the fundamental experiences in shaping the person that I am today was an event utterly beyond my control.

Like Lincoln, I do not profess to control events and I also freely confess to being controlled by them. But I can influence events and I can influence people, particularely young people, and it is my obligation to work to do so in the most effective way possible. That requires providing direction, support, encouragement, and guidance.

And that is the round pen's most important lesson.