I have to say having horses is a privilege and honor. They have taught me much and because of them I believe I have grown to be a better person.
Horses love to communicate, they want you to listen to them. When I listen to my horses our relationship deepens. By listening I mean listening to everything, rhythm, energy, expression, movement and so on.
If I pace my rhythm to theirs, a resonance occurs, to me this is what it feels like to be part of something larger, the herd.
I have studied many different horse people and their teachings, I came to the realization that the best teacher is the horse itself. Not only can the horses teach me the best way in which to work with them, they teach me about myself. Each one holds a reflection of myself. Sometimes it is hard to face, other times I find things in myself that I like.
Laydee Lucille La Don taught me how to be patient and kind and to use my creativity so I could teach her how to lift up her feet.
Hank taught me to trust, his transformation from a crippled ex jumper school horse, to a sensitive happy playful therapy horse is a miracle in itself.
I believe that each horse has a spirit guide or angel, and when these angels get together anything can happen.
Jeremy, Sylvia, Stephanie and Sara
As a young child, growing up in a small village in South East England, I was obsessed with ‘Westerns’.
I watched every cowboy movie that was shown on British television. Afterwards, I would dress up and fantasize about being a cowboy or Native American Indian.
I used to draw cowboys and Native American Indians on horses, set against a hilly canyon setting.
Ironically this is where I ended up settling down, Topanga canyon, Southern California.
Back then, it was my dream to have my very own horse. I entered a ‘Win a Shetland pony’ competition in the national English newspaper, only to find the envelope, still intact in my mothers handbag weeks after the final entry date had passed.
My mother was scared I would win, I had won newspaper competitions before. She appeased me by taking me to the local stables to get horse riding lessons.
I’d ride up and down the country lane on an old worn out horse, that had seen better days.
When I was twelve years old I experienced a disturbing incident that happened on the back of a friends horse. I didn't have a clue about horses or the horse I was riding and it quite simply ran off with me. I was dragged under some tree branches and fell off the horse.
From this point on I lost interest in horses, as far as I was concerned they were dangerous and not to be reckoned with.
It wasn't until thirty years later that I became interested in horses again. I moved to Topanga Canyon and took horse riding lessons from a neighbor. Within no time at all we were riding up in the hills. These early experiences on horse back in the mountains opened my eyes in regards to how I wanted to live the rest of my life.
I managed to get a job looking after several horses at a therapeutic ranch located in my neighborhood. I stayed at this job for six years, becoming the ranch manager and lead teacher.
The first horse I adopted was Silver, an anxious and insecure gray Arabian gelding. My first encounter with Silver happened prior to my meeting him on the physical plane.
He came to me in a metaphoric dream. The nature in how we met, unexpected, intense and liberating describes the beginning of our relationship.
In the dream there followed a scene inside a Swiss bank. Silver was introducing me to his friends, other horses who I would end up adopting. The richness that has come into my life because of my relationship with horses is symbolized by the bank.
Silver and Sara
Sara with some of the horses at SHHR
In 2008 I started my own business, Silver Horse Healing Ranch,named after Silver. By this time I had adopted five horses and took one more, Hank, from the place I had been working at for several years. I was very attached to Hank even though he had been lame for a very long time.
I had invested in learning how to trim the horses hooves, which turned out tobe a huge resource in more ways that one.Trimming the horses feet deepened my relationship with them and helped me understand how important good hoof care is for the well being of the horse.
Hank 's health improved and after six months he was able to carry small children on his back. Hank has blossomed into a proud and noble horse who enjoys what he does.
Hank
Sara and Pretty Boy
I adopted Pretty Boy in 2009, he came from a neighbor who was thinking of killing him because he was moving and felt that the horse wasn't worth the money to transport.
Pretty Boy obviously had a tough past, not so much from the previous owner but from his days as a cowboy horse herding cattle etc. His behavior was unpredictable which made me realize that he was not safe to use with clients. Pretty Boy has become my personal horse and maybe in the future he will want to work with clients. Currently Pretty Boy is content to ride into the hills with his mare friends, Ruby and Jackie.
The Premarin Mares Ruby, Jackie, Diva and Laydee are mares I adopted that came from Premarin Ranches in Canada. Premarin is a hormonal replacement drug (HRT) prescribed to menopausal women and men with prostrate cancer. Premarin means PREgnant MAres uRINe. These horses are essentially brood mares made pregnant year after year. A study came out in 2003 signifying the connection between the drug Premarin and breast cancer. Sales plummeted and 30'000 mares, most of them pregnant, flooded the horses rescues. This is when I first found out about Premarin mares and this industry that was hugely profitable, Premarin being the 3rd highest selling drug in US before this survey came out. I found out about a horse rescue in California called The Animali Farm (theanimalifarm.com) run by two dedicated horse lovers who have committed their lives to rescuing and adopting horses from this industry.
I adopted Jackie and Diva from The Animali Farm in 2005. Ruby is also an ex Premarin mare, I adopted her from a family that realized Ruby was way too much for them to handle.
The horses that come from this industry have minimal training and need to be taught basic skills such as lifting up their feet up etc.
Laydee came in 2007, she had served her life as a Premarin until eighteen years of age when she couldn't have any more foals. She had an offer on her head to go for meat, I saw her photo on line and immediately bought her. Even though I acted impulsively, I'm glad I did because Laydee is a real treasure.
