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All rights reserved.

ISBN-10: 1475162057 ISBN-13: 978-1475162059 DEDICATION

To Justin. You showed me how to live my dreams by showing me something bigger.

Figure 1 Figure 2

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to acknowledge those who have been walking beside me these past few years.

Michael, you amaze me. 'DGDQG.DUHQ\RXDUHDOZD\VDYDLODEOHWR¿[H[SORUHKHOSDQGOLVWHQ Leroy, Jan and Brian, you’ve helped me learn a larger view of family, .ODXV&DURO\Q$OH[DQGHU/\GLD/LQGD.LPDQG0DUN I wouldn’t have understood what I was seeing without the generous sharing of your own paths. Michael Bevilacqua, Mark Mottershead, Berenika Bratny, Tina Mareen-Buddeberg, Felicia Story-Chapin, Katrine Pett, Bonnie Erickson, Natalie Hansen, Jeanne Rewa, Karina Bjerremann, Natascha Smargiassi, Stacy Schmoyer, Tessa Wood-Woolard, Maurizio Patti, Monica Marlowe, Cate Scott, Jamie Joling, “The” Gary and family, Angelika, Gentle Thunder, we live far apart yet I can feel you out there working together to bring about this new world.

And a special thanks for those of you I get to meet in the pasture, Tricia, Jed, Warren, Sarah, Ryden, Eden, Raven, Anthony, Emerald and all servants and heroes and children who love horses. CONTENTS

Forward Author’s Note 10 1 Primum Non Nocre 15 2 Training Systems 19 3 The Truth About Backs, Language and Who We Really Are 27 4 Sundance: The Gift of Grace 37 5 Our Horses 51 6 Widening Our Circle 57 7 The Pause 59 8 Gandhi and Horses 61 9 From Competition to Compassion 63   6R¿¶V6WRU\    11 OurHorses.com: Website Introductory Path 77 12 Horse Ventriloquism 95 13 Training Secrets Revealed 97 14 The Fundamental Distortion 107  )XUWKHU([SORUDWLRQV   Figure 3 The Path of the Horse

FOREWORD

Anyone who has considered the oppression of women around the world or has delved into the ugly truths behind industrial animal agriculture should immediately understand the spotlight Stormy May brings to equine industries and equestrian practices. Questions such as ownership of another person’s body and what rights such ownership entails are central to Stormy May’s critique of how humans maintain horses in states of physical and emotional captivity. If you have ever had the slightest inkling that common practices in the equestrian world might involve grave injustice to WKHH[WUDRUGLQDULO\VHQVLWLYHLQWHOOLJHQWDQGIRUJLYLQJEHLQJWKDWLVDKRUVHWKLVERRNZLOORIIHUD new way to understand the dance of love.

Stormy May’s vision moves beyond the impasse where debates about animal rights typically end. 6SHFL¿FDOO\VKHRIIHUVDQDOWHUQDWLYHWRWKHZLQGRZGUHVVLQJRI³LPSURYLQJ´FRQGLWLRQVRIFRQ- ¿QHPHQWDQGHQVODYHPHQW,QVWHDGWKH2XU+RUVHVSURMHFWGUDZVUHDGHUVWRWKHZLVGRPRIFRP- munity with its potential to unite humans and horses in working toward a greater good for all. :LWKLQFRPPXQLW\ERWKHTXLQHDQGKXPDQZHZLOO¿QGWKHYDOLGDWLRQVROLGDULW\DQGVXSSRUWWR do what needs to be done and say what needs to be said, unlearning as much as we have learned about horses and relearning as much and more, about horses, ourselves, and the lives we share. The vision presented here is of a present and a future for human-horse relationships that rejects the imposition of human will on horses, offering instead a more dynamic model of communication that honors equine subjectivity and autonomy.

Most critically, Stormy May points to the ways that horses can help us become better, less destruc- tive creatures in our own right, toward all beings in the world, including ourselves. Recognizing and validating the role that horses can play in helping humans move toward greater enlightenment through compassion and non-doing, the OurHorses project offers concrete alternatives to those of us who feel incomplete without horses in our lives, who have rejected traditional pathways, and ZKRKDYH\HDUQHGWR¿QGZD\VWREHDKRUVHSHUVRQWKDWGRQRWHQWDLOVXIIHULQJIRURXUPRVWFKHU- ished equine companions. Offering alternatively incisive critique, compelling concrete evidence, and poetic imagination, Stormy May helps readers feel into a new world by reconsidering human- KRUVHFRH[LVWHQFH Natalie Hansen, PhD Santa Monica, CA 24 April 2012 Stormy May

Figure 4

AUTHOR’S NOTE April 2012

I loved hanging out with horses. I loved feeding them grass and oats and carrots and apples. I loved smelling their warm breath and touching their tender noses. I loved hearing them run in a ¿HOG,ORYHGZDWFKLQJWKHPPRYLQJWRJHWKHUIDVWDQGVORZ,ORYHGZDWFKLQJWKHPGULQNDQGSOD\ and rest in the sun. I loved the challenge of learning how to connect with even the most skittish by enticing them with food or engaging their innate curiosity and leading them into to a good scratch- LQJDQGJURRPLQJVHVVLRQLQYROYLQJP\¿QJHUVDQGWKHLUOLSV

I loved horseback riding. I loved the balance, the harmony, the grace of human and horse bodies merging in time and space. I loved the feeling of moving together while participating in dressage, WUDLOULGLQJJ\PNKDQDVKRZMXPSLQJHYHQWLQJSRORDQGIR[KXQWLQJWKHPRGHUQGD\HTXLYDOHQWV of the ancient practices of training for battle, transportation, farm work, and recreation for high society.

I loved the physical feeling of galloping, jumping, prancing, and walking down countless trails on horseback. I loved the mental challenge of teaching children and adults how to navigate on their PRXQWV,ORYHGVKRZLQJKRUVHVKRZWRUHOD[DQGEHRND\ZLWKZKDWKXPDQVZHUHGRLQJWRWKHP I thought I was making the world a better place, one horse and rider at a time.

10 The Path of the Horse

There were some parts I didn’t like. I didn’t like that I needed corrals and halters and bridles to control the horses. I didn’t like that I had to continue pushing a horse and myself physically in order to be competitive or to simply work through the hundreds of tiny disobediences occuring in everyday riding. I didn’t like the way the relationship between the horses and myself felt after I showed them through physical means who was in charge.

I saw as a horse trainer I had gotten close enough to what goes on to see there was something about the way I treated horses that needed to change if I wanted to feel I was giving my best to my horse IULHQGV,WRRNDWULSDURXQGWKHZRUOGWRPHHWDQG¿OPSHRSOHZRUNLQJRQWKHOHDGLQJHGJHRI understanding horses. The Path of the Horse documentary, released in 2008, was the result that has sparked a new level of understanding and compassion throughout the horse world.

For the most part, the audience up to this point has been horse owners looking for better ways to relate to their equine companions. They are grateful someone from within the industry has taken the time to show and question practices that seem harmful and hurtful to horses today. From many of these people I hear that viewing the movie causes a sense of relief that some- body else is seeing the same things they have seen.

The movie creates a new space in the minds of many viewers to be able to take a closer look at what we are really doing with horses and other areas of our life through a perspective rarely seen before in movies and never in a documentary made by a horse trainer.

Figure 5

11 Stormy May

We get to follow the point of view of someone who was willing to give up what she thought was PRVWGHDUDERXWKRUVHVULGLQJLQWKHQDPHRIH[SORULQJZKDWPLJKWOLHEH\RQG$ORQJWKHZD\ she uncovers keys to unlock the symbolism of horses and the horse human relationship throughout time.

With the release of the documentary, I saw the journey wasn’t over. After I studied from each of these people, I felt I needed to step back out of the horse world for a period of time in order to get DGLIIHUHQWSHUVSHFWLYH7KHKRUVHVDQG,VSHQWKRXUVWRJHWKHULQD¿HOG1RKDOWHUVQREULGOHVQR riding, nobody telling us how to be together. We found our own games and pleasures.

I found in the end, just as we can never truly know the mind or body of another, we may never truly know if riding hurts horses. However, we can likely all agree that horseback riding, and all uses of horses for human sport, recreation, entertainment or monetary gain are an indulgence at this time WKDWZHFDQDEVWDLQIURPIRUDZKLOHLQRUGHUWRMRLQWKHH[SORUDWLRQRIZKDWKDSSHQVZKHQZHWXUQ IURPSUDFWLFHVZKLFKPD\H[SORLWDQLPDOVRUWKHHQYLURQPHQWWRWKRVHZKLFKKHDOXVDOO

If we want to live in a clean, green world, we are the ones who need to create it. We’re going to ¿QGWKHWLPHE\FXUELQJRXULQGXOJHQFHVZKHWKHUWKH\EHKRUVHEDFNULGLQJWHOHYLVLRQZDWFKLQJ Internet gaming, travel, sports, shopping, family, movies, pets or any number of other ways we spend our time, and using this time to reach out to our community, learning to help fellow humans by following our hearts.

:HDUHFDOOLQJWKLVH[SHULPHQW2XU+RUVHV:HZLOOJLYHXSRXULQGXOJHQFHVRIFRQWUROOLQJKRUVHV DQGDSRUWLRQRIRWKHUSDVWLPHVLQH[FKDQJHIRUWLPHWRJHWWRNQRZRXUQHLJKERUVDQGKHOSFDUHIRU the planet, including horses. We recognize that horses are a nation that has served us for thousands of years. They helped humans achieve amazing things. Now we are going to treat them as friends and honored guests. We are going to care for them. We are no longer asking them to serve us, to stand under us, to lend us their power, to lend us their wings.

There is already a group of us who want to do this because we see it is needed. Whether or not we have been responsible for making our world the way it is today, we certainly are responsible for

12 The Path of the Horse

Figure 6

cleaning it up.

Now that I’ve grown up some, I’ve found that there is something healing for a human to care for and heal a horse without asking anything in return. Maybe that’s how I got healed. Part of taking care of horses means we need to spend a lot of time listening and create a world where horses and humans are valued simply because they are fellow beings sharing this lifetime on earth with us. In this world they don’t need to be young or pretty or fast or strong or rideable. In this world we can take every last horse and give them all homes where they can lead happy, healthy lives. In this world, we humans can live peaceful lives alongside them and invite our friends to do the same.

With 90,000 to 140,000 horses being sent to slaughter from the USA each year, we know there are a lot of captive-born and wild-caught horses who need homes where they are cared for and allowed to live out their lives in peaceful, natural surroundings with friends and room to run. ,KRSH\RX¿QGWKLVWREHDPDJLFDOERRNDJLIWIURPDQRWKHUZRUOG/HWLWVLQNLQDVDQ\JRRG magic book will do. Only this magic book is about real life, the most dramatic play ever per- formed.

13 Stormy May

Open the book whenever it comes to mind and let the images and words guide your moment. I hope you are lucky enough to own a copy you can feel in your hands and smell the pages of. These copies will retain a sensory record of your readings, especially if you’re bold enough to take notes and draw pictures in your book.

Take your time with this book. There is no end to get to, only moments to take you to live in the new world in your mind. As you turn a page a picture might appear or a story unfold; watch for the words and images to leap off the pages and dance. That’s when you know you’ve gotten into the new world.

The placement of photographs and paintings as they appear in this book might be likened to a jazz rhythm, or a sequence of several separate stories to visit along this path, windows into a moment LQWLPHLQRQHSHUVRQ¶VOLIH

I’ll now turn you loose knowing I’ve given you the best instructions I know how to give through a book. I hope to meet you again in the last chapter and tell you more about who we are and just how we plan to save all the horses and humans.

14 The Path of the Horse

Figure 7

1 PRIMUM NON NOCERE

If riders took the Hippocratic oath required of physicians, the horse world as we know it today ZRXOGLPPHGLDWHO\FHDVHWRH[LVW3ULPXPQRQQRFHUH±¿UVWGRQRKDUP

7KHEHVW¿WWLQJVDGGOHFDQRQO\DFKLHYHRQHWKLQJLWFDQHYHQO\GLVWULEXWHWKHSUHVVXUHRIWKHULGHU DQGVDGGOHRQWKHKRUVH¶VEDFN+RUVHPDJD]LQHVYHWHULQDU\MRXUQDOVDQGULGLQJPDQXDOVDUH¿OOHG with articles detailing how to rehabilitate horses from back injuries but the best they can offer in UHJDUGVWRSUHYHQWLQJWKHLQMXULHVLVWRVXJJHVWSURSHUVDGGOH¿WDQGSURSHUFRQGLWLRQLQJRIWKHEDFN muscles. The bigger problem is the amount of pressure itself. No matter how well it is distributed, or how well the muscles are conditioned, evidence shows that after 10-15 minutes, the horse’s back muscles will go numb.

15 Stormy May

7KHUHLVQRWKLQJEHQHYROHQWDERXWDELW(YHQWKHEHVW¿WWHG³PLOGHVW´ELWKDVRQO\RQHIXQFWLRQ to cause pain. Even the mildest bit has the capacity to be used to break a horse’s jaw. This might VHHPWREHDVKRFNLQJVWDWHPHQWDW¿UVWJODQFHEXWWKDW¶VRQO\EHFDXVHZH¶UHXVHGWRRSHUDWLQJ under a collective illusion. Society tells us we’re doing the best for our horses. We give them the EHVWKD\VXSSOHPHQWVKRRIFDUHYHWHULQDU\FDUHZHVSHQGWKRXVDQGVRIGROODUVRQWKHEHVW¿WWHG saddles, perfectly designed bits, spurs of just the right length, and even whips with cute little hands on them, to give the horse a gentle “love pat” when it’s time to get going.

It’s like having an ergonomically correct electric chair or spiked high heels with a tiny toe cushion. It looks absolutely ab- surd when we see the larger picture.

When we are causing pain to another be- ing for our own pleasure, we can never have the sort of relationship that we’re fantasizing about. We have horses that go where we say, when we say, at the gait we specify. We consider them “safe” and “bombproof,” or perhaps they “need an Figure 8 advanced rider” or “are a little resistant.” We think our horses love it when we spend hours on their backs, jumping obstacles, running around barrels, venturing out to the wide-open spaces.

All our training has done is to turn horses into puppets. When we pull the right rein, the head turns right; when we squeeze the barrel, the hind leg steps over. Is there any room to consider the horse’s ZHOOEHLQJRUGHVLUHVLQWKLVVFHQDULR"

“Of course,” we tell ourselves, “if the horse is injured or sick I will get him the best care, I would never push him past his limits, I love him!”

16 The Path of the Horse

Now let’s take a look at this from a different perspective. If you knew without a doubt you were causing compromised circulation, leading to pain, numbness, and the destruction of muscle tissue LQWKHKRUVH¶VEDFNZRXOG\RXFRQWLQXHWRULGH",I\RXNQHZWKHXVHRIELWVDQGDOOWUDGLWLRQDOKRUVH training methods (including the popular “natural horsemanship”) is based on negative reinforce- ment and positive punishment, would you be so sure your horse enjoys doing ZKDWKH¶VWROG"

:KDWLV\RXUXOWLPDWHJRDO",VLWWRZLQ at a horse show, to “have fun” by going RXWRQDWUDLOULGHZLWKIULHQGV"7KHUHLV no doubt a thrill associated with achiev- ing these goals. History has shown us the best way to achieve these goals; it’s called training. Training for these goals creates a victim, and that victim is the horse.

If “horse lovers” are able to uncover what is at the root of their love for the horse, they might be surprised. They might discover that all the ribbons, the accolades, and the hours spent doing Figure 9 “fun” activities that compromise the well-being of the horse were not what originally drew her WRKRUVHV,WLVSHUKDSVWKHPRVWEDVLFKXPDQGHVLUHZHZDQWWRH[SHULHQFHORYH'R\RXZDQWWR H[SHULHQFH\RXUVHOIDVDNLQGDQGORYLQJSHUVRQUHVSHFWIXORIDOOOLIHDSHUVRQZKRKDVWUXHSDUW- QHUVKLSZLWKDQRWKHUEHLQJ"7UDLQLQJZLOOQRWJHW\RXWKHVH

To break through this illusion that we are doing the best for our horses, we must be willing to reevaluate everything we currently take for granted. We must be willing to see things as they are and to call abuse, abuse and torture, torture rather than cloaking it in euphemisms such as “school-

17 Stormy May ing” and “correction.” We get sucked into destructive practices simply because they seem to be the only ones out there. We lack alternative models, which in turn hinders us from seeing beyond new packaging designed to sell more of what we’ve seen in the past while making us think it’s different.

,QWKHQH[WFKDSWHUVZHZLOOWDNHDFORVHUORRNDWDUHDVZHPXVWUHHYDOXDWHLIZHKXPDQVDUHJR- ing to evolve in consciousness. We have the potential to evolve from beings that need to control HYHU\HOHPHQWRIRXUH[WHUQDOHQYLURQPHQWLQRUGHUWRIHHOVDIHWRRQHVZKRIHHOWKHFRQQHFWLRQ between things and who can feel safety even in the midst of turmoil because they see a higher perspective.

7KH¿UVWVWHSLVSULPXPQRQQRFHUH¿UVWGRQRKDUP

Figure 10

18 The Path of the Horse

Figure 11

2 TRAINING SYSTEMS

Let’s take some more steps to re-evaluate what we’re doing with horses. Right now, we need in- formation to be able to decide whether we want to continue in a traditional way with horses, or to make the leap to a way that doesn’t compromise the body or spirit of a horse.

Let’s focus on training systems. For over 20 years, my horse-training livelihood had been based on starting young horses for competition and pleasure careers. In the beginning, I learned how to start KRUVHVIURPRWKHUWUDLQHUVERRNVDQGSOHQW\RIH[SHULPHQWDWLRQ

19 Stormy May

Figure 12

Even though it seems that there are hundreds of trainers and training systems out there, the funda- PHQWDOVDUHWKHVDPHLQQHDUO\DOOFDVHV(DFKPLJKWHPSOR\GLIIHUHQWH[HUFLVHVDQGWRROVWRDFKLHYH WKHJRDOVEXWHDFKV\VWHPKDVDVLPLODUJRDO,QRUGHUWRWUXO\NQRZDV\VWHPZHPXVW¿UVWVWULSLW GRZQDQGDVN³+RZGRHVWKHV\VWHPPRWLYDWHWKHKRUVHWREHKDYHLQFHUWDLQZD\V"´

20 The Path of the Horse

To proceed, it will help to know what “operant conditioning” is. Even if you’ve never heard the term before, if you’ve trained anything in your life including a horse, child, dog, or dolphin, you SUREDEO\XVHGDIRUPRIRSHUDQWFRQGLWLRQLQJ2SHUDQWFRQGLWLRQLQJLVGH¿QHGDV³WKHXVHRIFRQ- sequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior.” In operant conditioning, there are only WHUPVWRFRQVLGHUWKHVHDUHUHLQIRUFHPHQWSXQLVKPHQWDQGH[WLQFWLRQ

Reinforcement is a consequence to an action that results in the action being performed with greater frequency, punishment is a consequence to an action that results in the action being performed ZLWKOHVVIUHTXHQF\DQGH[WLQFWLRQLVQRUHVSRQVHWRDEHKDYLRUZKLFKOHDGVWRWKHGLVDSSHDUDQFH or suppression of a behavior. The terms “positive” and “negative” are added to clarify the proce- GXUHV,QWKLVFRQWH[W³SRVLWLYH´RQO\UHIHUVWRVRPHWKLQJEHLQJDGGHGZKLOH³QHJDWLYH´UHIHUVWR something being taken away.

Figure 13

21 Stormy May

The four main possibilities in operant conditioning are: 3RVLWLYHUHLQIRUFHPHQW DEEUHYLDWHGDV5  Adding something desirable to make the behavior more likely to happen again. 1HJDWLYHUHLQIRUFHPHQW DEEUHYLDWHGDV5  Taking away something undesirable in order to make the behavior more likely to happen again. 3RVLWLYHSXQLVKPHQW DEEUHYLDWHGDV3  Adding something undesirable in order to make the behavior less likely to happen again. 1HJDWLYHSXQLVKPHQW DEEUHYLDWHGDV3  Taking away something desirable in order to make the behavior less likely to happen again.

1RZWRVHHLWLQDFWLRQ,QHHGRQO\WRJLYHH[DPSOHV 3RVLWLYHUHLQIRUFHPHQW Giving a child a treat after he has cleaned his room. 1HJDWLYHUHLQIRUFHPHQW “Grounding” a child without privileges until he has cleaned his room. 3RVLWLYHSXQLVKPHQW Hitting a child when he has spilled his milk. 1HJDWLYHSXQLVKPHQW Taking away a child’s toy if he’s not sharing it nicely with others.

,QWKHKRUVHZRUOGWKHVHH[DPSOHVPLJKWORRNOLNHWKLV 5Giving a horse a carrot after she has come to the gate. 5Pulling on the right rein until the horse turns her head right. 3 Whipping a horse when she refuses a jump. 3Not giving a horse grain after she was naughty during a ride.

22 The Path of the Horse

Now that we’re familiar with operant conditioning we can return to the question, “What is the KRUVH¶VPRWLYDWLRQ"´,IZHH[WUDSRODWHIURPWKHVHH[DPSOHVWKRVHRIXVZKRKDYHVSHQWVRPHWLPH trying out different training systems can see that, stripped to their essentials, the horse’s motiva- tion in most equine training systems is the avoidance or minimization of pain. Most systems rely heavily on negative reinforcement and positive punishment to motivate a horse to perform the be- KDYLRUVZHGHVLUH7KHRQHH[FHSWLRQ,FDQWKLQNRILV³FOLFNHUWUDLQLQJ´ZKLFKIRFXVHVRQSRVLWLYH reinforcement to create the desired behaviors.

If you’re a rider, think of your favorite trainer. If you want your horse to go IRUZDUGZKDW¶VWKH¿UVWWKLQJ\RX¶UH WDXJKWWRGR"3UREDEO\VTXHH]HZLWK \RXUOHJV,IWKDWGRHVQ¶WZRUN".LFN ,IWKDWGRHVQ¶WZRUN".LFNKDUGHU,I WKDWGRHVQ¶WZRUN":KLSRUVSXUWKH KRUVH$QG ZKDW DUH WKHVH H[DPSOHV RI" 1HJDWLYH UHLQIRUFHPHQW 7KH horse’s “reward” is that the discom- Figure 14 fort or pain caused by the rider will (hopefully) stop when she goes forward. And what have you been taught to do when your horse UHIXVHVWRJRLQDVWDOOLQDWUDLOHURUDFURVVDVWUHDP"3UREDEO\VRPHFRPELQDWLRQRISXOOLQJRQWKH KDOWHURUEULGOHNLFNLQJKLWWLQJZKLSSLQJRUVSXUULQJ:KDWDUHDOORIWKHVHH[DPSOHVRI"3RVLWLYH punishment.

Now, if you’re a rider who has never trained your own horse and you have been blessed with a horse who seems to “get with the program” and to cheerfully do what you request, then with all likelihood you haven’t gone into any deep questioning of your methods. You found something that works and you stick with it. The difference between a horse who is considered “trained” and one ZKRLV³JUHHQ´RU³GLI¿FXOW´LVWKDWWKH¿UVWKRUVHLVDWDVWDJHZKHUHWKHULGHUFDQXVHUH¿QHGDQG very subtle cues, perhaps a simple nudge or shift of weight is all it takes to make the horse stop, JRRUWXUQ7KH³JUHHQ´RU³GLI¿FXOW´KRUVHVDUHRQHVZKRDUHHLWKHUXQVXUHRIZKDWUHVSRQVHZLOO

23 Stormy May bring the least amount of pain, or they are resisting due to physical pain or fear that causes them to tolerate the blows from a whip, heels, spurs or bit rather than with the intolerable pain of their own movements or the fear of what they’re being asked to do.

Over the years I was sent many horses that needed to be “tuned up.” These were horses that were W\SLFDOO\ZHOOEHKDYHGIRUWKHQHZRZQHUIRUWKH¿UVWPRQWKRUVRDQGWKHQWKH\VWDUWHGWRKDYH ³SUREOHPV´,QWKHSDVW,ZRXOGH[SODLQLWWRWKHRZQHUXVLQJJHQWOHSKUDVHVOLNH³7KHKRUVHKDV OHDUQHGKHFDQJHWDZD\ZLWKWKDW´RU³

During my most intensive period of questioning over a year and a half I questioned my own mo- WLYDWLRQ:K\GLG,ZDQWWREHZLWKKRUVHV"7KHPRVWIXQGDPHQWDODQVZHUDOZD\VKDVEHHQWRH[- perience true communication and partnership with horses. Looking back from my current perspec- tive, it seems distorted that I could consider I would have a true partnership if I could only control a horse through pain or threats of pain. To be honest, that was most of what I had been taught to GRZLWKWKHP7UXH,ZDVJRRGHQRXJKWKDWWKHFXHVFRXOGEHUH¿QHGGRZQWRPHUHQXGJHVDQG shifts of weight, and even bitless and bridleless riding, but the consequences of the horse disobey- ing would always be to escalate the pain again until the horse decided it was better to respond to a light cue.

Secondary and tertiary motivations crept in over the years. I wanted to make a living with horses; ,ZDQWHGWRZLQDWFRPSHWLWLRQV6RPHKRZ,¿JXUHGWKHVHZRXOGDOO¿WWRJHWKHUQLFHO\ZLWKP\ SULPDU\PRWLYDWLRQRIH[SHULHQFLQJDWUXHSDUWQHUVKLSZLWKKRUVHV7KDWDVVXPSWLRQFRXOGQ¶WKDYH

24 The Path of the Horse been farther from the truth I found. During the time I spent working on The Path of the Horse GRFXPHQWDU\,JDYHXSDOORIP\PRWLYDWLRQVH[FHSWWKHPRVWIXQGDPHQWDORQHWKHRQHWKDWLQL- tially drew me to horses. I could no longer fool myself; I didn’t have the partnerships I wanted so ,VHWRXWWR¿QGSHRSOHZKRORRNHGOLNHWKH\GLGDQGWROHDUQIURPWKHP

7KHSHUVRQ,IRXQGZKRVHHPHGWRKDYHLWDOOZDV$OH[DQGHU1HY]RURY%XWLWZDVQ¶WJRRGHQRXJK for me to simply see his videos and read his articles, I needed to meet him, to watch his students LQ5XVVLDDQGWR¿QGRXWIRUP\VHOILIWKLVZDVMXVWDPRUHVXEWOHIRUPRISK\VLFDOFRQWURORULIKH did indeed have a true connection with his horses without it being the result of pain- inducing methods.

It felt like an initiation into a new world to be asked to give up bits, competitions, and ul- timately all forms of controlling the horse’s head and the styles and pleasures of riding that I had known in order to work with Al- H[DQGHUWKURXJKKLVIUHHRQOLQHVFKRRO$W the time I couldn’t conceive of why a horse would want to do anything with me if I was stripped of all my tools for manipulation. %XW WKHUH KH VWRRG $OH[DQGHU 1HY]RURY with his horses leaping around him like overjoyed puppies.

Figure 15 What sort of training system is this, with no common spoken language and yet there is also no IRUFHSDLQRUWKUHDWVRISDLQ":KHUHGLGLW¿WLQWKHRSHUDQWFRQGLWLRQLQJPRGHO",WVHHPHGWRJR beyond even positive reinforcement and clicker training. It actually seemed like the horses had learned to do movements that made them bigger, more free, and proud of their own accord. What ZD\VKDGWKLVPDQIRXQGWREULQJWKDWRXWLQDKRUVH"

25 Stormy May

His method is deceptively simple. A person is never allowed to harm a horse, especially for their own pleasures, and a person must study the physiology and responses of a horse minutely so that she can be sure that she is never harming a horse. After that, it’s a matter of spending time together, ¿UVWGHYHORSLQJJDPHVDQGXOWLPDWHO\DWZRZD\FRPPXQLFDWLRQV\VWHPEHWZHHQKRUVHDQGKX- man that is much stronger than any pain-induced training.

As I started to study the horse’s anatomical, physiological, and myological systems, I was star- WOHGWR¿QGWKDWFRPPRQO\DFFHSWHGSUDFWLFHVVXFKDVWKHXVHRIELWVVKRHVDQGHYHQWKHSUHVVXUH of a rider all have negative effects on a horse’s well-being. The results of some of these studies will be detailed in the following chapter.

I had found the way to develop a true partnership with a horse, and it isn’t a training system at all, it’s a way to develop two-way communication. The human steps into the role of educator; it is the human who learns how to develop and bring out the horse’s innate talents. What is the KRUVH¶VPRWLYDWLRQ"7RSOD\UXQOHDSUHDUKDYHIXQDVZHOODVWRZRUNRQPRUHGLVFLSOLQHGHOH- PHQWVWREXLOGVWUHQJWKDQGÀH[LELOLW\DQGWRGRLWDOOZLWKDKXPDQZKRXQGHUVWDQGVKHUDQGZLOO protect her, having only her best interests in mind. Truly this is the future of horse-human rela- tionships for those of us who recognize the authentic spirit of a horse.

Figure 16

26 The Path of the Horse

Figure 17

3 THE TRUTH ABOUT BACKS, LANGUAGE, AND WHO WE REALLY ARE

With all the talk in “natural horsemanship” circles about learning the horse’s language, this aim can never be achieved when it is distorted to support the questionable premise that a horse enjoys EHLQJULGGHQ,QP\VWXGLHVDQGH[SHULHQFHV,KDYHFRPHWRWKHFRQFOXVLRQWKDWKRUVHVDUHWKH ones who have learned our language far better and more honestly than we can imagine. It’s time to re-evaluate what is enjoyable for a horse from less of an egocentric agenda. “New agey” books and teachers talk about how horses are our mirrors. I’m not talking about horses understanding our VSRNHQODQJXDJHWRDQ\JUHDWH[WHQWEXWWKH\DUHPDVWHUVDWXQGHUVWDQGLQJWKHODQJXDJHZHVHHP to have forgotten, the language of our actions.

27 Stormy May

As a veteran horse trainer, one of the things that most surprised me to learn was the science of what goes on in a horse’s back when it is subjected to a saddle and rider. Sure, I knew horses occasion- DOO\JRWVRUHEDFNVDQGQHHGHGWUHDWPHQWRUDEHWWHU¿WWLQJVDGGOHEXW,FHUWDLQO\GLGQ¶WXQGHUVWDQG what goes on each and every time a horse takes someone for a ride.

One reason that some of this information might seem to be “new” is because it wasn’t until around 1992 that the “Saddletech” saddle pressure testing pad was developed. These pads, and other similar devices more recently developed, include sensitive sensors that can measure the amount of SUHVVXUHEHWZHHQKRUVHDQGVDGGOH7KHVHSUHVVXUHVHQVLQJWHFKQRORJLHVOHGWRDÀXUU\RILQWHUHVW- LQJVFLHQWL¿FVWXGLHVLQWKHHTXLQHZRUOG:KHQWKLVLQIRUPDWLRQZDVFRPELQHGZLWKRWKHUVWXGLHV of mammalian muscle tissue it all suddenly pointed to a huge dilemma; we were causing problems for the horses. In The Journal of Veterinary Science Volume 14 No. 11, 1994, well known veteri- QDULDQDQGVDGGOH¿WH[SHUW'U-R\FH+DUPDQUHSRUWHGWKHUHVXOWVRIDVWXG\XVLQJWKH6DGGOHWHFK pad. She wrote:

³)RUWKHSXUSRVHVRIWKLVVWXG\VDGGOHVZLWKSUHVVXUHVRIXSWRSVLZHUHJUDGHGDQH[FHOOHQW ¿WEHWZHHQDQGSVLZLWKRXWSHUVLVWHQWSUHVVXUHSRLQWVZHUHJUDGHGIDLUDQGVDGGOHVWKDW H[FHHGHGSVLRUKDGSHUVLVWHQWSUHVVXUHSRLQWVWKURXJKRXWWKHVHVVLRQZHUHJUDGHGSRRU7KHVH QXPEHUVZHUHGHULYHGIURPSUHOLPLQDU\GDWDLQGLFDWLQJWKDWLWZDVGLI¿FXOWWR¿QGDQ(QJOLVK saddle with pressures below 0.75 psi, which is the highest pressure found in the capillary bed. Pres- VXUHVWKDWH[FHHGSVLZLOOFORVHGRZQWKHEORRGÀRZLQWKHDUWHULDOFDSLOODU\EHG´

:KDWGRHVLWPHDQLIWKHEORRGÀRZLVVKXWGRZQ"7KLVLVZKDWKDSSHQVRQDVPDOOVFDOHZKHQZH press on our skin and it turns white, or if we sit in an awkward position for a longer amount of time DQGZHH[SHULHQFHRXUOHJRUDUP³JRLQJWRVOHHS´$XWKRU0DU\:DQOHVVZULWHVLQKHUERRNFor the Good of the Horse, “Perhaps one of the horse’s saving graces is that squeezing the blood out of KLVWLVVXHVFDXVHVSDLQIRUWKH¿UVWWHQWR¿IWHHQPLQXWHVRIDULGHDQGWKHQKLVEDFNJRHVQXPE´

6RXQWLOZHOHDUQKRZWROHYLWDWHVDGGOHVHYHQDVDGGOHZLWKDQH[FHOOHQW¿WWKHEHVWDLUIRDP wool stuffed panels and an average weight rider, will have pressures which are more than twice ZKDWLWWDNHVWRVKXWGRZQWKHEORRGÀRZZLWKLQWKHPXVFOHV'U+DUPDQJRHVRQWRVWDWHWKDWLQ

28 The Path of the Horse studies of canine and human muscles, sustained pressure of just 0.68 psi for over two hours causes VLJQL¿FDQWWLVVXHGDPDJH

Figure 18

,WLVLPSRUWDQWWRQRWHWKH6DGGOHWHFKVHQVRUSDGXVHGLQWKHVH¿UVWVWXGLHVXVHGVHQVRUVGHYHORSHG to evaluate the risks of pressure sores in bedridden humans, and only measured pressures of up to 4 psi. More modern sensor pads, such as the FSA (Force Sensing Array) system developed by Vi- sion Engineering Research Group (VERG Inc.) of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada can record much higher pressures. In one test involving Western saddles with high priced pads, average peak pres- sures measured between 8.25 and 14 psi. (Wesley, E.D.; McCullough, E.; Eckels, S.; Davis, E.; Article #9329; 2007; “The Horse” magazine.)

Pressure sensing pads also have the limitation of only recording pressures at the level of the skin. Saddle pressure is transferred through the muscles to the bony structures underneath (the vertebrae DQGULEV DQGLIZHFRXOGPHDVXUHWKHSUHVVXUHWKHUHLWZRXOGEHVLJQL¿FDQWO\JUHDWHU'U+DUPDQ writes, “There is surgical evidence in human medicine that subcutaneous necrosis [the death of cells] begins closer to the bone before cutaneous redness and ulceration is seen.” This means if we’ve been around horses long enough to notice white spots or tender swellings in the saddle area,

29 Stormy May we are only witnessing the end results of a long process of tissue destruction. The longissimus dorsi and trapezius muscles that a rider sits on have been developing since the dawn of the horse, ZKHQ(RKLSSXV¿UVWXVHGWKHPWRIDFLOLWDWHPRYHPHQW7KHLUVWUXFWXUHZDVQHYHUFUHDWHGWREHDU weight in the form of vertical pressure from above, and this remains true even after centuries of selective breeding for “riding” horses.

2WKHUHIIHFWVRIZHLJKWRQWKHKRUVH¶VEDFNLQFOXGHH[WHQVLRQ KROORZLQJ RIWKHEDFNZKLFK³PD\ contribute to soft tissue injuries and kissing spines syndrome.” (DeCocq, P. et al; Effects of girth, saddle and weight on movements of the horse. Equine Veterinary Journal 36; 2004; 758-763.) %ULHÀ\NLVVLQJVSLQHVV\QGURPHLVZKHQWKHVSLQRXVSURFHVVHVRIWKHYHUWHEUDH WKHORQJERQ\ protrusions of the vertebrae which form the structure of the withers and the topline of the back) start to touch each other and will eventually remodel themselves and fuse together in severe cases. ³7KLVFRQGLWLRQLVFOLQLFDOO\VLJQL¿FDQWLQMXPSHUVEXWRFFXUVLQDOOW\SHVRIKRUVHV´ Marks, D.; Medical Management of Back Pain; Vet Clinics of N. America: Equine Practice Vol. 15, No. 1; 1999) “ ‘Kissing spines,’ or impingement of the dorsal spinous processes, occur due to repetitive XQGXODWLRQVLQMXPSLQJKRUVHVEDVFXOLQJRUURXQGLQJRYHUDYHUWLFDOIHQFHRYHUH[WHQGLQJXSRQ ODQGLQJRUVWUHWFKLQJRXWDQGKROORZLQJWKHEDFNRYHUDZLGHR[HUMXPSFDQFDXVHWKLVSUREOHP The result is that the individual spinous projections are pushed together tightly. This generally occurs from the end of the withers to the beginning of the loin (10th - 18th thoracic vertebrae.)” (Nadeau, J.; Preventing Back Pain in Horses; University of Connecticut Dept. of Animal Science Fact Sheet 2006.)

7KHUHDUHDSOHWKRUDRIVLPLODUO\VLJQL¿FDQWWUDXPDVWRWKHEDFNZKLFKDUHHLWKHUDGLUHFWUHVXOW of the rider on the back, or the indirect result of what the rider asks the horse to do (sliding stops, MXPSVHWF 6RPHH[DPSOHVDUHVSRQG\ORVLVMXPSHUVEXPS DSURPLQHQWWXEHUVDFUDOH VDFUR- iliac joint injury, supraspinous ligament injury, dorsal ligament tears, stress fractures of the ilium, and lumbosacral joint injury to name a few. I hope the reader is starting to get a sense of the risks we subject the horse to with what we consider to be “a normal use of the horse.”

30 The Path of the Horse

Figure 19

/HW¶VJREDFNQRZWRWKH¿UVWWUDXPDWKDWKDSSHQVZKHQWKHKRUVHLVVDGGOHGFRPSURPLVHGEORRG ÀRZ LVFKHPLD LQWKHPXVFOHV,WLVWUXHWKDWPXVFOHVKDYHZRQGHUIXOUHJHQHUDWLYHSURSHUWLHVDQG many times pressure sores can heal if infection is avoided and the horse is receiving proper nutri- tion and time off from more pressure. However, shouldn’t we be concerned about the psychologi- FDOHIIHFWVRIWKHSDLQWKDWZDVLQYROYHGLQWKHSURFHVVDQGWKHOLNHOLKRRGRIUHLQMXU\":HDUHDOO familiar with the sharp pains associated with sensation coming back into a limb that has “fallen DVOHHS´RU³JRQHQXPE´GXHWRFRPSURPLVHGEORRGVXSSO\EXWZKRKDVH[SHULHQFHGWKHSDLQRI developing pressure sores, even mild ones which itch and hurt even before there are any outwardly YLVLEOHVLJQV",WLVH[DFWO\WKLVGLVFRPIRUWWKDWFDXVHVXVWRVKLIWSRVLWLRQHYHU\IHZPLQXWHVZKHQ we are sitting or standing. If we didn’t, we would develop pressure sores (also called bedsores) just from the weight of our own bodies on a soft chair or bed. In my research for this chapter, I was VXUSULVHGWR¿QGWKDWDFWRU&KULVWRSKHU5HHYHRULJLQDOO\LQMXUHGLQDULGLQJDFFLGHQWXOWLPDWHO\ died at age 52 as a result of complications from a pressure sore.

A horse, when saddled, has no chance to shift this weight to relieve the discomfort. He probably WULHVWRWHOOXVLQRWKHUZD\VOLNH¿GJHWLQJH[KLELWLQJDVKRUWHQHGJDLWHDUVEDFNVZLVKLQJWDLOWU\- ing to rub on the rail, or bucking. These should all be considered signs of a perfectly honest horse trying to relieve pain. The horse who is more dangerous to herself is one who quietly goes on with her work, knowing that the consequences of showing any signs of back pain will be a stronger pain LQWKHPRXWKKHDGULEVRUÀDQNVSUREDEO\FRPELQHGZLWKDORQJHUVHVVLRQXQGHUVDGGOH+RUVHV

31 Stormy May

DUHPDVWHUVDWOHDUQLQJKRZWR³JHWDORQJ´DQGPRVWZLOOTXLFNO\GLVFRYHUH[DFWO\ZKDWLWWDNHVWR survive. A numb back is probably much easier to tolerate than the other ways humans have devised to control horses.

When we subject our horses to these pains for our own pleasures we are breaching something fun- damental in our relationship. The fact that many horses tolerate these traumas speaks more about WKHLULQQDWHZD\VRIFRSLQJZLWKFRQ¿QHPHQWIHDUDQGSDLQUDWKHUWKDQDQ\SURRIRIRXU³ULJKW´WR sit on a horse’s back or their enjoyment of this process.

Figure 20

I hope what I have presented makes it clear that any time we sit on a horse for more than a moment without understanding what’s going on underneath us, we are compromising the horse’s well- EHLQJ7KHUHDUHWZRZD\VZHFDQEHVXUHZHGRQRWLQMXUHDKRUVH7KH¿UVWLVWRWXUQWKHKRUVHRXW LQDODUJH¿HOGDQGZLVKKHUZHOOLQDQDWXUDOKHUGDQGWKHVHFRQGLVWRVWXG\WKHKRUVH¶VV\VWHPV so minutely that we can say with authority what we are doing is not harmful.

32 The Path of the Horse

Now the problem with riding has been detailed, let’s look at possible solutions. First, we must un- derstand why we want to ride a horse. If the answers include, “it’s fun” “I want to compete” or “it’s JRRGH[HUFLVH´WKHQWKHSUHYLRXVLQIRUPDWLRQZLOOKDYHOLWWOHRUQRLPSDFWRQZKDW\RXGRDQGWKH current horse world will give you plenty of support in pursuing your goals. If your answers sound more like, “I love horses” “I want to learn how to have a good relationship with my horse” or even “I think horses might have something to teach me” then it’s likely you’ve already started to look for alternatives to the traditional horse world.

The solution has to begin with the premise that the horse knows her own mind, and in any matter regarding her behavior, she is the authority. Horses don’t have a spoken language we can under- stand but they do have a language we can learn. It is a language of physiology and movement. Once we spend enough time letting go of what we think we know about horses, we leave space IRU³ZKDWLV´WRUHYHDOLWVHOI)RUH[DPSOHLIDKRUVHVWDUWVEXFNLQJXQGHUVDGGOHZHPLJKWWKLQN (or have been taught) that it was due to her being “naughty” as if the bucking were comparable to a young child beating up on a schoolmate, or maybe we think she’s getting too much grain, too much alfalfa, or it’s too cold, too windy or any number of countless guesses. On the other hand, if we start with the premise that the horse has a perfectly good reason for bucking and it’s our job to determine what that is, she will begin leading us on a path. It’s a bit like seeing the horse as a living language course. Of course the horse is the master of this language and we are the pupils learning to decipher her movements and attitudes.

Horses see us for who we truly are behind our masks of words and hidden meanings. They sense what we try to hide from ourselves and other humans: our frustrations, irritations, dissatisfaction, aggravations, and at the base of it, our fears. In what other area is it socially acceptable to beat an animal, where it is even televised and the sport’s greatest heroes are ones who carry whips in their hands and strap spurs to their heels, showing their “mastery” by how invisible they can make these ³DLGV"´7KHKRUVHOHDUQVWKLVODQJXDJHRIRXUVDQGRXUFDSDELOLWLHVIRUFDXVLQJKHUSDLQVRZHOOWKDW LQWKHKDQGVRIDQ³H[SHUW´WKHWKUHDWRIWKHVHGHYLFHVLVVXI¿FLHQWDQGWKHGHYLFHVWKHPVHOYHVQR longer need to be used.

33 Stormy May

In order to start to understand the horse’s language and in the process of relearning our own natu- UDOODQJXDJHZHPXVWEHJLQZLWKDKRUVHZHDUHQRWLQÀLFWLQJDQ\SDLQRQRWKHUZLVHDOOZHDUH learning is about how to control the actions of a horse in pain. Truthfully, this makes up the bulk of information that’s been studied for the thousands of years we’ve been riding horses. It is hard for the typical rider to understand that a real relationship with a horse must begin on the ground with QRKDOWHUVURSHVRUVPDOOFRQ¿QHGVSDFHV-$OOHQ%RRQH¶VVHQWLPHQWDERXWGRJVLQWKHERRNA Kinship with all Life, applies equally to horses, “There’s facts about dogs, and there’s opinions about them. The dogs have the facts, and the humans have the opinions. If you want facts about a dog, always get them straight from the dog. If you want opinions, get them from the human.”

Figure 21

$VDSHUVRQSURJUHVVHVLQKHUXQGHUVWDQGLQJRIKRUVHODQJXDJHZLWKLWVV\QWD[RIDQDWRP\SK\VL- ology, and psychology, there may come a time when it is appropriate to get on a horse’s back. Just as signposts point the way to a destination, I can give a hint about some of the elements that will need to be understood by the person who has endeavored to learn enough of the horse’s language to get to a point where being astride might be a helpful step in her lessons.

As a human endeavors to learn the way a horse’s body is designed, the way certain muscles, ten- dons, and ligaments work in concert with the skeletal structure, and the capacities and limits of

34 The Path of the Horse these physiological elements, he will learn ways to “play” with the horse that lead to more freedom and balance for the horse. In the same way that yoga can help balance our own bodies and spirits, WKHSHUVRQZLOOOHDUQWKH\RJDZKLFKEDODQFHVDQGIUHHVDKRUVHWRHQDEOHKHUWRJUHDWHUH[SUHV- sion.

7KHQH[WVLJQSRVWLVZKHQWKHSHUVRQOHDUQVKRZWRZRUNZLWKWKHKRUVHZLWKJUHDWHUGLVFLSOLQH ZKHQERWKKXPDQDQGKRUVHDSSO\WKHPVHOYHVWRVSHFL¿FHOHPHQWVWRGHYHORSWKHSK\VLRORJ\RI the horse and the mental focus and concentration of both horse and human. Around this time, an- other signpost you might notice is that the personal desire of the human to ride the horse will have naturally dropped away. A person at this level of understanding would have no more wish to bridle and saddle her equine teacher than she would to bridle and saddle her best human friend and prod her along a nice “trail ride.”

If you are at the beginning of this journey and can’t quite understand yet how a person could have DIXO¿OOLQJUHODWLRQVKLSZLWKDKRUVHZLWKRXWULGLQJPD\EHLWZRXOGEHKHOSIXOWRKDYHDOLWWOHFDU- rot hung out to tempt you. When a human has learned the horse’s language well enough that she begins to dance with her equine partner, she collects and balances him not as the end result of pull- ing, tugging, and restraining, but as the result of speaking a common language, never causing pain at any point along the path; she simply learns how to dance with his movements as a partner. Only then will the horse’s anatomy reveal that he may indeed carry a human as part of the dance, on a strengthened spine that has not been weakened by hours of a rider pounding on the saddle, with PXVFOHVWKDWDUHIUHHIURPSDLQIXOSUHVVXUHVRUHVFDUULHGLQDÀH[HGDQGFRQWUDFWHGVWDWHZKLFK leads to higher blood pressure within the muscle and the ability of this muscle to endure the pres- sure from a vertical load for a few minutes at a time. This is not riding, it’s something you’ll read more about in the chapter about training secrets.

,QWKH¿QDODQDO\VLVZKHQZHIROORZWKLVSDWKZHZLOOH[SHULHQFHWKHJLIWWKHKRUVHVKDYHEHHQ holding for us. They can help us relearn our own ancient language and to live harmoniously with RXUVHOYHVDQGWKHRWKHUUHVLGHQWVRIWKLVSODQHW,KRSHLQWKHIROORZLQJFKDSWHUVWREHDEOHWR¿QG WKHULJKWZRUGVWRH[SUHVVWKHIXOOQHVVRIZKDW,¶PVWDUWLQJWRH[SHULHQFHEXWSHUKDSV,¶OOKDYHWR be content with pointing out signposts.

35 Stormy May

Figure 22

36 The Path of the Horse

Figure 23

4 SUNDANCE: THE GIFT OF GRACE

“Either exist as you are or be as you look.” ~ Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi

$VQRUWOLNHFUDFNOLQJ¿UHDSOXPHRIDWDLOKLJKDERYHKHUEDFNWKHEULJKW¿OO\VWRRGRXWIURPWKH other weanlings. She leapt like a dancer, her hooves disdaining the earth, her body hovering as she soared from one half of the round pen to the other.

Even though she was of Dutch Warmblood breeding, her Spanish name, La Mancha, spoke of the FUD]\GUHDPWKDW,ZDVHPEDUNLQJRQ9LVLRQVRI&HUYDQWHV¶'RQ4XL[RWH¿JKWLQJZLQGPLOOJLDQWV in his outlandish fantasies seemed an appropriate metaphor for my quest to compete at the Olym- pics in the sport of dressage. It was the latest goal I had set for myself after several years of college DQGOLIHH[SHULHQFHUHYHDOHGWKDWVDQGZLFKLQJP\QDPHEHWZHHQ'UDQG'90ZDVQ¶WZRUWKWKH stress of school. I wanted to ride horses! So, with some inherited money and a new job as a trainer at a horse-breeding farm, I purchased my young dream horse.

37 Stormy May

Glossy magazine photos fed my desire. Dressage horses were captured frozen in time, prancing with sweat glistening, braided manes, necks tightly held in just the right position, in the midst of ÀDZOHVVO\H[HFXWLQJIHDWVRIDWKOHWLFSURZHVV,UHDGDERXWWKHULGHUVZKRKDGPDGHLWWRWKHWRS with their determination and grit. I cataloged articles and collected shelves full of books further elucidating the lofty goals of dressage. I had the time, the talent, the right trainers, and now the right horse to take me all the way to the highest levels of the sport.

Even though she was only 9 months old, I was eager to start her preparation. To begin La Man- cha’s in-hand training, I haltered and led her proudly around the long circular driveway, away from the other horses. She was big for her age, but still pony-sized so I could hold on as she leapt from VLGHWRVLGHOLNHDPDUOLQFDXJKWRQD¿VKLQJOLQHEXWLQVWHDGRIEHLQJFDXJKWZLWKDKRRNVKHZDV “caught” by a halter buckled around her head and attached to a thick cotton rope with my gripping hands at the end.

I felt her fear of being separated from the others and continued to walk on, tightly holding onto WKHURSHDQGP\HPRWLRQV3DVWH[SHULHQFHWROGPHRQFHVKH¿JXUHGRXWKRZORQJWKHURSHZDV she would settle down and see I would keep her safe from the dangers she imagined. I noted her KLJKVSLULWHGQHVVSHUVXDGLQJP\VHOILWZRXOGWUDQVODWHLQWRWKDWH[WUD³VRPHWKLQJ´QHHGHGIRUKLJK scores.

The farm we lived at by the time La Mancha turned three was the perfect place to initiate her into the subtleties of mounted work. Each day for weeks before her formal training began, I would en- ter her corral to pick up the previous day’s manure. She quickly learned if she backed up to me, I ZRXOGVFUDWFKKHUIDYRULWHVSRWWKHWRSRIKHUFRFF\[KHUWDLOERQHJUDGXDOO\ZRUNLQJP\¿QJHUV all the way down to the bottommost tip of her spine. If she continued backing up, I scratched her more vigorously. Often I would end up backed right into the pipe panel fence. I climbed the fence DQGFRQWLQXHGPRYLQJP\¿QJHUQDLOVXSKHUEDFNWRKHUZLWKHUV

One day, looking down on her sloping red back below me as I sat scratching her from atop the fence, I felt a temptation I couldn’t resist. I slipped my leg over her backside and then was on, feeling her warm muscles through the denim of my jeans. The moment I let go of the fence and

38 The Path of the Horse put my body completely on her back felt like symbolically letting go of control of my own life and GHVWLQ\DQGHQWUXVWLQJWKRVHPRPHQWVWRWKHPLQGDQGSRZHURIDWKUHH\HDUROG¿OO\6KHFRFNHG her head to look back at my leg as it descended her side and then continued to stand as if nothing had changed. I stayed on for a moment, rubbing her withers and then slid down to the ground, thanking her for the opportunity she had given me.

,PDGHPRUHRIWKDW¿UVW³ULGH´RIRXUVWKDQVKHGLG$V,ZKHHOHGRXWWKHPXFNFDUWVKHIROORZHG me to the gate, maybe hoping for more scratching or treats, or perhaps with some other message I couldn’t understand. My mind was racing. How effortless it had been; surely that was the start of a great mounted partnership. She was so easy to get on, not seeming to mind me on her back one bit. Once again I fantasized about the competitions we’d win, the places we’d travel to, and the adoration we’d gain.

$IWHUDIHZPRUHPRXQWHGVFUDWFKLQJVHVVLRQV,¿JXUHGLWZDVWLPHIRU³VHULRXV´WUDLQLQJ)RU WKDW,JRWDODUJHORRVHULQJVQDIÀHELWDQGDQRYHUVL]HGEULGOHDQGVWDUWHGJHWWLQJKHUDFFXVWRPHG to having a piece of metal in her mouth and a small leather pad on her back with a strap tightened behind her forelegs.

I taught her to run around in circles, attached to me by a long cotton line, otherwise known as the discipline of longeing. That was when I started to realize just what she was capable of. A panicked KRUVHXVXDOO\GRHVRQHRIWZRWKLQJVVKHHLWKHUIUHH]HVRUWULHVWRÀHH/D0DQFKDFKRVHWKHODW- ter, turning into a huge red mass of bone, hoof, and muscle leaping so high that she brushed tree branches with her hind legs. The fact I was attached to that 1200-pound phenomenon by a line UXQQLQJWKURXJKP\WKLQO\JORYHGKDQGVVKRRNP\FRQ¿GHQFH7KHKXQGUHGVRI\HDUVRI:DUP- blood breeding culminating in this powerfully athletic chestnut mare presented me with something I could barely understand or control.

,QP\LPDJLQDWLRQZKHQ,SODFHGP\VHOIRQWRSRIKHUZKDWUHVXOWHGFRXOGEHFODVVL¿HGDVPHQ- tally-induced terror. The thought of what might happen to my body if she ever performed those VRUWVRIOHDSVZLWKPHDERDUGZDVWKHEHJLQQLQJRIDQXQGHUO\LQJGRXEWWKDWDVVHOIFRQ¿GHQWDV, seemed, made me question how to proceed.

39 Stormy May

I gingerly started mounting her with bated breath, no longer free in the corral, but as a rider mount- ing a horse, fully appointed with saddle, bridle, bit, whip, helmet, and protective vest. Was I riding LQWREDWWOHRQP\FKHVWQXWVWHHGRUSUHSDULQJWRGREDWWOHZLWKP\FKHVWQXWVWHHG"

Typically she seemed to tolerate my presence on her back for several minutes, until something changed and her feet left the ground in a leap, buck, or bolt. I be- came skilled at twisting in the air as I looked for the best landing spot, trying to ensure that I landed on my feet or at least my backside rather than my front side.

2IWHQ WKH QH[W FKDOOHQJH VKH SUHVHQWHG when I got back on as I always did, was to plant her feet and not move. I would sit in the saddle, looking out through a cloud of fear disguised as an attitude of “you’d better do this or else” with my legs, seat, and whip mechanically commanding her WRJRZKLOHWKHUHVWRIP\SHWUL¿HGEHLQJ Figure 24 prayed feverishly for her to stay put.

0RWLYDWHGE\IHDU,EHJDQWRVHHNRXW³H[SHUWV´WRDGYLVHPHRQKRZWRGHDOZLWKDKRUVHRIWKLV FDOLEHU,WKRXJKWVKHQHHGHGDULGHUZKRZDVUHOD[HGDQGFRQ¿GHQWLQWKHVDGGOH,ZDVQ¶WWKDW rider. While teaching at a riding camp, I described my problem to another one of my colleagues; one whose former careers included the rough world of conditioning racehorses and Three Day (YHQWHUV7KLVVL[IRRW$PD]RQZRPDQVHHPHGWKHW\SHZKRKDGUHDOFRQ¿GHQFHDQGZRXOGQ¶W take “no” or even “maybe” for an answer. It was threatening to my self-image that another trainer might be able to do what I couldn’t, but I hoped she had a special trick that would make La Mancha

40 The Path of the Horse

UHOD[DQGVHWWOHLQWRKHUUROHDVDULGLQJKRUVHVR,FRXOGJHWRQZLWKWKHEXVLQHVVRIUHDG\LQJKHU for competition.

When I called to check on her, I received reports of how well my horse was doing out on the trails, walking through creeks, up hills, and with other horses. I believed what I heard, but something cynical inside of me warned, “Yeah, but that woman’s different. She’ll still misbehave for me.”

When it was time to pick her up, we scheduled enough time for me to ride her in the arena. From WKHPRPHQW,VWRRGQH[WWR/D0DQFKDUHDG\WRPRXQW,IHOWWKHROGIDPLOLDUIHDUFUHHSLQJEDFN in.

³6LWXSVKRUWHQ\RXUVWLUUXSVUHOD[\RXUDUPVKROGWKLVZKLS´WKHWUDLQHUGLUHFWHGDVVKHSODFHG LQP\KDQGDWKLFNMRFNH\¶VZKLSZLWKOHDWKHUVWULSVSRNLQJRXWOLNHUXIÀHGIHDWKHUVRQDWXUNH\¶V QHFN7KHTXHDV\LQVHFXUHIHHOLQJLQWHQVL¿HGDQG,KDGWKHWKRXJKW³:KDWJRRGLVWKLVKRUVHLIVKH GRHVQ¶WGRZKDW,ZDQW"´,QHVVHQFH,ZDVUHDOO\DVNLQJ³:KDWJRRGLVWKLVKRUVHLI,IHHOVFDUHG RQKHUEDFN"´$IWHUKROGLQJEDFNWHDUVDQGZLOOLQJP\VHOIWRGRDVWKHWUDLQHUVDLG,GLVPRXQWHG thanked her, and assured her I would let her know how it went in the coming weeks. After a few ULGHVRQ/D0DQFKDDWKRPHP\IHDUVZHUHFRQ¿UPHG1RWKLQJKDGFKDQJHG

,FRQWLQXHGWRJRWKURXJKWKHPRWLRQVRIWUDLQLQJ¿JXULQJWKLVZDVWKHJULWDQGGHWHUPLQDWLRQWKH top riders were referring to. There would be days when she graced me with a trot far beyond any- WKLQJ,KDGH[SHULHQFHGRQKRUVHEDFNRUDFDQWHUVREDODQFHG,IHOW,FRXOGKDQJLQWKHDLURQWKDW gentle rocking chair stride forever, the feeling of heaven descended to earth. But those moments were rare and the other moments built themselves into a nightmarish sequence of tension, pulling, NLFNLQJZKLSSLQJDQGWKHRFFDVLRQDOÀLJKWRIP\ERG\WKURXJKWKHDLUDQGWKHLQHYLWDEOHWKXGRQ the ground.

I was still convinced the methods I had learned from my instructors would eventually be a lan- guage La Mancha understood. It seemed logical that I needed to use as much force as necessary to JHWWKHFRUUHFWUHVSRQVHDQGWKHQRYHUWKHFRXUVHRIPRQWKVDQG\HDUV,¶GEHDEOHWRUH¿QHWKHFXHV down to the softest, often imperceptible shifts of weight and energy. This was the way horses had

41 Stormy May been trained for hundreds of years, resulting in what I pictured as a horse lightly performing ballet with a rider sitting motionless in perfect mental and physical communion.

(YHQWXDOO\RXUULGHVEHFDPHSUHGLFWDEOH:HZRXOGEHJLQZLWKDWRPLQXWH¿JKWDERXWJR- LQJIRUZDUGDQGWKHQLWIHOWDVLIDVZLWFKZRXOGÀLSDQG/D0DQFKDZRXOGÀRDWIRUZDUGLQWRDQ\ gait I chose from only a hint of a cue. It felt like I was being teased; the ecstatic feeling of what she was capable of hung elusively out of my control, subject to something I searched desperately WRXQGHUVWDQG,ZDVVRUHOLHYHGE\WKHWLPHVKHZHQWIRUZDUGWKDW,ZRXOGULGHIRUDERXW¿YHPLQ- XWHVORQJHUDQGWKHQGLVPRXQWKRSLQJWKDWWKHQH[WGD\VKHZRXOGUHPHPEHUWKRVHODVWPLQXWHV positively and start out where we left off. That was never to be the case.

:KDWZDVZURQJ"$IWHUYHWYLVLWVUXOHGRXWSK\VLFDOSUREOHPVDQGWKHPRUHH[WUHPHPHWKRGVRI forcing her didn’t work, I went searching for something different. I read books on natural horse- manship and horse whispering. Most of these were essentially the same techniques I’d studied for \HDUVLQQHZSDFNDJHVZLWKÀRULGWHUPLQRORJ\DQGFOHYHUH[HUFLVHVPL[HGLQ:KHQWKH\IDLOHGWR work, I looked for something gentler. I saddled her up and sat on her for hours at a time, without giving even one squeeze, waiting for it to be her idea to move off at a brisk walk or hopefully a nice controlled trot. We stood as still as knights on a forgotten chessboard.

In the meantime, my training business was burgeoning and I was ready to start my own horse ranch. I found an affordable 9-acre parcel of land in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern Cali- fornia and moved up with my little herd. Soon, a changing menagerie of other horses in for train- LQJRUUHKDELOLWDWLRQ¿OOHGWKHFRUUDOV

My new start was when I decided I needed a new beginning with La Mancha. I thought it would KHOSLI,FKDQJHGKHUQDPHWRVRPHWKLQJWKDWEURXJKWXSIHZHULPDJHVRIIXWLOHLQVDQH¿JKWV against false giants with big whirling arms, and more images of dancing, lightness, and artistic YHQWXUHV6XQGDQFH7KHQDPHFRQMXUHGXSLPDJHVRI5REHUW5HGIRUGDQGKLVHGJ\¿OPIHVWLYDO EULQJLQJLQQRYDWLRQWRWKH¿OPZRUOGDVZHOODVGDQFLQJDPHWDSKRU,DVSLUHGWRLQP\UHODWLRQV with horses, and of course the sun, that unimaginably big mass of energy that shines on everyone equally and makes life on this planet possible.

42 The Path of the Horse

New name and all, Sundance’s days at the ranch continued in the same pattern that had been es- tablished at other farms we had lived at. My business partner thought I should get rid of her. He reasoned that she was eating a lot of hay and generating piles of manure and nothing he or I had done brought her any closer to being the riding horse I dreamed of. Eleven years had passed since ,¿UVWSXWP\OHJRYHUKHUEDFNDQGWKHJXLOWUHJUHWDQGKRSHOHVVQHVV,IHOWFRPSHWHGZLWKWKH VHQVHRIUHVSRQVLELOLW\IRUKHUOLIH,WRRNRQZKHQ,ERXJKWKHU(YHQLI,ZDQWHGWR¿QGKHUDQRWKHU KRPHZKRZRXOGWDNHDQDWKOHWLF:DUPEORRGPDUHZKRFOHDUO\H[SUHVVHGZKDWVKHWKRXJKWRI ULGLQJDQGWUDLQLQJ"

I spoke to a fellow instructor who seemed eager when she saw pictures of the well- built purebred mare. She told me she’d like to breed her to her Appaloosa stallion in her quest to develop a spotted breed of sport horses. At the beginning of breeding season I dropped her off with an assurance that if she didn’t work out as a broodmare, I would take her back, alleviating some of the guilt I felt in sending her away. I took the time to return to my life as a horse trainer without that red mark in the pasture reminding me every day of my failure.

After several months and an ultrasound that revealed she hadn’t become pregnant, the woman hauled her back to my ranch. As I Figure 25 saw those red hindquarters emerging from the trailer, I felt the feeling of hopelessness returning, DQGDOVRDQXQH[SHFWHGIHHOLQJRIUHOLHIWKDWP\PDUHZDVEDFN

There are times in a person’s life when everything feels like it’s falling apart. Late summer and ear- ly fall of 2006 were like that for me. I had created a name for myself in the United States Pony Club

43 Stormy May

RUJDQL]DWLRQZHDULQJWKHKDWVRILQVWUXFWRU&KLHI+RUVH0DQDJHPHQW-XGJHDQG1DWLRQDO([DP- iner. I traveled around the country to Pony Club rallies, ratings, meetings, and camps. At home I balanced a ranch full of horses in training and regular clients spread across Northern California. :KHUHYHU,ZHQW,ZRXOGVPLOHDQGVD\³([FHOOHQW´WRDQ\RQHZKRDVNHGKRZ,ZDVGRLQJ

But the reality was different. On my travels, I started noticing the kids and horses were mostly VFDUHGUHVLJQHGRUH[SUHVVLQJDK\SHUH[FLWHPHQWVHHPLQJWRFRYHUHLWKHUDSHUIRUPDQFHDQ[LHW\ or fear of the horse they were with. In my own life I had become such an H[SHUW DW KLGLQJ P\ RZQ IHHOLQJV , simply felt a dull repetition of work- ing horses, driving to lessons, and looking forward to a stop at a gas sta- tion for a quick pick-me-up of iced tea and chocolate.

I kept returning to Sundance with a PL[RIGHVSHUDWLRQDQGTXL[RWLFKRSH While searching for solutions to my problems with her over the years, I had compiled a short list of people whom I considered to be equine ge- Figure 26 niuses. Their books weren’t what I would classify as natural horsemanship; they had more of a horse conscious focus, considering the horse as a source of wisdom and guidance in their lives. I applied their ideas with varying levels of VXFFHVVEXWVWLOOQRWKLQJVHHPHGWRPDNH6XQGDQFH¿WLQWRP\2O\PSLFVL]HGER[

The Olympic dream slowly faded and I started noticing another dream asking to be born. Seeing Sundance in the pasture called like a siren, begging me to jump into an unknown ocean with the promise of unity if I could survive the swim to the other side. The form of the dream, the Olym- pics, became less important than the moments I was living with my horse. I asked myself what

44 The Path of the Horse it would take to enjoy being with her. :DV LW SRVVLEOH WR ¿QG UHDO KDUPRQ\ between horses and humans or was that sentiment made of the same cloth that made up the emperor’s new clothes, visible only to those who are afraid of EHLQJWKRXJKWDIRRORUSRVHXU":DVLW just a fantasy we created to justify our RZQKXPDQDJHQGDV"6RPHWKLQJWROG me these people on my list had found deeper answers that hadn’t been con- veyed in their books.

I decided to make a documentary about Figure 27 WKHVHDUFKWR¿QGDUHDOSDUWQHUVKLSEHWZHHQKRUVHVDQGKXPDQV,WZDVDJRRGH[FXVHWRPHHWWKH SHRSOHRQP\OLVWDQGGRVRPHGHWHFWLYHZRUNQRWRQO\IRUP\RZQEHQH¿WEXWDOVRIRURWKHUVZKR were at similar crossroads in their lives with horses.

%XWKRZZDVDKRUVHWUDLQHUZLWKQR¿OPEDFNJURXQGJRLQJWRSXOOWKLVRQHRII"$IWHUORRNLQJLQWR grants and corporate sponsors, the problem of funding was solved when I took stock of my own assets, which were tied up in the ranch I had bought three years earlier. I looked ahead 30 years and envisioned I could still be teaching the same lessons, training new horses to do the same things, talking about the same topics, and paying the same mortgage. Or, I could sell the ranch and use the PRQH\WRÀ\DURXQGWKHZRUOGWU\LQJWRXQHDUWKDVHFUHWIURPSHRSOH,¶GRQO\UHDGDERXW

'XULQJWKHFRXUVHRI¿OPLQJWKHGRFXPHQWDU\WKHVHFUHWGLGVWDUWWRXQIROG0\¿UVWWULSWR5XVVLD ZDVWKHSRLQWRIQRUHWXUQ,UHPHPEHUWKHPRPHQWFOHDUO\DVP\JXLGH*HRUJXLVDWRQWKHÀRRU looking at a laptop computer propped on the seat of a wooden chair. Georgui was a photographer for the Nevzorov Haute Ecole magazine, which was published by the man I had come to interview, $OH[DQGHU1HY]RURY*HRUJXLZDVH[FLWHGDERXWSXWWLQJKLVSKRWRJUDSKVWRJHWKHULQDVSHFL¿FVH- TXHQFHVRLWZRXOGORRNOLNHDVWRSDFWLRQ¿OP+HVKRZHGPHKRZKHKDGDOUHDG\VWDUWHGSXWWLQJ

45 Stormy May

WKHPLQRUGHU+LVH[FLWHPHQWZDVLQFRQJUXRXVZLWKWKHSLFWXUHVWKDWÀDVKHGRQWKHVFUHHQ

These pictures were taken at horse shows. The horses were of different breeds, different colors, and with different riders representing different disciplines. Yet the common subject in each photo- graph was a human causing a horse pain. These were not the slick magazine photos I thought were an accurate representation of horse sports. These were those same riders in other moments. The VFHQHVZHUHRQHV,UHFRJQL]HG7KHSKRWRJUDSKVVKRZHGWHUUL¿HGDQLPDOVZLWKVWLIIQHFNVEXOJ- LQJH\HVÀDULQJQRVWULOVPRXWKVZUHQFKHGRSHQWRQJXHVDVNHZDQGVDOLYDVWUHDPLQJ,KDGVHHQ VRPHRIWKHSLFWXUHVEHIRUHRQ$OH[DQGHU¶VZHEVLWHVR,WKRXJKW,ZDVSUHSDUHGIRUPRUHEXWQRZ, found myself sitting in a dingy Russian apartment with the photographer who had witnessed these HYHQWVEXVLO\WHOOLQJPHKRZKHZDVJRLQJWRPDNHDVKRUW¿OPWRWHDFKSHRSOHKRZWRFDSWXUHWKH moment with a digital camera.

³

“Yes,” he replied, “I go to competitions almost every weekend.”

³+RZFDQ\RXVWDQGWRZDWFKWKHKRUVHVEHLQJWUHDWHGOLNHWKDW"´,DVNHGZRQGHULQJLIKHKDGD VDGLVWLFVWUHDNLQKLP,NQHZ,ZDVZURQJZKHQ,VDZVDGQHVVH[SRVHLWVHOIIURPXQGHUQHDWKKLV chattering. His voice lowered and grew unsteady as he said, “It’s really horrible. It makes me sick to see, but it must be documented, so I’ll take these pictures and show the world. I know I won’t be DEOHWRGRLWPXFKORQJHUVR,¶PJRLQJWRWHDFKRWKHUVKRZWRGRLW´:KHQKH¿QLVKHG,IHOWIRUD moment the wounded heart of this young man, standing back and witnessing those crimes through the lens of his camera. It felt like he was a war journalist documenting human bodies in the throes of the most intense pain, but helpless to intercede in the name of objective reporting.

I knew I was guilty of contributing to this microcosm of pain and suffering in the world. I had HYHQGLUHFWHGLWWRZDUGWKRVHEHLQJV,VDLG,ORYHGWKHPRVW±WKHKRUVHV,UHDOL]HGWKHRQO\WKLQJ JHQWOHDQGKRUVHFRQVFLRXVDERXWP\RZQPHWKRGVZHUHWKH\ZHUHQ¶WTXLWHDVH[WUHPHDVRWKHU people used. I could say those other riders were cruel, but we were all cut from the same cloth; we had learned how to use horses to make us look and feel good about ourselves. In that moment, I knew that Georgui’s cause was now mine as well. I sat beside him feeling the immensity of the

46 The Path of the Horse task ahead. After a timeless moment he closed the computer and started talking about where we were going to eat.

A few days after returning from Russia, my internal clock was still half a world away as I went RXWEHIRUHVXQULVHWRIHHGWKHKRUVHV$IWHU¿QLVKLQJ,QRWLFHGDIXOOJURZQURELQVWDQGLQJRQWKH ground near the bales of hay. There was something un-birdlike about how he was standing, so still ZLWKUXIÀHGIHDWKHUVDQGEOLQNLQJH\HV,JHQWO\IROGHGP\OHJVDQGVDWRQWKHJURXQGDERXWVL[IHHW in front of him. He seemed content to simply stand and rest and watch me a little. After what felt like 10 minutes he started walking toward me, then he circled away and then back toward me. He ZDVDOLWWOHXQVWHDG\RQKLVOHJVEXWRWKHUZLVH,FRXOG¿QGQRH[SODQDWLRQIRUKLVEHKDYLRU:HVDW DERXWWZRIHHWDSDUWIRUDQRWKHUSHULRGRIWLPHDQGWKHQKHZDONHGFORVHUXQWLOKHZDVVL[LQFKHV from my left knee. He turned and we sat side by side, like friends looking out at the scenery.

I wanted to hold him in my hand, but in that small desire I perceived the seed of forcing myself on another being. I chose to do things differently. Instead of what I wanted, I asked myself what he needed, ZKDWFRXOG,GRIRUWKLVELUG",PDGHP\- self just sit and be with him, to become as quiet as possible inside myself. The thought of him sitting in my hand kept returning, so eventually I wondered if we shared the same sentiment. Instead of reaching out toward him and picking him XS,SXWP\HPSW\KDQGRXWÀDWLQIURQW of me and after several minutes he walked around from my left side and stepped into my hand... and then closed his eyes. We stayed that way for quite some time. I Figure 28 cupped him in my hands and he was very

47 Stormy May still. Over an hour passed, and my legs began to cramp, so I put my hand back down, wondering if he’d like to go. He stayed still, although I could see his balance wasn’t good. I tenderly carried KLPZLWKPHWRDQHDUE\FKDLUZKHUHZHFRXOGVLWDQGFDWFKWKH¿UVWUD\VRIVXQ$QRWKHUIHZPLQ- utes passed and I noticed him be- ginning to twitch. He was getting ready to die. I held him comfort- ably as he went through the death process, then buried him at the foot of a nearby tree.

Soon after, I called my students together and showed a videotape RIRQHRI$OH[DQGHU¶VVWXGHQWV, told them I wouldn’t be teaching in the same way as I had in the past but I offered to continue coaching if anybody wanted to stop riding and start working horses without Figure 29 restriction or force. The uncom- IRUWDEOHVLOHQFHLQWKHURRPFRQ¿UPHGP\VXVSLFLRQWKLVVWHSZDVWRRIDUIRUPRVWSHRSOHWRHYHQ understand. At that point it didn’t matter; it was my path. The peaceful feeling of being there with WKHURELQFRQ¿UPHGZKDWFRXOGKDSSHQLI,OHWJRRIP\SHUVRQDODJHQGDV

A new clarity told me this is where Sundance had been trying to guide me all along. Grace had NQRFNHGDWP\GRRULQWKHIRUPRID¿HU\¿OO\$IWHUIDLOLQJHQRXJKWLPHV,EHJDQWRXQGHUVWDQG the control I desperately sought moment by moment had become my addiction. I saw human life as it truly is, not a safe movie with a predictable ending, but a constant yet fragile movement WRZDUGVRPHWKLQJVDQGDZD\IURPRWKHUV%\VHHLQJDQGDFFHSWLQJ6XQGDQFH¶VDXWKHQWLFH[SUHV- sion, I was able to uncover what was happening inside myself, seeing beyond the struggles of WU\LQJWREHVDIHLQWKHZRUOG6KHKDGFRQVLVWHQWO\VKRZQPHH[DFWO\ZKDW,QHHGHGWRNQRZLQ order to be with her. In truth, all along I had been the student, and she my teacher.

48 The Path of the Horse

,PRYHGP\KRPHLQWRDVSLULWXDOFRPPXQLW\DV,ZDVSXWWLQJWKH¿QDOWRXFKHVRQWKHGRFXPHQWDU\ a month before its release. My herd moved to a large meadow situated in the center of the com- munity’s houses. I settled into a new life without the pressure of lessons or horses in training, and ZLWKHQRXJKPRQH\OHIWLQWKHEDQNWRZDLWRXWWKHSHULRGQHHGHGWRGHWHUPLQHLIWKH¿OPZRXOG EHSUR¿WDEOH

I walked in the pasture several months after the completion and release of the documentary with its accompanying ÀXUU\ RI VDOHV DQG FRPSOLPHQWDU\ UH- views. It was a beautiful late fall day with the sun slanting down, nearly touching the treetops, illuminating the coats of the grazing horses. I felt leaves still crunchy under my feet where a light rain had not penetrated. The smell of wet bark and moist earth entered my nose like gentle, smokeless incense en- veloping my thoughts.

I took one step toward Sundance and paused as her head turned almost im- Figure 30 SHUFHSWLEO\DZD\DQGKHUH\HOLGVÀLFNHUHGDQGWHQVHG,VWRRGVWLOOIRUDPRPHQWDQGWKHQVWHSSHG EDFN$V,GLG6XQGDQFH¶VKHDGWXUQHGWRZDUGPHDQGKHUH\HVUHOD[HG$V,VWHSSHGIXUWKHUDZD\ she let out a strong snort into the prickly brown grasses surrounding her nose. Still backing away, I softly walked an arc toward her hindquarters and she turned as a dancer following the cue to face her partner. I took one more step back and she picked up her nose. With a soft eye and pricked ears, VKHFORVHGWKHGLVWDQFHEHWZHHQXVOLIWLQJKHUKHDGKLJKDERYHPLQHH[SRVLQJKHUFKHVWIRUPHWR VFUDWFK$VP\¿QJHUQDLOVIRXQGWKHROGIDPLOLDUJURRYHVVKHVWUHWFKHGKHUQHFNDQGOHDQHGLQWR my hands. This was our dance of grace in the last rays of sun, the stadium a grassy meadow, our spectators a pair of twittering bluebirds.

49 Stormy May

Figure 31

50 The Path of the Horse

Figure 32 5 OUR HORSES

It was September 2007. I was sitting under the big pine trees that towered over the Nevada County Fairgrounds. Not much smaller than the pines were the draft horses that populated the fairgrounds for the weekend of the Draft Horse Classic. I had just returned from Russia and Denmark and had RQO\RQHPRUHLQWHUYLHZWRJREHIRUH¿OPLQJIRUThe Path of the HorseZDV¿QLVKHG

I looked at the horses tied and stabled amongst the trees and knew if the message of this documen- tary was heard, it might mean the end of these big gentle creatures. How would these and all other KRUVHV¿WLQZLWKRXUKXPDQVRFLHW\LIZHZHUHWRVWRSYDOXLQJKRUVHVIRUWKHLUDELOLW\WRFDUU\DQG SXOORXUSK\VLFDOORDGV"$OUHDG\WKHKLVWRULFDOXVHVRIKRUVHV¿UVWIRUPHDWWKHQIRUWUDQVSRUWD- tion, warfare, and agriculture have been left behind in most of the developed world. For now, horses have been holding onto their place by being re-purposed as recreational vehicles and status symbols for those who can afford their care and training.

51 Stormy May

I have come to see that The Path of the Horse isn’t my personal message. It is something larger stirring in the souls of many of us who have been called to be with horses. More and more people are beginning to see the actual costs of having their own hors- es. For those of us who want the best possible lives for our horses, in addi- tion to regular veterinary and farrier Figure 33 care we can add on the cost of having a large enough pasture to give the horses a sense of well-being, the cost of our commute to that pasture, the cost of our time feeding and caring for the horses, or paying someone else to do these WDVNVWKHFRVWRIQRWEHLQJDEOHWRWDNHDWULSLIZHFDQ¶W¿QGRUDIIRUGDGHTXDWHFDUHWKHHPRWLRQDO cost when tough decisions have to be made. Also we need to add in the time and care needed when a horse gets injured, factor in what happens when we lose a job and can no longer afford our mort- gage. It makes me think of the newspaper story about the homeless horse trainer living in the back woods of Sacramento, California with his three horses. I suppose that’s an option too.

When these costs are totaled up they would probably make even the wealthiest among us pause before agreeing to buy her daughter a pony. The average lifespan of a well-cared-for horse is 30 years. If I were to breed a horse today, and take full responsibility for bringing this new life into the world, it wouldn’t be until I was 67 years old that I would be free of this commitment. How can I NQRZZKDWP\OLIHZLOOORRNOLNHIRUWKHQH[W\HDUV"+RZFDQ,NQRZLI,ZLOOHYHQEHDEOHWR WDNHFDUHRIP\RZQQHHGVIRUWKHQH[W\HDUV"3UREDEO\WKHWRXJKHVWGHFLVLRQDKRUVHRZQHUKDV WRPDNHLVZKDWWRGRZLWKKHUKRUVHZKHQKHUOLIHFKDQJHVHQRXJKWKDWDKRUVHQRORQJHU¿WVLQ When we are kids, our parents usually make those decisions. Many young hearts have been broken when their best friend gets sent away. The story that there’s a better place for them somewhere else is rarely true, or true only for a few more years if a horse is useful for riding or work.

52 The Path of the Horse

Fortunately, I don’t think the future for our horses is as bleak as it might seem from what I’ve ZULWWHQVRIDU$QXQH[SHFWHGVROXWLRQSUHVHQWHGLWVHOIDV,ZDVWDONLQJZLWKSKRWRJUDSKHU)HOL- cia Story-Chapin over lunch a couple of weeks ago. She was saying if she had the money, she’d fence in the area around her house and have a horse of her own. The world-weary trainer in me looked out at her and readied the list of all the things she probably hadn’t considered that made it a bad idea. Then something else came in. What is the concept “my KRUVH"´:K\FRXOGQ¶WLWEH³RXUKRUVHV"´ And why couldn’t “our horses” be those Figure 34 DOUHDG\OLYLQJLQWKHSDVWXUH"

,FRXOGVHHWKHGLI¿FXOW\LIDSHUVRQZDQWVKLVRZQKRUVHWREHDEOHWRULGHDQGVKRZ6RPHWLPHV people work out partial leases or rent horses as a way to have a horse to ride without the full costs of ownership, but what about people who are more aligned with the message of The Path of the Horse"7KHUHDUHDOUHDG\SODFHVDURXQGWKHZRUOGRIIHULQJZRUNVKRSVEDVHGRQWKLVPHVVDJHXVLQJ their own horses, but I’m thinking bigger than this. What could be created by those who want to EHSDUWRIDQRQJRLQJUHODWLRQVKLSZLWKDKRUVHEDVHGRQZKDWLVEHVWIRUWKHKRUVH":KDWLIMXVWDV horses form together in herds, a group of people could form together based around caring for this KHUGDQGHDFKRWKHU",QWKLVZD\UHVRXUFHVFRXOGEHVKDUHGDQGKRUVHVZRXOGKDYHWKHEHQH¿WRI multiple people caring for them.

One of the things I think has harmed many humans in the culture I am familiar with is the fact that we are alienated from so many in our own human herds. We have learned money will buy us DXWRQRP\,QVWHDGRIFRPLQJWRJHWKHUDURXQGRQHFRPPXQDO¿UHLIZHFDQDIIRUGLWZHFKRRVH a single mate, raise a family and build our own separate versions of security, largely cut off from our neighbors or anybody who challenges our views. This seems to be the result of growing up as a child who doesn’t agree with what goes on. Instead of changing what goes on directly, the child

53 Stormy May

goes and forms his own club where he gets to say what’s right and make the rules and direct the show.

In the author’s note I know I challenged some beliefs when I listed spending time with family and pets in the same category of indulgence as Internet gaming and shopping. I don’t know if the world needs more children or more pets, but I can see the direct impact of a person not having created any children and not having taken responsibility for pets and as a result having more resources available to help care for the human children already alive in this world and to ad- vocate for and assist in keeping animals as naturally as possible for their own well-being. True, children can learn valuable lessons by caring for animals and there are adults who are so broken and mistrustful of other Figure 35 humans that their greatest service to the world may be to spend resources caring for a pet. There is a balance to be found. The important thing is that we ask the question of ourselves and each other, “What can I provide for the world, or my larger fam- LO\WRGD\"´,IDOORIP\UHVRXUFHVDUHVSHQWRQWKHUHVSRQVLELOLWLHVRIDKXPDQDQGDQLPDOIDPLO\, FKRVHWRFUHDWHLVWKLVZKDWLVQHHGHGWRKHDOWKRVHZKRDUHDOLYHDQGKXUWLQJWRGD\",VLWHQRXJK WRFKDQJHWKHZRUOG"

Important pieces would have to be in place to make a community that would serve to reduce the suffering in the world; a strong, honest, heart-based human leader whom everybody involved respected, a vision everyone shared, and a willingness on the part of the humans to work out the GLI¿FXOWLHVWKDWZLOODULVH

1RZLWLV0DUFKDQGWKHGUDIWKRUVHVZLOODJDLQFRQYHQHDWWKHIDLUJURXQGVQH[W6HSWHPEHU Maybe there won’t be as many of them, maybe some of the classes will be canceled. Maybe some- one who goes to watch will think of a documentary they saw called The Path of the Horse and

54 The Path of the Horse

ZRQGHUDERXWWKHKRUVHVWKH\VHHÀLSSLQJWKHLUKHDGVDQGZULQJLQJWKHLUWDLOV0D\EHLQWKDW person will hear about a place he can go to hang out with a herd of horses and help them scratch WKHLULWFK\VSRWVDQGVZLVKDZD\WKHÀLHV0D\EHLQWKDWSDVWXUHKHZLOOJHWDFKDQFHWRUHFRQQHFW with something he has been searching for.

This vision is in its infancy and will be developed as more people start thinking about it. Has any- ERG\WULHGWKLV"+RZLWKDVJRQH":KDWDUHVRPHRIWKHEHQH¿WVZKDWDUHWKHFKDOOHQJHV"

Figure 36

55 Stormy May

Figure 37

56 The Path of the Horse

Figure 38

6 WIDENING OUR CIRCLE

We humans need to remember that we need each other. We are not separate; we are part of a larger ³KXPDQRUJDQLVP´DQGZLOORQO\IHHOWUXO\IXO¿OOHGDQGDWSHDFHZKHQZHUHPHPEHUWKLVDQGRXU OLYHVUHÀHFWWKLVNQRZLQJ8QWLOZHGRZHZLOONHHSWU\LQJWR¿[DQGLPSURYHRXUSK\VLFDOVLWXD- tions. We will admire some and look down on others. We will feel righteous about this and disdain- ful about that. This is not where the solution lies.

Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

57 Stormy May

Most of us have lost the ability to connect in a close and meaningful way to more than a few peo- ple. I’m talking about face to face, working together, sweating together, being together in good times and bad, not Facebook friends or long lost classmates. Not coming together for a weekend retreat where we sing songs and hold hands and smile at each other. If we are open to horses, then let horses be the vehicles that bring us together. It is we humans who need the healing, the horses remember very well how to be horses.

Again, from Einstein, “A human being is a part of a whole, called by us ‘universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

,XQGHUVWDQGEHOLHYHPH,XQGHUVWDQGWKHGLI¿FXOW\RIZDONLQJWKLVSDWK:KHUHLQWKLVZRUOGGR ZH¿QGHYHQRQHSHUVRQOLYLQJWRGD\ZKRKDVEHFRPHIUHHRIWKLVSULVRQ":KHUHLVRQHSHUVRQ ZKRLVQ¶WDVNLQJIRUPRQH\WROHDUQWKHLUPHWKRG":KHUHLVRQHSHUVRQZHFDQNQRZRQHSHUVRQ ZHFDQPHHWIDFHWRIDFHZKRFDQORRNWKURXJKRXUOLHVDQGVHHWKHOLJKWEHQHDWKLWDOO":KHUH LVWKHSHUVRQZKRKDVEHHQJLYHQWKHWDVNRIOHDGLQJXVEDFNWRRXUVHOYHV":RXOG\RXNQRZWKLV SHUVRQLI\RXPHWKLP":RXOG\RXNQRZWKLVSHUVRQLI\RXPHWKHU"

58 The Path of the Horse

Figure 39 7 THE PAUSE

I spent most of the day helping friends build a cabin. The simple tasks provided some relief from the spinning thoughts dominating my mind. At one point I sat on a folding chair while the others continued hammering nails. I was listening to a playlist of songs with moving lyrics and sweet melodies on a friend’s iPod. I closed my eyes and felt the warm sun, the gentle breeze, the crunchy leaves under my feet.

I took note of the difference between when I get caught up in my mind-spinnings and when I am able to come back to what is happening right in the moment. One feels like an intolerable punish- ment, the other like I am being perfectly cared for. I think the difference is not so noticeable when the generated thoughts are pleasant, but when they aren’t, it feels like being trapped in a small URRPZLWKDQREQR[LRXVSHUVRQ,FRQVLGHUWKHDELOLW\WREHIUHHRIVXFKVSLQQLQJVZKHWKHUWKH\ are pleasant or not, the achievement of a master.

59 Stormy May

Figure 40

60 The Path of the Horse

Figure 41

8 GANDHI AND HORSES

Today I watched the movie Gandhi. His message of nonviolence sounded like it could have been learned from the horses themselves.

In one part of the movie Gandhi meets a white Christian priest, Charlie Andrews. They are in South Africa at the turn of the 20th century. It was a time when any colored person, Indian included, walking down a street with a white was likely to be beaten for threatening the status of the superi- ority of whites. As they walked down the street approaching some young men with trouble on their faces, Gandhi says to Charlie;

“Doesn’t the New Testament say, ‘If your enemy strikes you on the right cheek, offer him the OHIW"¶´ Charlie responds, “I think perhaps the phrase was used metaphorically. I don’t think...”

61 Stormy May

“I’m not so sure. I have thought about it a great deal and I suspect he meant you must show cour- age. Be willing to take a blow, several blows to show you will not strike back, nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that, it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred for you decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work.”

Again, in Gandhi’s words; ³,DPDVNLQJ\RXWR¿JKWDJDLQVWWKHLUDQ- ger, not to provoke it. We will not strike a blow; but we will receive them and through our pain we will make them see WKHLULQMXVWLFHDQGLWZLOOKXUWDVDOO¿JKW- ing hurts; but we cannot lose. We can- not. They may torture my body, break my bones, even kill me. Then they will have my dead body. Not my obedience.”

When a human hurts another being, in that DFWVKHGHQLHVKHUVHOIWKHH[SHULHQFHRID peaceful sisterhood, brotherhood, and kin- dred feeling with life in its varied forms.

Figure 42 7KHÀRZHULQJLVXSRQXV

62 The Path of the Horse

Figure 43 9 FROM COMPETITION TO COMPASSION

,ZDVSUREDEO\ZKHQ,¿UVWFRPSHWHGRQKRUVHEDFN.LRZDP\$SSDORRVDPDUHGXWLIXOO\ FDUULHGPHDURXQGLQFLUFOHVDVWKHMXGJHORRNHGRYHUKHUFOLSERDUG0\¿UVWULEERQZDVSLQNWKH VHFRQGZDVEOXHDQGLWFDPHZLWKDVLOYHUERZOLQDER[,SRVHGIRUSLFWXUHV,GUDQNLQFRQJUDWXOD- tions, and I remember clearly the feeling of a smile on my face that wouldn’t come off for hours.

,KDGWDNHQDSODFHLQWKHWLPHKRQRUHGVWDJHRIKXPDQGHYHORSPHQWSUHGDWLQJWKH¿UVW2O\PSLFV competition. Humans and animals alike have always competed. In the animal world, competition EHWZHHQLQGLYLGXDOVDQGRUIDPLO\JURXSVGHWHUPLQHVZKRJHWVWKHIRRGWKHPDWHWKHVKHOWHUWKH territory. Humans, with our innate drive to create beyond our immediate needs, have continued to develop forms of competition from there. In our current society, some form of competition typi- cally determines who gets the job, the accolades, the respect, and the ultimate form of security in this day and age, money.

63 Stormy May

Competition historically has been an integral part of human development. Anything we make into a competition, children seem to be naturally attracted to. When teaching kids about horses, it be- came obvious competitive games could grab and hold the attention of almost any child. We made games of learning horse colors, breeds, markings, identifying parasites, and learning anatomy. When I was playing with the neighbor kids a couple of days ago, in order to get their minds off complaining about the walk we were on, I suggested we make a game of counting who sees the most animals on our journey; again, competition. The game served its purpose. We looked out and saw many more animals than if we hadn’t been competing, and in the end, the kids had a memo- rable adventure.

Over the years, the line of ribbons hanging in my room lengthened as I continued to chase that competition high and the sense of accomplishment, approval and security it brought. I mounted IDQFLHUKRUVHVDQGVSHQWORQJHUKRXUVVWXG\LQJDQGWUDLQLQJ,OHDUQHGIURPKXPDQH[SHUWVHDFK with their own line of ribbons. What a seductive call it was, to chase the rewards and surround myself with the community of other ribbon-chasers. I taught kids how to win and readied countless horses to take their places underneath the humans.

The Cost of Competition

As adults we seem reticent to relinquish our interest in competition. Ours is a society where indi- viduals routinely compete for jobs, recognition, money and mates. On a broader scale, throughout human history, kings have sent subjects to compete for land and resources. Religious leaders send followers to compete to win back holy sites and homelands. Dictators, and despots, presidents, and SULPHPLQLVWHUVVHQGDUPLHVWRZLQWKHLUZDUVWR¿JKWIRUWKHKXPDQULJKWVWKHLUVRFLHW\EHOLHYHV in, and to protect the foreign governments with whom they have allied.

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64 The Path of the Horse

Figure 44

DEOHWRH[LVWLQDZRUOGZKHUHZHWUXO\IHHOHDFKRWKHUDVIDPLO\RUZLOOZHRQHGD\¿QGZD\VWR SXUHO\KHOSLQVWHDGRIPDNLQJPRUHKXUWDQGFDOOLQJLWVRPHWKLQJHOVH"

If we win the competitive games others devise for us to participate in or observe, what is it we will KDYHJDLQHG"$ULEERQ"$VLJQHGSLHFHRISDSHU"6RPHQXPEHUVDGGHGWRRXUFKHFNLQJDFFRXQW EDODQFH"$ZD\WRVSHQGVRPHKRXUVLQWKHGD\"+DYHZHFKDQJHGWKHKHDUWRIDQ\KXPDQEHLQJ or have we driven something further into hiding, from which it will re-emerge later as it makes its QH[WELGWREHKHDUGDQGXQGHUVWRRGLQWKHRQO\ZD\LWKDVEHHQPRGHOHG¿JKWLQJDQGFRPSHWL- WLRQ"

Are the traumas and deaths of our soldiers, our brothers and sisters, daughters and sons worth WKLV":KDWDERXWWKHGHDWKVDQGLQMXULHVRIUDFHKRUVHVDQGRWKHUFRPSHWLWLRQKRUVHVZKRKDYH EHHQZRUQRXWE\PLVXVH"7KHGHPRQVWKDWGULYHXVWRORVHRXUIHHOLQJWRZDUGVWKHKRUVHLQWKH name of performance or pleasure are probably the same a professional gymnast or dancer faces, forced by inner stories of societal pressures to continue performing beyond the limits of what her RZQERG\FDQHQGXUH,VWKLVSDUWRIWKHUHDOFRVWRISXUVXLQJ2O\PSLFGUHDPV",VEHLQJDVODYHWR WKHVHKXPDQGHVLUHVWKHSULFHDKRUVHLVH[SHFWHGWRSD\IRUEHLQJERUQLQDVWDEOH":KDWDERXWWKH price of our precious time on earth being used to resist or harm others and ourselves rather than to create places where we can live peacefully and heal each other and support people in living more KDUPRQLRXVGUHDPV"

65 Stormy May

If we are the ones who believe we have the higher consciousness in these matters, isn’t it even PRUHRXUUHVSRQVLELOLW\WREHWKHH[DPSOHVRIKRZWRRSHUDWHLQWKHZRUOGZHDUHFUHDWLQJ"$UH WKHUHDQ\*DQGKL¶VWRGD\",VWKHUHDQ\ERG\ORYHGDQGUHVSHFWHGE\0XVOLPV-HZV&KULVWLDQV +LQGXVDQG%XGGKLVWVDOLNH":KRLVUHVSHFWHGE\6XQQLVDQG6KLLWHVRULQWKHKRUVHZRUOGZKR FDQPRYHEHWZHHQ3DUHOOLLWHVDQG1HY]RURYLWHV":KRLVUHVSHFWHGE\ERWKSURIHVVLRQDOWUDLQHUV DQGWKHKRUVHVWKHPVHOYHV"

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The Condition of Compassion

:KHQ+LQGXVDQG0XVOLPVZHUH¿JKWLQJDPRQJVWHDFKRWKHUDIWHUEHLQJIUHHGIURP%ULWLVKUXOH Gandhi chose not to listen to his friends debating the best course of political action. He stood up and went to the heart of the rioting in Calcutta where he, a Hindu, stayed at the house of a Muslim friend. He listened to a voice within and chose fasting for himself and advocated non-violence for all who would listen. Through his self-imposed penance, he brought peace to the land.

Near the end of his fast, a Hindu man came to him believing he was going to hell because he had killed a child in retribution for Muslims killing his own child. Gandhi told him he knew a way RXWRIKHOO+HVDLGWR¿QGDFKLOGZKRVHSDUHQWVKDGEHHQNLOOHGDQGUDLVHKLPDVKLVRZQ$QGKH added he must be sure that the child was a Muslim and he raised him as a Muslim.

Maybe we are incapable of understanding why someone believes a horse should be killed if she can no longer perform. Maybe we think we would never condone keeping a healthy two-year-old Thoroughbred in a 12’ by 12’ stall, taking her out only under the subduing forces of bits, chains, halters, whips and spurs. Maybe we are so disillusioned we see ourselves as separate from and superior to anyone who believes this is the best way to live our lives and take responsibility for the lives of those around us.

66 The Path of the Horse

We can hold on to these illusions or we can look to see if indeed the same seed lies within us, waiting for the right conditions to allow its germination. What if we had been born in Pakistan to a loving mother and dedicated fa- ther who had been told the best way to raise their child and be part of their community was to follow their religious laws and lead- HUV"+RZZRXOGZHNQRZWKHUHDUHRWKHUDO- Figure 45 WHUQDWLYHV"+RZLVWKDWGLIIHUHQWIURPDQHZ In Mae Sot, Thailand with a dear sister I met on a service trip where together with many friends we helped mother being told the best way to treat her build a new schoolhouse for children of the Muslim Burmese migrant population in 2009. newborn baby is to circumcise him and vac- cinate him and leave him in a sterile plastic FULEWREHYLHZHGWKURXJKDJODVVZLQGRZ" Isn’t that the way most of us were brought LQWRWKLVZRUOG"

We cannot feel so righteous when we see the seeds within each human being are the same. What germinates depends on many factors including the society, class, religion and fam- Figure 46 ily we are born into.

Competition will always be a part of the ani- mal world, and it has its place in human de- velopment, but if we are going to survive and evolve, the seeds of competition must be left untended and we must direct nourishment to the seeds of compassion.

Figure 47 By the circumstances of the family I was born The biggest smiles on the faces around me now come not from competition but from compassion.

67 Stormy May into, the time and place and society I am part of, the gifts of a healthy body and mind I have been given, and the outrageous good fortune of knowing a living human being who has traveled the road to true freedom, I consider myself one of the wealthiest people on the planet. This kind of wealth has nothing to do with the size of a bank account; it is the ability to see we have enough, and to JLYHZKDWZHKDYHLQH[FHVVWRKHOSWKHOLYHVRIRWKHUV%\EHLQJDEOHWRLQGLYLGXDOO\WRXFKDQG LQÀXHQFHDQRWKHU¶VOLIHZHFDQPRYHIURPFRPSHWLWLRQWRFRPSDVVLRQ%\KROGLQJWKHKDQGRID child, of a suffering adult, by giving our neighbors a hot meal, or traveling across the world to help build a school for poor Muslim children, we are watering the seeds of compassion within ourselves and those we touch. These are the actions that can change hearts.

I can still see the seeds of competition within myself, in the small moments of my life. I am no different from the president who sends his troops to combat. He wants to win to help assure the security of his people and his homeland. The trainer wants to win to gain the security of her horses, her way of life, her home and her beliefs. In my own ways I want to win to assure the security of my way of life, to enlarge my monetary resources, to be able to improve the lives of my horses and my human friends.

If I cannot see the other in myself, I have succumbed to the illusion we are separate. It takes a brave soul to look within and see the seeds of competition still germinating. It takes an even braver soul to admit it in a moment. It takes a great soul, a mahatma, to inspire others to walk the path from competition to compassion. All of the seeds are within each of us. The ones we care for are those that will grow.

At the end of his life, Gandhi headed to Pakistan, the land of the Muslims. He said, “I am simply going to prove to Hindus here and Muslims there that the only devils in the world are those running around in our own hearts. And that is where all our battles ought to be fought.”

+HZDVDVNHG³$QGZKDWNLQGRIZDUULRUKDYH\RXEHHQLQWKDWZDUIDUH"´

“Oh, not a very good one,” he replied, “that is why I have so much tolerance for the other scoun- drels of the world.”

68 The Path of the Horse

Figure 48

69 Stormy May

Figure 49

70 The Path of the Horse

Figure 50

10 SOFI’S STORY

The clouds were stunning this afternoon as they rolled through the skies bringing more rain to feed the grasses.

7RGD\-HGFDPHRXWWRWKHSDVWXUHDQGWRRNVRPHYLGHRRIPHVFUDWFKLQJWKHSRQ\6R¿7KHLPSRU- tant elements I wanted him to capture were that she was not restrained in any way and that I was reading her signals indicating where she’d like me to scratch. I have found working with horses in large areas without restraints allows both horse and human to maintain the spaces that help them feel safe and comfortable with each other. It becomes very easy to tell when I’m doing something a horse doesn’t like. This may sound obvious to a non-horse owner but for some reason, almost everyone with horses has been taught a horse must be restrained either by a rope or a small space before they can work together.

6R¿KDVDWOHDVWWZRZD\VVKHWHOOVPHZKHUHVKH¶GOLNHWREHVFUDWFKHG)LUVWVKH¶OOSRVLWLRQKHU

71 Stormy May

ERG\VRP\KDQGVDUHFORVHWRZKHUHVKHZDQWVLW1H[W,¶OOPRYHP\KDQGVDURXQGLQDZLGHDUHD DQGZDWFKWKHPRYHPHQWVRIKHUKHDGDQGQHFN6KHZLOOH[WHQGWKHPZKHQ,¶YHKLWDJRRGVSRW and even wiggle her nose if it feels really good. If I’m missing it, she will sometimes give me a disgusted look and start scratching the correct area herself or just walk away and try me again later. ,¶YHJRWWRPHQWLRQWKDW,¿QGLWIXQQ\ZKHQ,VHHYLGHRRUSLFWXUHVRI6R¿DQG,WRJHWKHU,¶PVR used to working with big horses that I consider her tiny, but then I look at the video and see our relative sizes. Then I can see who the tiny one actually is!

It’s taken a long time for us to get to a place where we feel so comfortable around each other. I’ve tried to tell her story in other places but there must be more importance to it because I want to LQFOXGHLWKHUHLQWKLVERRN6WHSSLQJEDFNLQWLPHWRZKHQ,ZDV¿UVWZRUNLQJZLWKKHU DURXQG 2005) I noticed she was more reactive than other horses.

She was bought from her breeder by one of my clients for me to train and sell as a children’s pony. She was fancy and sweet, and at 13 hands, just the right size for a kid. She seemed friendly enough but as soon as I began to take away her liberties, tying her in cross-ties, grooming while tied, sad- GOLQJPRXQWLQJULGLQJ¿UVWZLWKDELWOHVVEULGOHDQGWKHQZLWKDELWVKHVWHDGLO\EHFDPHPRUHDQG PRUHGDQJHURXVWREHDURXQG)RUH[DPSOHLIP\WRHWRXFKHGKHUOHJZKLOH,ZDVPRXQWLQJVKH would whip her head around and try to bite me. If I tried to put a bit in her mouth, she would clamp her jaws shut and back as far as she could in the cross-ties to try and tell me she wanted none of it. When I dismounted, she would again try to bite me on the way down. If I tried to clean her udder DUHDVKHZRXOG¿UVWJHWH[WUHPHO\WHQVHDQGWKHQNLFNRXW

I had been starting horses for the previous 19 years and as a result, my awareness around horses LVDFXWHDQGP\UHÀH[HVDUHIDVWVR,QHYHUDFWXDOO\JRWLQMXUHGEXW,NQHZWKHUHZDVQRZD\D kid would have the capacity to work with her. She had brought me to a standstill. Like Sundance, this pony showed me that what I had relied on up until then no longer worked. Something inside wouldn’t allow me to get stronger or rougher, which is what any other trainer I knew would have GRQH6KHVHHPHGWREHWHOOLQJPHDORWRIWKLQJVZHUHQ¶WRNZLWKKHUFRXOG,DIIRUGWROLVWHQ" How could I tell my client that to be a kid’s pony she would need to be broken beyond the point I FRXOGVWRPDFKP\VHOI"

72 The Path of the Horse

In The Path of the Horse video, Carolyn Resnick says people abuse horses because it works. And LWGRHVLIZHDUHIRFXVHGRQDFKLHYLQJDQH[WHUQDOJRDODQGWKHUHODWLRQVKLSDQGWKHKRUVHKHUVHOI isn’t that important. Most horses will learn a pattern of behavior acceptable to humans when the FRQVHTXHQFHVRIQRWSHUIRUPLQJWKDWEHKDYLRUDUHVXI¿FLHQWO\SDLQIXO:KDWLWFDQ¶WGRLVPDNHD horse closer and more open to a human. For that, pain and misuse has no place and agendas have no place. To ask a horse to open to us, we must be on equal ground with her. No force, no restric- tions, no pain.

Looking back, it makes perfect sense WKDW 6R¿ EHFDPH WKH ZD\ VKH GLG Some of the things I did hurt her and most of them scared her. My question QRZLVZK\PRUHKRUVHVGRQ¶WH[SUHVV themselves as clearly as she does. It took me 19 years of training horses before I ran across one so sensitive DQGH[SUHVVLYH,ZDVOXFN\HQRXJK to be in a place in my own life where I was willing to “sell the farm” in both a symbolic and literal way in order to clear the way for this new perspective and shift to happen. Figure 51

,QWHUHVWLQJO\HQRXJKZKHQ,VWDUWHGDVDVWXGHQWLQ$OH[DQGHU1HY]RURY¶VVFKRRONevzorov Haute Ecole (NHE), I thought I could just test it out with my horse Patrik and then apply the parts that ZRUNHGWR6R¿DQGRWKHUVZKLOH,FRQWLQXHGP\UHJXODUWUDLQLQJEXVLQHVV$IWHUDIHZPRQWKVRI learning more about NHE and especially about the amounts of pain likely involved in riding, it became clear I couldn’t live in both worlds at the same time. I had to drop one to step into the other DQG¿QGRXWLILWZRXOG\LHOGWKHUHODWLRQVKLSV,ZDQWHG

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73 Stormy May time I had purchased her myself so I wouldn’t have the pressure of trying to train her to sell. In WKHSDVWXUHRUDUHQD6R¿ZRXOGFRPHXSDQGORRNOLNHVKHZDQWHGDWWHQWLRQEXWLI,JRWWKHOHDVW bit scared, I imagine out of her own fear and instinct for self-preservation she would kick out full IRUFHDQGRUOXQJHDWPHZLWKKHUWHHWKEDUHG$W¿UVWKHUUHDFWLRQVZHUHHYHQPRUHYLROHQWWKDQ when I had her haltered or bridled. Having the fence between us allowed me to stay calm and step away when she displayed her emotions like this rather than reacting back from my own fear, which would probably have manifested as hitting her and rationalizing it by calling it self-defense.

After we had developed a certain OHYHORIFRQ¿GHQFHZLWKHDFKRWK- er on opposite sides of the fence, I would come in to her area with a long stick or whip...not to beat her (never to beat her) but to wave around when I felt she was getting too close to me, to form a sort of IRUFH¿HOGZKHUH,ZDVVDIH,W\SL- cally worked in a pasture with a lot of trees so it was also pretty easy to duck back behind a tree or into the presence of a more dominant horse Figure 52 if I felt threatened.

During part of our transition, I spent a lot of time on the phone with Carolyn Resnick (it was con- FXUUHQWZLWKWKH¿OPLQJDQGHGLWLQJRIWKHGRFXPHQWDU\ 6KHZRXOGDOZD\VDVNKRZP\KRUVHV ZHUHGRLQJDQGRIIHUDGYLFHHVSHFLDOO\DERXW6R¿&DURO\Q¶VH[SHUWLVHLVLQEXLOGLQJDVWURQJUHOD- WLRQVKLS¿UVWEHIRUHRWKHUHOHPHQWVVXFKDVULGLQJDQGFRPSHWLWLRQDUHDGGHG6RPHRIKHUOLEHUW\ JURXQGZRUNH[HUFLVHVSURYHGYHU\KHOSIXOIRU6R¿DQG,WRZRUNRXWDEDVLFOHYHORIFRPIRUWDQG trust with each other.

74 The Path of the Horse

On my own, I remember spending hours minutely watching my emotions as they rose and fell EDVHGRQKHUSUR[LPLW\DQGWKHVLJQVVKHZDVJLYLQJ,WZDVDOZD\VDQLQWHUHVWLQJWHQVLRQEHWZHHQ feeling and knowing that she was a very loving pony who wanted attention and a connection and yet she could in a moment turn into a scary dangerous beast who would attack to keep herself safe.

I made a remarkable discovery one day as I was watching my emotions with her. I found I was able to become so present in the moment I could ride what felt like a wave of something in me that was a precursor of what I would call an emotion. In this split-second internal ride I saw her and myself without any labels. It felt like time slowed and I was able to converse with her in a lan- guage of actions and feelings that were part of a different reality than the one I normally operated in. In the new reality, I didn’t have any baggage or past with her.

$IWHUWKLVGLVFRYHU\ZLWKSUDFWLFHDQGSDWLHQFH,EHFDPHDEOHWRH[WHQGWKHWLPHVSHQWLQWKLVRWKHU reality and connect both with her and the other horses I was with on levels that have been incom- prehensible to observers. I’m still working on being able to teach this to other humans. I think it has to do with quieting inside and raising one’s state of being to be able to truly be here now and see what is before the labels come in and emotions take over.

,DPJUDWHIXO,FKRVHWREHSHUVLVWHQWDERXWOHDUQLQJZKDW6R¿ZDVVD\LQJ,WLVSURRIWRPHWKDW WKHPRVWJUDWLI\LQJOHVVRQVFRPHQRWIURPWKHFLUFXPVWDQFHVZH¿QGRXUVHOYHVLQEXWIURPXVLQJ WKRVHFLUFXPVWDQFHVWRVKDUHRXUTXDOLWLHVRIORYHDQGVDFUL¿FHSXWWLQJWLPHLQWRXQGHUVWDQGLQJ others, even when our actions will likely go against how we’ve done things in the past. By bring- ing this sort of understanding into the horse world, I hope it will inspire others with their horses, neighbors and family.

75 Stormy May

Figure 53

76 The Path of the Horse

Figure 54

11 OURHORSES WEBSITE INTRODUCTORY PATH

The following is the introduction which led to the OurHorses website from October 2011 to July 2012. It was designed as a path of 17 pages a viewer must click through one by one before gaining access to the heart of the website and a list of links.

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Figure 55 12 HORSE VENTRILOQUISM

When children play with dolls, they give voices to the bundles of cloth and plastic. They create stories, with lives full of worries and cares. They interact with the toys and play with them for hours.

An interesting phenomenon is when people come into contact with living horses they seem to con- tinue this habit, adding words to a body that has no capability of human speech.

I’m not talking about baby talk or varying the tones in our voices to elicit a response, that’s a different discussion. I’m talking about the sto- Figure 56 ries we tell each other and the horses about why something is happening, about what is going on.

Today, through YouTube and countless channels of self-published media we have a chance to peek

95 Stormy May

at the private and public lives of millions of people who work with horses. When we do so, we can listen to many words being inserted into the soundtrack of a horse’s life. Here is a sampling of words from popular trainers as seen on YouTube.

“He knows better than to do that.” “She’s being disrespectful.” “He doesn’t want to be supple.” “She’s going to try and trick you.” “She’ll argue with you, argue with you and then when you give her a little reprimand and make her respond, well then she overreacts and acts like the world is go- ing to coming to an end.” Figure 57

The curious thing is we tend to believe these stories. How many of these words do you agree ZLWK"'R\RXWKLQNWKHKRUVHZRXOGDFWXDOO\VD\WKLVRUWKLQNWKLVZD\"+RZFDQZHJHWFORVHUWR XQGHUVWDQGLQJZKDWDQRWKHUEHLQJLVWU\LQJWRFRPPXQLFDWH"

When we can look at a horse and acknowledge her as a complete mystery, we gain access to a dif- IHUHQWSHUVSHFWLYHDQH[SHULHQFHRIOLIHWKURXJKDQRWKHU¶VH\HV:HEHFRPHWKHVWXGHQWVOHDUQLQJ from a race that has walked this earth far longer than we have.

Listen today to the words you speak for a horse, or a stranger at another table, a man in a car, or a dog. Lis- WHQWRWKHZRUGVRWKHUVVSHDNWRH[- plain horse behavior, to nail down the mystery. You might be led to a glimpse of the new world, beyond the safety of thinking we speak for horses, to the place where real hors- Figure 58 es speak and humans feel.

96 The Path of the Horse

Figure 59

13 TRAINING SECRETS REVEALED

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Envision an orchestra conductor bringing together different sounds. She communicates to the mu- sicians by the gestures of her body and her baton which serve as signals between them. In a similar way, a human can learn to “conduct” the movements of a horse by the gestures of her body. To do this, she needs to have a method of communicating what she wants to the untrained horse.

,I\RXZDQWHGDFDQDU\WRÀ\LQDFHUWDLQGLUHFWLRQDQGZHUHDEOHWRÀ\IDVWHUWKDQKHFRXOG\RX ZRXOGSUREDEO\EORFNDOOKLVDWWHPSWVWRÀ\LQGLUHFWLRQV\RXGLGQ¶WZDQWZKLOHOHDYLQJWKHRQH direction you wanted open. This is similar to how a human trains a horse.

To see how this applies to horses, we must understand the strategies humans have developed to block the movements they don’t want while allowing those they do.

97 Stormy May

0HWKRG

3K\VLFDOFRQ¿QHPHQWE\PHDQVRIIHQFHV

Figure 60

7KLVPHWKRGLVFKDUDFWHUL]HGE\WKHXVHRIDVSDFHGH¿QHGE\DEDUULHUWKDWLVLPPRELOHDQGYLV- ible to the horse. Fences can be made from many materials from strong to weak. In order to be effective for this method, the horse must believe she cannot break through the fence. Fences that give electric shocks are commonly used to train horses to believe they will be harmed by touching fences they could otherwise easily push through.

98 The Path of the Horse

For centuries, humans have worked horses within different spaces they created to achieve different JRDOV5RXQGSHQVSLFDGHURVDUHQDVDQGPDQHJHVDUHDOOH[DPSOHVRIIHQFHGWUDLQLQJDUHDV7KH VPDOOHUWKHVSDFHWKHOHVVRSSRUWXQLWLHVIRUWKHKRUVHWRHVFDSHWKHPHQWDODQGRUSK\VLFDOSUHVVXUH or pain resulting from being in a small space with a human.

Physical pressure or pain and emotional stress are typically caused by the advancing of the human WRWDNHRYHUWKHJURXQGWKHKRUVHLVRQ%\XVLQJDGHYLFHWRH[WHQGKHUUHDFKDKXPDQFDQKLWD horse at a distance far enough away that the horse can’t kick or bite the human. Commonly used devices include whips and thrown objects including lassos and rocks. The size and shape of the VSDFHDQGWKHPRYHPHQWVRIWKHKXPDQGHWHUPLQHWKHH[WHQWWKHKRUVHFDQHVFDSH

,QWKHLQLWLDOVWDJHVRIWKLVWUDLQLQJPHWKRGWKHKRUVHPXVW¿JXUHRXWZKDWWKHKXPDQZDQWVVRKH stops advancing on her in a way which mimics a predator’s attack and lets her move to a space where she feels comfortable. By using a small space, the human can drive the horse into a state of FRQIXVLRQDQGRUSK\VLFDOH[KDXVWLRQZLWKYHU\OLWWOHHIIRUWRQKLVSDUW2QFHWKHKRUVHEHJLQVWR tire or weaken and look for ways to surrender, the human typically offers the horse a chance to rest LIVKHFRPHVXSWRWKHKXPDQDQGRUIROORZVKLP7KLVLVWKHEDVLVRIWKH³MRLQXS´WHFKQLTXH

7ZRFKDUDFWHULVWLFIHDWXUHVRIDIHQFHDUHLWLVDYLVLEOHEDUULHUWKDWGH¿QHVDQDUHDWKHKRUVHFDQ PRYHLQDQGLWVSODFHPHQWUHPDLQV¿[HGGXULQJDWUDLQLQJVHVVLRQ

99 Stormy May

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3K\VLFDOFRQ¿QHPHQWE\PHDQVRIURSHV

Figure 61

When we use the term “ropes” we are referring to any device on the horse’s body that effectively creates a small space for the horse to move before she feels pressure or pain at the rope’s attach- ment points. This is the same principle as a dog being led on a leash attached to a collar. Riding LVDIRUPRIZKDWZHDUHFDOOLQJSK\VLFDOFRQ¿QHPHQWE\URSHVVLQFHWKHULGHU¶VERG\EHFRPHVWKH device that guides the horse’s movements by offering levels of discomfort when the horse goes in a direction, speed or form the rider doesn’t want.

Because horses are physically stronger than humans, we have developed and used numerous de- vices with capabilities of causing a horse differing levels of discomfort and pain in order to control her movements. Devices used in this training method include all halters, bridles, bits, stud chains, spurs, ropes, as well as the rider’s legs and seat.

100 The Path of the Horse

%\VWUDWHJLFDOO\SODFLQJGHYLFHVRIGLIIHULQJVWUHQJWKVZLGWKVPDWHULDOVDQGWH[WXUHVDKXPDQ¶V strength has the potential to match or overpower a horse’s by paralyzing her with pain.

7\SLFDOO\KXPDQVEHJLQWUDLQLQJLQWKLVPHWKRGE\FRQ¿QLQJDKRUVH¶VKHDGEHFDXVHLWLVDYHU\ sensitive area of the body and because it can be physically manipulated more easily than other parts of the horse’s anatomy due to its location at the end of a long neck.

:LWKFRQ¿QHPHQWE\XVHRIURSHVDKRUVHOHDUQVWRVXUUHQGHUPXFKDVVKHGLGLQWKHIHQFHGDUHD and follow the feel of the human’s limbs corralling her movements and leaving her one option, the place with the least amount of discomfort or pain.

Nearly every training method in history is based on the use of this method. The reason for its popularity is likely because it can be used from horseback where humans no longer have the limi- tation of their own ground speed. A human can ride as fast as a horse can run. From his perch on top, a human can manipulate the pressure points on a horse’s body to control her speed, direction, and even the shape of her body like a living puppet. Not only can a human do this with devices that have the potential to cause a lot of pain, often once a horse has been trained with ropes, a hu- man can then teach the horse to respond to more subtle cues such as light leg pressure and shifts of weight. At this point, the rider can remove the more obvious ropes and as if by magic, the horse seems to dance of her own free will!

0DVWHU\RIKRUVHV¶PRYHPHQWVWKURXJKFRQ¿QHPHQWE\URSHVKDVEHHQDIDVFLQDWLQJFKDOOHQJHDQG game for cultures since the most ancient of times. Even today humans perpetuate and celebrate it with competitions like the Olympics, Kentucky Derby and World Cup.

101 Stormy May

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3K\VLFDOFRQ¿QHPHQWE\PHDQVRIIHQFHVDQGURSHV

Figure 62

&RQ¿QHPHQWE\IHQFHVLVRIWHQXVHGLQFRQMXQFWLRQZLWKFRQ¿QHPHQWE\URSHV%\GRLQJWKLV the human can use the strengths of both methods to conduct the horse’s movements with more subtlety.

Humans who are considered masters of these three methods are ones who, through many hours of H[SHULHQFHDQGGHYHORSLQJWKHFDSDFLW\WREHH[WUHPHO\SUHVHQWKDYHOHDUQHGKRZWRDQWLFLSDWH and direct the movements of a horse with very light pressures. They can feel and predict the

102 The Path of the Horse

KRUVH¶VPRYHVDQGUH¿QHWKHPEHIRUHWKH\EHFRPHVWURQJHQRXJKWRQHHGSDLQWRFKDQJH7KH feeling is that of being guided by a dance partner.

Of course when the horse doesn’t agree with the master or understand what he wants, the master will quickly remind the horse with a dose of stronger discomfort or pain that she must continue to follow his lead. In the case of a horse who has been trained to go bridleless in these methods, if she EHJLQVWRGLVREH\WKHULGHU¶VUHTXHVWVVKHZLOOW\SLFDOO\EHUHWXUQHGWRZRUNZLWKFRQ¿QHPHQWRI WKHKHDGVRWKHKXPDQFDQRQFHPRUHH[HUWHQRXJKGLVFRPIRUWRUSDLQWRUHPLQGKHURIWKHGHVLUHG response to the lighter leg or seat cue.

A horse displays what is often called “naughtiness” or going against the aids when bodily pains, mental confusion, or fear of something in her surroundings are judged by the horse to be more of a threat than the pain of the human’s ropes.

Some feel riding the horse with the lightest use of the bridle, bits, spurs and other traditional equip- ment represents the highest levels of mastery in equine sports. Others feel displays featuring rid- ing with no devices other than the human body represents the closest relationship between human and horse.

103 Stormy May

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1RSK\VLFDOFRQ¿QHPHQW Hontoto)

Figure 63

In this approach, each horse must choose to come into relationship with the human if she is to EHWUDLQHG,QWKLVFRQWH[WZKHQZHXVHWKHZRUGWUDLQLQJZHFRXOGDOWHUQDWHO\XVHRWKHUWHUPV to describe aspects of relationships with horses including: teaching, learning, educating, serving, H[SORULQJSOD\LQJRU³GHYHORSLQJDFRPPRQODQJXDJH´

To properly use this method, each horse must live on enough land that she can care for her physi- FDOQHHGVIRUIRRGH[HUFLVHFRPSDQLRQVKLSDQGVKHOWHUWKHZD\KHUDQFHVWRUVHYROYHGWRGR$OO training done in this way begins with the curiosity of the horse to see what more a human has to offer to make her life better beyond the basic necessities. These things include scratching,

104 The Path of the Horse

PDVVDJHVKRRIFDUHLQVHFWFRQWUROZRXQGWUHDWPHQWHGLEOHWUHDWVDQGDQLQGH¿QDEOHTXDOLW\RI FORVHQHVVWKDWH[LVWVEH\RQGWKHSK\VLFDOQHHGVRIKRUVHVDQGKXPDQV

Since this method uses neither small spaces nor ropes, we humans must prove our kindness, fair- ness, and leadership qualities to each horse in order to gain the privilege of working with her. Humans using this method are honored to call themselves friends, advocates and guardians of horses.

This is the way OurHorses community members work with horses. We call this way of being with horses, hontoto. Hontoto is a Maidu Indian word meaning “together in heart and spirit.” We have ERUURZHGWKHZRUGIURPWKHSHRSOHQDWLYHWRWKHODQGZKHUHZHOLYHZLWKWKH¿UVWKRUVHVWREH treated this way in the modern world. We will carry the word forward and let it stand to represent horses and humans living in harmony as family, and as a symbol for peace throughout the world. :HZLOOEHWRJHWKHULQKHDUWDQGVSLULWZLWKHYHU\OLYLQJEHLQJRQWKHHDUWKZKHQZH¿QGSHDFH LQVLGH,QRUGHUWRFKDQJHWKHZRUOGRQO\RQHEHLQJQHHGVWR¿QGWKDWSODFH

Some community members are not able to provide completely free-living circumstances for their horses. In these cases, we talk with each other about what our horse-keeping options are and take whatever steps we can to lead towards hontoto.

,I\RXKDYHTXHVWLRQVH[SHULHQFHVWRWHOORUGLIIHUHQWREVHUYDWLRQVSOHDVHEHEROGHQRXJKWRDVNRU contribute. By speaking out as well as listening to each other, we will add to the level of compas- sion and understanding in the world today.

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105 Stormy May

Figure 64

106 The Path of the Horse

Figure 65

14 THE FUNDAMENTAL DISTORTION

,WVHHPVWKHGHHSHUZHJRLQWRWKHH[SORUDWLRQRIDQ\UHODWLRQVKLSWKHPRUHTXHVWLRQVDULVH7KH more questions, the more ways people create to answer the questions and the more effort we make to gather together friends who believe in the same answers.

A fundamental concept that many animal lovers believe is we think we can save animals and make their lives better by saving animals and making their lives better.

The reality is an animal will be cared for only when a human is cared for. A hurting, scarred, beat- en human will likely mimic the behavior that made her that way. This is what she knows. Only by saving humans can we ensure all animals will be cared for, and all humans and our planet as well. 7KLVLVZK\ZHZLOOVWULYHWR¿QGEDODQFHLQRXURZQOLYHVEHWZHHQVSHQGLQJHQRXJKWLPHZLWK horses, family, pets, or other pursuits that feed our spirits and helping our larger family of humans so together we can all live in peace.

107 Stormy May

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:HKRUVHORYHUVDUHUHH[DPLQLQJRXUSODFHLQKHOSLQJWKLVZRUOG:HKRSH\RXUHFRJQL]H\RXDUH one of us as well.

Figure 66

108 The Path of the Horse

Figure 67 15 FURTHER EXPLORATIONS

There is a need to educate people about how to care for horses and protect them from harm. We need to do this for the sake of raising our own human morality both individually and collectively as a step towards creating peace on earth.

/LNHO\HYHU\RQHUHDGLQJWKLVZLOODJUHHEXOO¿JKWLQJLVDJURWHVTXHVSRUW+RZPDQ\ZLOOEHDEOHWR look at equestrian sports, and all horseback riding as a different shade of the same distortion, the GHVLUHIRUPDVWHU\RYHUQDWXUHDWWKHH[SHQVHRIWKHIUHHQDWXUDOOLIHDKRUVHDQGDOODQLPDOVZHUH ERUQWROLYH"

Today as I write this, it is acceptable to whip a horse repeatedly in a race in the USA according to Jockey Club rules. And not only is it acceptable to put a bar of metal or hard plastic in a horse’s mouth, it is required by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), the international governing body for all Olympic equestrian disciplines, that a horse in dressage competition have a bit in her mouth with reins attached, and at the higher levels, two bits in the horse’s mouth and spurs on the rider’s heels are required for every competitor. In the world I live in, and places I visit, these are ancient relics hanging on the walls.

109 Stormy May

Of those people who feel deeply that horses want to be free, how many will be bold enough to go against their own habits and pleasures to speak out and live differently with their own horse IULHQGV"+RZPDQ\ZLOOIDFHEHLQJPLVXQGHUVWRRGDQGULGLFXOHGE\SHHUVDQGPHQWRUV"6RPH people will gather the strength because their heart says it’s right. You are the ones who will join us in the new world.

I received an email from a woman yesterday. She wrote:

Hallo Stormy,

We had contact 2 years ago. You will not remember me. I organized a Path of the Horse screening in Germany. I would like to tell you what happened since then.

I am no longer alone. We are now a group of 6 people, 11 horses, 1 donkey, 4 cows, dogs, cats and sheep. We have found some beauti- ful land, very rare in Germany. It is outside the village and far away from the traditional horse world. We do not ride. We spend our free time and money to care for the animals and give them good lives.

It is so beautiful to see how people and horses change when they live in such a harmony together. We would love to meet more peo- ple with the same attitude about horses. We would like to help more horses and people to have good lives together. Is there something we could do? Have you ideas for us?

Thank you again for what you are doing. We would really much love to help you if we can.

Love, Sonja

110 The Path of the Horse

Yes, this is it. The new world is here now. We are the ones who have changed it. Thank you Sonja for hearing the call of the horses.

Once we have healed enough together with our horses and human friends, we will take on larger SURMHFWVWRPHQGWKHKHDUWVRISHRSOH7KRVHDUHWKHVWHSVDORQJWKHQH[WSDWKWKH3DWKRIWKH+X- man. We will be in touch.

Love, Stormy

Figure 68

111 Stormy May

Figure 69 The Path of the Horse

List of images: $OOSKRWRVGLJLWDOPDQLSXODWLRQVDQGRLOSDLQWLQJVE\6WRUP\0D\H[FHSWDVQRWHG

Fig. 1 Patrik, photo: Ron Moreland Fig. 2 Eclipse and Ryden in North San Juan, California )LJ6WRUP\DQG6R¿LQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLD Fig. 4 Wild horses in Poland with Mary and Paul at the Biebrza National Park Fig. 5 Stormy and Sundance in North San Juan, California, photo: Felicia Story-Chapin )LJ([LVWV Fig. 7 Sundance in North San Juan, California Fig. 8 Pegasus Fig. 9 Jafarra in North San Juan, California Fig. 10 Merens foal with Virginie at Haras Picard du Sant in Lasserre, France Fig. 11 Icelandic horse at Dreamvalley in Sollia, Norway Fig. 12 Herd Fig. 13 Sundance and Eclipse in North San Juan, California Fig. 14 Stable )LJ6R¿ Fig. 16 Horses in Lasserre, France Fig. 17 Horse and friend in Lasserre, France Fig. 18 Yellow Horse Fig. 19 Herd in the Stars Fig. 20 Patrik, photo: Ron Moreland Fig. 21 Wild foals in Poland at the Biebrza National Park Fig. 22 Cindra and Karina at Westwind in Burlington, Wisconsin Fig. 23 Sundance and Stormy in North San Juan, California, photo: Felicia Story-Chapin Fig. 24 Carousel Horse Fig. 25 Sundance in North San Juan, California Fig. 26 Sundance in North San Juan, California Fig. 27 Sundance and Tricia in North San Juan, California Fig. 28 Tango of the Grasses Stormy May

Fig. 29 Yellow Barn Fig. 30 Sundance with friends in North San Juan, California Fig. 31 Merens mares at Haras Picard du Sant in Lasserre, France Fig. 32 Sundance in North San Juan, California )LJ'UDIWKRUVHVDWDQH[KLELWLRQLQ*UDVV9DOOH\&DOLIRUQLD )LJ'UDIWKRUVHVDWDQH[KLELWLRQLQ*UDVV9DOOH\&DOLIRUQLD )LJ'UDIWKRUVHWDFNDWDQH[KLELWLRQLQ*UDVV9DOOH\&DOLIRUQLD Fig. 36 Merens mare, foal and Dominique at Haras Picard du Sant in Lasserre, France Fig. 37 Phyllis Fig. 38 Stormy and Eclipse in North San Juan, California Fig. 39 Patrik and Warren in North San Juan, California )LJ6WRUP\DQG6R¿LQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLDSKRWR)HOLFLD6WRU\&KDSLQ Fig. 41 Gandhi, photo: unknown Fig. 42 Dahlia Fig. 43 Stormy and Kiowa in Santa Barbara, California, photo: Pat Richardson Fig. 44 Unknown horse at a show in Sacramento, California Fig. 45 Stormy with new friends in Thailand, photo: unknown Fig. 46-47 Stormy with more friends in Thailand, photos: unknown Fig. 48 Pathway into the horse lover’s heart )LJ6R¿LQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLD Fig. 50 Clouds in North San Juan, California )LJ6R¿DQG-HGLQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLD )LJ6R¿DQG6WRUP\LQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLDSKRWR)HOLFLD6WRU\&KDSLQ )LJ6R¿6WRUP\DQG.DWULQHLQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLDSKRWR6DVKD6W-RKQ Fig. 54 OurHorses reminder bracelet Fig. 55 Stormy and Jafarra in North San Juan, California Fig. 56 Barbie and her mount )LJ6R¿DQG(FOLSVHLQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLD Fig. 58 Merens stallion at Haras Picard du Sant in Lasserre, France Fig. 59 Sundance in North San Juan, California Fig. 60-63 Patrik and Stormy, photo: Ron Moreland The Path of the Horse

Fig. 64 Playful Horses )LJ6R¿LQ1RUWK6DQ-XDQ&DOLIRUQLD Fig. 66 OurHorses vision plate, acrylic, by Stormy, Ryden and Eden Fig. 67 Stormy, Ryden and Eden in North San Juan, photo: Michael Aspen Fig. 68 Stormy and Gizmo in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, Canada, photo: Cate Scott Fig. 69 The herd in North San Juan, California Fig. 70 Stormy in Malibu, California, photo: Michael Aspen Stormy May

Figure 70

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

6WRUP\0D\KDVOHGDQDUWLVWLFOLIHZRYHQWKURXJKDVFLHQWL¿FZRUOG6KHKDVXQUDYHOHGPDQ\ old stories we have passed on about the horse human relationship and along with friends, has started weaving new ones. The Path of the Horse