Cheryl Angela and Rick
Rick (Percheron) has been our herd leader for nearly 8 years. Except for one decision, I have agreed with and admired his leadership during all of this time. Then came the other day, when he did two really bad things.
I always remember to lock the doors on the “back 4” stalls. However, on this particular day, my mind was going in too many directions and I completely forgot to shut the back doors.
You see, the “back 4” belong to Rick, Venus (shire) , Dorinda (belgian), and Odella (belgian). These guys get along well and prefer to go into their own stalls. They make meal time easier for me, since I can have their doors open and trust that each of them will go into the correct stall.
I wouldn’t have noticed my oversight until I went to let them out, had it not been for Rick, who left his stall to join Dorinda. Both horses weigh over a ton and are 17.2 and 17.3 hands tall. That’s a lot of horse in a 10 x 12 stall. Although they get along extremely well, Dorinda decided to leave.
Dorinda, Odella, and Angela on Rick
I probably didn’t help matters. I called to Dorinda that I was going to get Rick out for her. Naturally, he knew he was wrong. The ground was slippery with mud. Both Rick and Dorinda chose to turn around in opposing directions at the same time. When they bumped and pressed each other in the undersized space, Dorinda’s hind end slid out from under her and she went down near the door, trapping Rick behind her.
It’s a good thing her outside stall panel lifts and moves easily. Really good. Ben and Jocelyn were in Syracuse at the time and I had no one to help me. As soon as there was enough space, Rick slipped out of the stall.
But Dorinda didn’t get up. She wasn’t trapped. Thinking she was just shaken, I stood by her head and let her lean her neck on my leg. She was too heavy to support for very long, so I encouraged her to lay her head down and rest. Meanwhile, I used EFT to tap for her, to help her feel like getting up.
After a little while, I began to ask Dorinda to get up, but she refused. It seemed her bottom front leg (her right) was trapped by the mud and vegetation. With some effort, I slid her front legs forward into a similar position to the one they normally use to get up. To my relief, this readily worked. She was up in seconds.
Dorinda was gimpy on her right front and out of alignment in her right hind end. I used EFT to tap for: pain and swelling in her joints and muscles; for the misalignment; and for any emotional issues with Rick and the accident. By the next day, she was moving completely normally.
With Dorinda safely restored, I began looking for Rick. I soon heard Joey’s (Drum Stallion) angry voice and saw Rick pestering Joe. Joey was rearing and fussing. Wow. Rick must be harboring some kind of resentment for Joe, for him to behave that way. Most of the time, this transition of Joey taking over the leadership and control of the herd and over Rick, has been gentle and rather smooth. Joey must have pushed Rick a bit too far lately, for Rick to take such action and say such inflammatory things to Joe.
Joey and Angela on Rick
All I had to do, was come around the station and tell Rick to leave. I apologized to Joe and told Rick to go eat some apples. Rick spent the remainder of the meal in the “1-2 grove” (we’ve got several apple groves). Joe swiftly calmed down with my soothing. And Dorinda consoled herself outside Odella’s stall.
It’s fascinating the trouble one horse can cause in such a short amount of time. I praised the other horses for remaining calm throughout all of the events.
Serenity Equestrian Center and Feathered Dream Drum Horses are family owned and run. Serenity’s “Communing With Horses” is not a therapeutic riding program, but focuses solely upon the emotional wellness of the visitors. Visit http://serenityec.webs.com to learn more about SEC. Proceeds from Gayla’s personal coaching at http://www.eftlady.com help support the feeding, housing, and clothing of SEC’s herd. Thank you for your interest and support!
Tags: Communing With Horses, Drum Stallion, EFT, EFT Lady, Feathered Dream Drum Horses, Gayla, Serenity Equestrian Center, Veterans
