Cowgirl Up! How I Came Back to Equine: Lessons and Promise

Linda Kohanov in Way of the Horse writes, "Equine birth is an acccelerated experience filled with moments of power, choice, and expanded awareness". I am in awe of the amazing Val, who could stand within minutes of birth, and took it upon herself to search for food.

Her startled mother didn't help at all, and Val walked around the stall, trying to nurse from people, buckets, stall walls, until she found (with a just bit of human assistance) her first meal.

She didn't lie helplessly on the floor and cry, as most species' infants will do, waiting for someone to bring them food. She struggled up with her brand-new leg muscles and searched for herself until she found what she needed. So amazing to witness!

And 48 hours later, she was outside with her mom, prancing, trotting, galloping around the yard. Two days old! Again, I was amazed and honored to watch such a miracle. Kohanov titles her chapter on the mare and foal "Promise".

As I watch Val daily, I am not only amazed at her cognition, awareness and strength at such a young age, but I am also filled with the thought of what she can look forward to -- green grass, warm sun, meeting other horses, learning to partner with humans, and exporing the world. Promise of lots to come.

And for now, her life is expanding to include lessons. How to wear a halter, how to carry a towel on her back, do not kick humans, and backing up fast doesn't usually accomplish anything good.

This week's lesson is "Move Away From Pressure". We are practicing like this: I push on her chest until she backs up, then I release the pressure. I push on her flank and shoulder until she sidesteps away, then I release the pressure. I put my hands across her back and push her towards me until she steps in, then I release the pressure. This is all prep for big-horse lessons, but also a pre-requisit for learning to lead. Instict is to move into pressure, and that can create some issues when she feels the halter tighten behind her head. The plan is that once she has learned to move away from pressure to release it, she can generalize that to moving forward when she feels pressure on the halter, instead of running backwards, which is her method of dealing with this currently. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how that goes!