Age of Aquarius

I was born horse crazy. I think most of you know this. In 1969 I was thrown from a horse named ‘Watch Me’ during a fake fox hunt (more like capture the flag) outside Boulder, Colorado. I was thrown off while we were jumping a stream. There were muddy banks and his feet slipped.I landed on my head and because I went into convulsions I was taken to the hospital. I ended up with a concussion and a whiplash injury. Lucky I was wearing a hard hat or I would not be writing this. Ever since then I have blamed this accident for any number of crazy things I have done in my life. But that is another story, I  wanted to tell you one that really did change my life and the way I looked at things.

So we lived in Boulder during the “Age of Aquarius,” the 60’s and 70’s. Later that year I bought a Thoroughbred mare. I had decided if I was going to ride, I wanted to ride my own horse. She had been an unsuccessful race horse and I was convinced she could become a good all-around. all purpose horse. She was a pretty bay. (brown with black mane and tail) Several things got in the way.

Along with the momma came the baby. I was blissfully unaware of what that meant. Watching them sprint around the new green pasture heads up, mane and tails whipping in the wind grabbed me.I named the three week old filly Sing Song from a song in the Broadway musical “Hair” which had come to Boulder that spring. I named the mare Fancy

One day, after a spirited gallop, Fancy and Sing Song, the filly, was still trying to manage her unsteady legs. She was not able to stop quickly enough to keep her from slamming into a barbed wire fence. She cut her chest open in a jagged three-corner tear from her neck to above her front legs. It happened before we even had made arrangements to move them to the property where we were planning to board them.

My desire to ride and train one horse took a back seat to caring for this dreadful wound in the other. It could not be stitched except on the corners because it had to heal from the inside out. As I worked on the wound I gentled her. Soon, she lost her fear of me and became a pretty good patient. It was amazing but by mid-summer the wound had closed, small infections were cleaned out right away and she was on anti-biotics. As much as I could do for her, she had the main job herself. And she did it. By the end of august her coat had grown over the area, By the time she started to grow her winter coat, you could not even see a scar.

This is truly what healing looks like and even in Boulder in the 60's it didn't have anything to do with Pot. Sing Song was treated, given assurance, calmed, and she definitely had youth on her side. What I learned though, was that I have to pay attention, to watch for things that bring hope and be willing to be partners with them. I know there is within minds, bodies, and spirits a natural healing force that is always seeking to move toward health and wholeness. I want it to be my partner. Sing Song showed me that.

A True Animal Lover

I collect too many things. As a result I have had to devise extensive systems to keep stuff organized. Most of the stuff I keep has to do with animals; cats, dogs, horses, endangered, farm etc. All animals I guess. But, I keep lots of quotes and stories about them.

So I came across a piece the other day by  Dr. Michel Klein who wrote a book, “Animals, My Teachers; An Autobiography of a Veterinary Surgeon”. The book was part of The Companion Book Club and published by Harvill Press, London in 1975. I think this came from this book. I do know it came from him.

I thought those who read my blog, knowing it is about animals, will appreciate it.

“It is animals as much as human beings, from the tiniest Yorkshire terrier to living colossi such as Siberian tigers or Indian Elephants, that have made me what I am. It is by observing, tending and consorting with them that I have come to terms with my own humanity. Not only have they disclosed that I too am an animal, but the recognition of certain animal virtues in myself and my fellow men has made me more tolerant of our human failings.

“It is to satisfy a passion which gradually overcame me and has never ceased to grow: to restore the animals place in a world dominated by man, a place we encroach on by steadily destroying and looting its habitat. Man without animals condemns himself to inhumanity. My task is to protect them, draw them closer to us, promote our knowledge and love of them.

“The true animal lover must not only like animals but be ready to take on the full responsibility for them”