Well, last night we were lined up to groom the horses, which just started the intimacy between the animals and myself, which I've been taught before, except not at that level of detail. It was very intimate. The horse allowed me to focus on something outside of my own mind, which is a lot better than what I'm normally doing. I'm always in my own head. It was a great experience to have something external, just to have an outlet basically.
When we got through grooming the horses, Erica took Freckles and Jay took Blue and they went to the outside arena. They were working the horses with a carrot stick and it sparked my interest because my former boss used to do that for show horses... but Erica and Jay were using intentions instead of physically directing the horses. I went to the gate and asked Erica when I could do that. She said to go get Ace and I did. I waited for Autumn to remove Molly and went into the inside arena with Ace. Erica told me that Ace is very sensitive, that no touch, no carrot stick or anything would be necessary, just the direction of your gaze. Erica showed me first hand how she does it and it blew my mind. All you simply do is direct your eyes at their back end and the horse will move where you want it to go. There would be no difficulty getting the horse to move, stop, or anything. She passed the reins to me. I didn't think I could do it, but Ace moved and I felt a connection with him.
I am an addict as well as being on antidepressants, but nothing compared to the experience and the enjoyment that followed. It was not only a mind release, but a spiritual healing. I want to keep working with Ace and possibly other horses.
When it was over, I had two choices, keep working or let him go. I took him to the pasture, let go of the reins, and he stayed there for a few minutes and then moseyed away.
I cried on the way home.
