Not Always Black and White!


I was doing my daily meditation ( aboard Carson and Indy and as it happened) and absorbing the peace and ridiculous beauty of the silent snowfall, I noticed that although everything APPEARED black and white, upon closer observation, it was anything but. Subtle shadings of color tinted the basic outline and muted the tones of so much white, and I (naturally!) couldn’t help but apply this metaphor to life / horses . It is all part of slowing down and appreciating the present (it is a gift after all) We humans love to have things presented so clearly, so black and white and easy to discern and follow, rules of what to do when ‘x’ happens, and the proper order in which to do things. We love to know how to do things in relation to’ how we’ve always done things before’, and what the ‘rules of the game’ are. Hell, we even have penalties if the ‘rules’ are broken. Not in the natural world! Everything happens right NOW! ( I Love that…RIGHT now, not wrong now)And of course there are rules, but it depends on each individual circumstance as to how the subtleties and shadings of effect are enacted.
I was involved in a mentally challenging question today, that did not involve the horses, but of course (of course!) the horses brought my answer. Yes, it does depend upon the circumstances, the presentation and the particular shades that color the question, but, most of all, it involves…….what do I
feel?
Ah! Feel………… and therein lied the answer, just that easy.

The top photo is Lauren’s ‘ Painted Chief Blackbird’ who is certainly anything other then Black and White……..
Sage and Griffin demonstrating how to mix Black and White in the truck….
Griffin modeling against the horizontal and vertical patterns of his settee , his eclectic mix of bold Black and White Dane Day Wear.

Griffin, proving ( albeit questionably) that everything does go with Black and White! Hahahahahahaha!

” What we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.” John W. Gardner.


OH Wow! Lots of things to learn and Peter is helping me get all sorts of things happening with this here ‘Blog’, so bear with me as I get it all figured….Here are a couple seasonal photos. One is of Gay’s Conn’s Paint Horse Max, and my Head Assistant Trainer, Sage, sporting the very latest in outfits…..(taken 2 winters ago)
The other was taken yesterday morning, at home here on the Dot Ranch.
Funny, how you add snow, and everything just gets to feeling like Christmas. With the weather being all cold, it is far easier to just hop on bareback instead of sitting in a cold saddle, so I grabbed Indy, and Carson came along for the tour, and we headed up the Sage hills, with three dogs in tow. Today was completely mono-chromatic; all snow and fog, very sureal. Just spent the time watching the interactions between Carson and Indy, the way they are so aware…of their surroundings, each other, me, the dogs, and still have time to clown around. Half way, I switched horses, and watched the change in the dynamic. He who is ridden, is in charge, other guy is second in line, literally. Indy thinks this change in position is VERY unbecoming and sulked all the way home. Carson? Well he was all puffed up like he just won the Preakness…..

Here we are!


Well now!
At Peter’s (The Great, I might add!) determined nudging, here I am with a ‘Blog’! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! So it would seem the ‘Shy Girl’ now gets more practice at talking….well, you need to be careful what you wish for since we apparently leave a crumb trail for it to find us…
So I am going to be sharing some thoughts , observations, insights, questions,and general musings about my day to day interactions with the horses that wander through my life. Alot of pretty cool things can happen in a day, as well as the day to day training triggers a multitude of A-Ha’s both in horsemanship and in life. So stay tuned and at the very least I get typing practice and feel like I might be chatting to someone….

By the way, the photos are of Sage, her son, Griffin and Indy, my main man. They were taken last summer when Griffy was 6 monthes old and they are my constant companions and are currently pre-heating my bed….so that’s my cue.
Until next time……………..Stef