Meet Gumby…..
He is Jeanne’s (and my!) special boy, Belgium/Mustang and every inch of this gentle, furry creature is pure Feel education. This guy cannot be ‘made’ to do anything….just try, and see where it would get you….mowed over, flattened, run away with, maimed and/or killed. Dramatic? No, not really. At 8, Gumby was wild for too long to not have huge survival mechanisms in place, and not at all interested in just handing his life over to us humans. His Brother Nash is up here as well now, and he is a completely different kettle of sardines….yep, he is juuuuuuust fine with being looked after, ridden, contained and domestic.
But, not so with Gumby, but happily, he must have acquired very good karma, as Jeanne is infinitely devoted and patient with him, and has allowed Gumby the time, space, resources and opportunity to proceed at his own pace. This is a HUGE lesson that horses operate on their own schedule particularly those who may have experienced any trauma can tell you, trust is not forced to happen, belief in others not just given, independence held on too tightly. Self preservation has built in hyper awareness, sensitivity, high flight drive, massive distrust and complete lack of desire to connect with a human. All of these are innately in our horses, just intensified in ‘problem’ horses, and certainly take great degrees of feel to even begin explore. Gumby was one of my pivotal horses, where I realized that I absolutely HAD to feel….where he was coming from, where he was thinking of going, how fast he was thinking, why he was thinking the way he was, how was I making him feel, and was it up to him to change, or me? He would not fit into a program or lesson plan, he had to be felt every single step of the way, or no dice. Period.
Well.
(Human step’s back, licks and chews thoughtfully…..hmm, NOW what?)
Gumby is one of the reasons I am a ‘Feel Queen’. He helped expand my awareness, my desire to become more finely and acutely tuned in, trust in myself, believe in what I felt/observed, and act upon the intuitive nudges and what simply felt ‘right’ in the moment, slow down! and the power of just being with our horses. Gumby insisted that I go in with an open heart, an open mind and no agenda. I had to be true, firm, flexible, gentle, reserved, soft beyond soft, respectful and clear. Humbling? Totally! Frustrating? Completely! There are days when I still ask for guidance with this horse as my head hits the pillow, days when i think I may have done wrong. But Today, when we end our 11/2 session with him looking like something out of a Dr. Seuss book as we trot around the property scaring the Poop out of all the other horses and he is having a BLAST doing it- just me an’ Gumby doing weird and wacky things…..together and I know it and he knows it, and we stand side by side after he is back in his pen with Nash and neither of us wants to leave the other, I know he has blessed me with a treasure that is only beginning to be explored.
Gumby, the Brumby……Thank You.
