Horse Time
The green of the grass sparkles with dew, all jade and emerald, bits of sunlight in every direction.
Grandmother tree, downed in our last atmospheric river’s windstorm, is now chainsawn into huge pieces pushed completely off the driveway, but still powerful in her presence.
A cold wind blows against my face, so I pull my hat down tighter around my head and wind my scarf over my nose. The horses, dogs, cats, donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens are all calling.
They know I’m here, my car and voice grown familiar over time. In the distance, I see Penny, along with her other herd members, cavorting in the field, already stirred up by the energetic shifts in the air.
I look up, curious about the sound and movement around me, birds everywhere, circling, hopping, calling, frogs deliriously active. I could go on.
A few minutes later, I check the time as and look up as our farrier, or hoof care specialist, Rob, drives in, hauling his utility trailer behind him, exactly at 9. Exactly on time. Unusual for a farrier, but that’s his way.
From my 14 years as a horse steward, my previous farriers, were rarely on time. Farriers operate in Horsetime.
This is one important more than a concept I’ve absorbed as a student of the horse. A quote from Ariana:
“Horse time is a valuable metaphor to remember when practicing horsemanship in general and especially in EGE. Horse time is generally a slower pace as in a quarter of the time we, humans, usually take to respond. Remember it doesn’t mean necessarily moving at a quarter of your usual pace or sense of time, it has more to do with slowing down your appreciation of your senses. Specifically it means slowing down your minds’ interpretation of what is happening, and what assessments you are forming. It means listening to the body--yours, others and the horse. It means letting your other senses of sight, smell, tactile, intuitive, kinesthetic and anything non-linear come alive and have the space of time to actually SENSE.”
Farriers, from my experience, can be both opinionated and fascinating at the same time. They hold one of the most important keys to your horse’s health, their feet, or toes to be exact. So their time deserves respect.
Jessica, my first farrier back in 2010, was a self-proclaimed Libertarian. I regularly listened to anti-government rants about its violation of freedom of just about anything. I kept her coming until one day and said she was moving to Canada. And that was that.
She explained to me about barefoot hoof care:
A horse’s hooves have been designed by nature to function optimally when barefoot. Properly trimmed barefoot hooves allow the hoof to flex. The horse depends on this flexing of the hoof for circulation and thus health. It provides the opportunity to develop strong and healthy foundations beneath a horse, which leads to better long-term soundness.
I was sold, and have had them unshod ever since!