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A New Role For Sophie
Progress with Saving Sophie
How a Horse Can Change Your Energy
Update on Sophie
On a recent trip to visit Sophie, it was decided that some groundwork was in order. This is when you brush and groom the horse, often as a preparation for putting on the saddle to ride. As I began to brush Sophie, she tried many times to reach back and nip at my hands. Not a good start. I was worried this meant I was in for a long afternoon. I kept picturing beautiful, golden light coming down and showering her with grace as I combed out many of the knots in her lush mane. A couple of times, she let me hug her neck, without protesting. This felt like the best victory ever. Soon it was time to walk in the arena. Lynn Diettrich was having a lesson with another student who was riding Outlaw. I love Outlaw. My son rode him last summer in camp for a full week. Sophie and I would walk the perimeter of the arena to stay out of the way of the lesson. I had no idea if/how Sophie would behave. When doing groundwork, you never want to let the horse get in front of you as you walk. If they do, that means they aren’t respecting or listening to you. As I started walking, I could feel Sophie start to go faster. I lifted my right arm with the halter and lead rope, to signal her to stop. A few times she listened, and a few times, she ignored the request. Lynn came over to teach me a more confident stance, and it seemed to do the trick. Not only was she listening to me when I signaled her to slow down, but she also backed up for me. I felt like I’d made a huge stride. As we were making our way around the arena, Lynn reminded me to keep my head up and look where I was walking, “Don’t stare at the ground!” I looked back and Sophie when I felt like we were in a groove. I swear, I could hear her think, “Is this all I have to do today? Just walk? You aren’t going to make me run?” I looked in her eyes and stopped walking. “I promise I won’t make you run,” I said, petting her neck. The energy suddenly shifted to relief. Sophie was just walking with me. No racing. No contest. No reward or punishment for being first or last. She was perfect, right where she was. Right where we were – together. Many of you sent donations to help keep Sophie at the Diettrich Farm. For March, and half of April, she is covered. I am so incredibly moved by your generous hearts. We are still in need of more donations to help with the boarding costs for rest of the year, so if you feel inspired to help, please click here: https://www.storytellingeducation.org/donate
I’d like to introduce you to Sophie – she is a thoroughbred. What this means, is she was trained hard and fast at a very young age in the hopes that she would win big races. She was pushed to her limits, and this started taking place when she was just a year and a half old. To give some context – a horse’s knees aren’t fully formed at that time. Even horse trainers in the UK and Europe will wait to run a horse at full steam until they are 3. When it became clear that Sophie wasn’t going to win the Kentucky Derby, she would have been put down – but a nice family took her in, and she was ridden by a young girl for a few years. Sophie had a job, and she was good at it. After a few years, that girl became a teenager, and she lost interest in horses, and in Sophie. Because of this, Sophie became depressed. Without her "person", she developed a fear of abandonment. When I first met her, she wouldn’t even let me touch her. Grooming with a brush would cause her to take her front hoof and dig into the ground – a nervous “twitch” she does whenever she feels threatened. She’s difficult to ride, and often bucks people with the stress. Lynn Diettrich, who owns the farm where Sophie is boarded, said all horses need to know they have a “purpose.” “When a horse knows their purpose, they show up with pride,” she said. “They know they are helpful and useful. Sophie needs a routine. She needs to know she matters.” I’m a very inexperienced rider, but I’ve been making a point to go and visit Sophie whenever I’m at the farm. As a trained reiki practitioner, I perform energy work on her whenever I get the chance. Now, when I show up in her pen, she not only lets me touch her with my hands, she leans into me as if she’s saying “Thank you.” Her trust in me builds with each visit. On a recent day, I spent a lot of time sending energy to Sophie before I even went out to see her in the field. I pictured beautiful healing light all around her and as I saw myself looking into her eyes, and I said with my mind, “I love you. You are safe.” When I walked out to the field and approached her, she trotted towards me, and put her nose right up to my face with enthusiasm. (A very unusual move for most horses, but especially Sophie.) She then took her cheek and leaned it up against mine. I could hear her breathing into my ear. Her mouth was in my neck and her head was pressed into the side of my face. We sat like this for a full minute, which seemed like an eternity. It literally brought me to tears. She then let me hug her neck and I proceeded to do more energy work on her before leaving for the day.
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