Stories From Fish Hatchery Road

Seeing Your Horse With at Least Three Eyes

When I look at my horse, I prefer to look at him with at least three eyes.

 

I know that sounds funny.

 

But if I look him as I do so many other things -- as just part of the scenery to which I accustomed -- then I don't really see him.

 

But if I look at him with my physical as well as intuitive Third Eye -- or even someone else's eyes, well then, that is a completely different vision.

 

Say, for example, I see him through my vet's eyes. Well then, I see a horse who could stand to lose a few more pounds.

 

And if I look at him through the eyes of my dressage trainer, well, I see a horse who has a lack of muscle strength in his hind end. And if I look at him through my mother's eyes, well, then I simply see pure perfection. (My mother is Vashka's "Grandma.")

 

It's funny how vision works that way -- how one person can see something so differently than another.

 

Effective horse people are willing to see their horses in dfferent ways. That doesn't necessarily mean that they agree with everything else someone else sees. But it does mean that they are willing to look at their horse in a new and different way -- everyday.

 

Sometimes the effect of seeing my Arabian, Vashka, through the eyes of another has been startling. Like the time he and I started dressage lessons. Suddenly, I saw a horse that was downright fat. How could I have not seen this, I chastised myself. How could I have not noticed something so obvious? But once I got past the shock I was able to help my horse. I tightened his diet and began feeding him less. He is looking and feeling a lot better.

 

Good horse husbandry has no ego and a lot of vision to it.  Bad horse husbandry has no vision and a lot of ego to it. You know the type -- people who "know it all" and have been doing whatever they have been doing for a million years. They are blind to new ways of seeing anything.

 

Vets, nutritionists, trainers, trimmers -- they give us another pair of trained eyes with which to look at our horses. Sometimes, though, three eyes are just as effective.

 

What do I mean by three eyes?

 

I mean using my two physical eyes along with my non-physical Third Eye -- that invisible inner vision called Intuition. Another personal example:

 

About a month ago I was looking at Vashka, who, other than his weight issue, appeared in perfect condition. Still, one night while doing my evening meditation, I got the intuitive hit to start feeding him Rosehip tea. Rosehips come from the inner fruit of roses and they contain a sizeable amount of Vitamin C . The message to feed the Rosehips to Vashka came softly, quietly. Thus, I ignored it.

 

A month or so later, Vashka developed a skin fungus -- a telltale sign of lowered immunity.

This is the only problem with using our own three eyes -- the vision is far less confrontational than the vision of two eyes completely outside of ourselves. So we don't always act on it. My hunch is that if I relied on my third eye more consistently, I would need the vision of others less often.

 

The point of giving ourselves the gift of added vision -- whether it's through allowing ourselves to see through someone else's eyes or whether its adding dimension to our own sight --  is to really, truly see.

 

 

"SKODE"

My New Economy

I feel rich.

I know that's a shocking thing to say in these times. But it's true.

I have a personal coach. I have a natural horsemanship teacher who comes to my house and works with me and my new rescue pony, Theo. I have a woman who specializes in custom vitamin/mineral mixes for horses, and she formulates blends to make up for any deficiencies in my horses' feeds and hays. 

And I'm not paying for any of it. Not a dime. All of these wonderful services are coming to me through the old-fashioned exchange called trading. I write articles about my coach. I trim my trainer's horses. I run ads in Skode's Newsletter for the nutritional equine consultant. Everyone gets something she wants and needs -- something that may have otherwise been monetarily out of reach.

Two years ago, when I had a lot more money in my bank account than I do now, I had none of the above. This year, when I am perhaps the poorest money-wise that I have ever been, I have it all.  Heck, I even have a bookkeeper for my business. I help her write copy for her web pages and brochures -- she crunches numbers for me.

Yes, the news about the economy is bleak. Last I heard we aren't supposed to raise our heads from the wreckage that surrounds us until 2010.  And yet. And yet, there is something else occurring -- a new kind of existence that breaks all the old rules.

You know the old rules. The old rules say:

• Money = the ability to have what you want.

    And:

• No money = poverty and despair

Maybe the old rules weren't based in truth. Or at the very least, maybe the old rules have simply served their purpose. It's time for a new way of getting what we need and want.

I love the way trading feels. It feels like what I do is respected and needed. To trim my trainer's horses and then watch her put her energy into helping me with my horse feels very fulfilling. It's just that instead of handing over green paper bills, we hand over our talents. We directly acknowldge the usefulness and necessity of the other. I love it.

In times of adversity, we shrink back or we grow forward. Because really, there is no way to stay where we are. The gravity of the situation requires a push in one direction or another. That is the law of gravity.

Look around you. Is there anyone going about her life in the same way she was two years ago?

Well, I better get going.  I have a dressage lesson in a few hours. I take lessons from one of the most accomplished dressage trainers around. I found her through a Craigslist ad, in the farming section. She said she needed help with tack and cleaning at her dressage barn. And that in exchange, she would trade for lessons.

So before you tell yourself you can't have what you need or want, look around you.  Look around you in a way you have never looked before. The things that are available to you -- that, in fact, have always been available to you -- will astound you.

"SKODE"

Growing My Horse Treat Company -- Or Not

I was talking to the CEO of a very large, organic pet food company the other day.  We were talking about the possibility of his company selling some of Skode's recipes. Translation: Skode's could very likely hit The Big Time.

As we spoke, I reminded myself to breathe, keep my feet on the floor and speak authoritatively (I tend to squeak when I get excited.) The conversation was going along at break-neck speed until we reached that big bump in the road called: The issue of shelf life.

"We want a product that is going to last 9-12 months on the shelf," he said.

"Our products are freshly baked," I told him.  "If they sat on the shelves for a year we couldn't say with honestly that they were freshly baked."

The man I was speaking with is a millionaire. Maybe a multi-millionaire. The dog food he markets and sells is billed as organic and a lot of my friends buy it. For them, it epitomizes the idea of what they think their dog should have: fresh, organic ingredients.

"Sometimes it sits for months before it moves -- that's just the reality of it," the CEO said.

"I think people want a different reality for their horses," I squeaked.

Sometimes my passion about what I do surprises me.  Because I will be honest, baking and selling fresh-baked horse treats is hard work. It's physical. It's repetitive. Sometimes, at 2 a.m., during one of our Big-Bake Out Sessions, it's downright grueling.

But just when I think I might be getting a bit burnt out, someone like this CEO pushes the exact right buttons to get me all fired up and in touch with the fact that I am working this hard because I really believe in what I'm doing. Horses deserve to have food that is minimally processed, fresh and wholesome.  They don't deserve to be fed a lot of over-processed crap that has been sitting around in some warehouse for half a year. And let me tell you -- if it's been sitting around for half a year, the reason it hasn't spoiled is because it is over-processed. 

See what I mean?

I could go on forever.

"Well there is just no way I could market this and guarantee it was going to move fast enough," the CEO said.

"That is okay," I said.

And it was. It really was okay.

Because there is a horse in Northern Virginia who is waiting for his fresh baked bag of Skode's  cookies. His name is Chief. He can't eat processed sugars, oils or fats because he has metabolic issues. He needs special treats that won't compromise him in any way. Plus, he's picky. He likes fresh-baked goodies with tasty herbs that if he was a horse in the wild, he would pick out for himself. Like organic Peppermint leaves and crunchy Fenugreek seeds. Savoring goodies like that make him feel special. Which he is.

 See?

 

And I just happen to be happy to bake a bag of cookies with Chief's name on it.

 

"SKODE"

Treating Skin Conditions from the Inside Out

Before you reach for that next bottle of salve or spray to heal your horse's skin problems, it is wise to realize that skin problems are often an indication of something gone wrong on the inside of your horse.

For example, fungus, including rain-rot, is a sign of compromised immunity. 

"The skin is the largest elimination system in the body," writes Catherine Bird in her book, A Healthy Horse The Natural Way. "When it appears to be affected by ill-health, the naturopathic approach is to consider which other elimination organs in your horse's body are not performing at an optimum level, thus burdening the skin."

One of her suggested herbal recipes calls for a blend of equal parts Burdock, Yellow dock, St. Mary's thistle, Cleavers and Nettle.  Catherine's collaboration with my company, Skode's Horse Treats Inc., has kept me well stocked with high-quality herbs. So when I noticed a small fungus on Vashka's backside, I was able to quickly assemble Catherine's recipe.  Vashka loved the taste of the blend so palatability was not an issue.

A few weeks have passed and Vashka has absolutely no skin problems. There is a great sense of fulfillment when one is able to help one's horse in a natural as well as thorough way and I am grateful to Catherine for her knowledge -- and to my intuition to follow it.

"SKODE"