Snapping Turtle. This is my horse's, Autumn, new nickname at the ranch. Unfortunately, it happens to fit her new and unbecoming habit of snapping her teeth at any horse she doesn't care for...which is pretty much all but three of the forty horses at the ranch. She snaps at them in the pasture, in her stall, where ever. She especially gets more snappy with horses when I'm around. To try and break the habit, I began to work her through exercises to get her feet moving in an effort to distract her mind from snapping those teeth. It helped in the barn but out in the pasture there was nothing I could do to prevent it. Aside from terrorizing all the horses, Autumn seemed just plain unhappy.
Out of worry and a tinge of embarrassment I got desperate enough to crack open my holistic horse book. I thumbed through the pages until I found the section on Bach Flower Essences. There were a list of flowers with a description of their remedies for particular emotional issues. I picked out the flowers that seemed to match my little snapping turtle's unhappiness. Three seemed to fit and make the most sense. Holly which is supposed to ease feelings of jealousy, anger and discontent. Chicory to help with her demanding, needy, negative, manipulating, self centered behavior. Vine to help with her domineering behavior. I went to the herbal store, mixed them up and almost crapped my pants when they told me it was $30. I added the drops twice a day to her feed and crossed my fingers.
Days passed by of me tip toeing around and obsessing over her grumpy behavior. The flower essences didn't appear to be working. I got even more desperate...I called in the animal communicator. Yes an animal communicator. I was hoping that she would get me thinking in a new perspective or at least give me something to roll my eyes at. She was a nice enough woman. After she asked me a few questions she quietly "listened" to Autumn. She then confirmed all of the answers that I had given her. She then added that Autumn was unhappy that we weren't doing her normal routine of going for rides. She said that she didn't understand why we couldn't do the same things we used to do before she was injured. Autumn told her that she felt that she has let me down and that she has lost her confidence. She said that her snapping turtle routine was brought on by fear and lack of confidence. The communicator gave me a new recipe for flower essences which were to help with Autumn's lack of confidence, to give her more courage and to help with her deal with the mental aspect of her injury. I was already pretty deep in the desperation pit so I got the potion mixed up...this time for $12.
Again, I carried on with the drops, scrutinizing her attitude for any slight change. But my psychological case study of my snapping turtle horse got interrupted by a call that my grandma was in the hospital dying. I braided a ribbon in Autumn's mane and kissed my husband goodbye for the week before I boarded a plane for New York. My grandma passed away before I got home which was okay. I felt like she came to me inside my heart that night and gave me her peacefulness. Loosing someone so great and who I am so much apart of sort of shook me up. I watched a life I loved disappear. Life began to make lot of sense out of nonsense and tuned a lot of sense into nonsense.
Since returning from my trip, Autumn and I have just been happy together. I have forgotten about the potions and horsey psycho babble and it appears that Autumn has forgotten about her snapping turtle days. I rode her in the forest in the morning of a storm. The wind rushed through the trees like waves of the sea. Song birds sang through the tattering rain. The dogs chased around beside us. Autumn enjoyed the world swirling excitably about. I rode light in Autumn's rhythm. Then I felt it. That same peacefulness the night my grandma passed settled upon me. It all made sense.
Thanks for reading! If you would like to be added to my mailing list or would like to leave a comment please contact me at Jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com.
Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com March 20, 2013
It was mid morning when my favorite 85 year old dairy farmer came into the office. He had a twinkle in his eye. "I got you a gift." he said in his very thick Portuguese accent. He presented me with a bag of animal crackers he had hidden behind his back. "This is for you beautiful ladies at the veterinary hospital." His flattery blushed our cheeks. He then shared his secret on the best way to enjoy these animal crackers. "You need to smear them with peanut butter and dunk them into hot tea but not for too long. If you hold them in too long they will get too soggy and fall into the bottom of the cup and when you drink the last sip you will get a mushy blob. That is no good!" he said as he shook his finger as a warning to us.
I thanked him and told him it was very good timing because it happened to be Susie's birthday. With that he straightened his back, cleared his throat and then proceeded to serenad Susie, in Portuguese, the Happy Birthday song. He ended his song with a bow of his head. Our Casanova then bid us adieu leaving us rosy cheeked and clutching a bag of animal crackers.
 |
| Who can resist? |
A few days later, on Valentine's day, I had to forsake my lunch break to sit in the dentist chair to get a cracked tooth patched up. I walked into the office and alas, in the waiting room dressed very handsomely, without a speck of cow poop on him, was the Casanova of animal crackers. I sat down next to him and we passed the time chatting about what he should get his wife for Valentine's day and the outfits the Brazilian girls were wearing in this year's Carnival parade that he had been watching live on TV this past week. Eventually, our conversation was cut short when the hygienist dragged me off to the chair. As I waited for my Novocaine to kick in, I could hear my dairy farmer chatting away in the next room. "Oh, you have lost weight." he told the hygienist. Sounding surprised that he noticed, said that she had.
"I know. I can tell. You are very beautiful woman."
What? Was he calling her a beautiful woman just like Susie and myself? I couldn't help but crack up...more like I... numbly blubbered out spit all over the front of my clipped on bib. I guess he says that to all the ladies but...he didn't bring them any animal crackers!
To catch up on the rest of the Save Your Nipples Chronicles you can click on the links below.
Save Your Nipples
Save Your Nipples Part 2...Yes There Is A Part 2
Shake. Shake. Shake it. Part 3 Of The Save Your Nipples Chronicles
Thanks for reading! If you would like to make a comment or to be added to my emailing list please contact me at Jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com . There is a Jackson Hill Horsey Girl Facebook Page you can join to share your own stories, photos, comments...
Copyright (c) 2013 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com March 13, 2013
