Growing Some Hide
A mustang's hide is an apt illustration of advanced personal development. Through the centuries, wild horses have adapted to their challenging environments brilliantly. In the Western U.S., these sentient beings have thick skin that helps the horses to survive in the heat of summer and the cold of winter! Hide regulates temperature, retaining warmth in the bitter cold and providing cooling ventilation in the heat of summer. Yet horse hair on hide is so sensitive that a 1,000-pound mustang, extending more than five feet in length from its nose to the tail can feel a fly land on its rump. Then respond with a swish of the tail to swat it off. By the way, it doesn't spend the next 10 minutes complaining about the pesky flies. How do you recover, and how long does it take to recover, when sabotage occurs? It is less important to try preventing or even finding who’s responsible for the sabotage, and it’s much more important to focus on how you can respond (not react) to it. In other words, it is not about the original surprise, nor about how to react to it. Instead, it’s all about how you choose to respond to the original action that helps your recovery. Response – ability: The ability to choose a response that works for you rather than reacting at the undermining cause. Emotional hide increases your tolerance and flexibility when things don’t go your way. You can remain open to what wants to happen next. The sabotage does not cancel your day, and in fact, with a positive response, the sabotage can actually lead to something better! To grow some hide, consider:
(Story continued) In the pre-dawn light, we saw the dark figures of two older horses who escaped their “equine assisted living” area. They had been grazing along the road’s shoulder, and seemed perfectly content. Had we reactively ran toward them with adrenaline flowing they would have fled away down the road. Rather, we took some slow deep breaths and forced ourselves to walk. Calmly approaching the horses, we greeted them and gave them scratches. They walked along with us back into their pen, and we sighed in big relief that no injuries had occurred. Now, we could have been upset at one another or the horses, but that would not have helped us to adjust and go on with our day. However, feeling grateful for the safety of everyone decreased the adrenaline and restored some energy. Your day does not deserve to be canceled due to sabotage. Grow some hide and make it a great one! Want a mustang mentor? https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTYyMTQw
0 Comments
Wild horse enthusiasts in western Colorado have formed a new partnership to help the BLM White River Field Office manage the Piceance-East Douglas Herd Management Area. The BLM and Piceance Mustangs formalized the partnership in April 2018 through a memorandum of understanding. "We're already seeing significant results on the ground from this partnership," said White River Range Technician Melissa Kindall. "The projects completed by Piceance Mustangs benefit wild horses as well as livestock and wildlife." Between April 2017 and October 2018, Piceance Mustang members worked 2,730 volunteer hours. They worked with livestock grazing permittees to redevelop several water well resources using a $10,000 donation from a local family foundation. Piceance Mustangs also built 0.25 miles of new fence, repaired 1.5 miles of boundary fencing, and removed about 0.75 miles of old, unnecessary fencing. The group made wreaths and barbed wire swags from some of the barbed wire they removed, some of which was more than 100 years old. They received more than $1,000 in donations for their wares. Group members have staffed informational booths to increase awareness of the Piceance-East Douglas Herd and wild horse management at popular local events in nearby Meeker, such as the Range Call Celebration, the Meeker Sheepdog Trials, and Fall Craft Show. "Piceance Mustangs formed to support long-term maintenance of a viable, healthy, free-roaming horse herd on healthy rangelands," said Piceance Mustangs President Tracy Scott. "As we go forward, Piceance Mustangs plans to work with BLM to develop more water sources, continue educating the public about the mission of Piceance Mustangs and about the American Mustang, continue with fence management, begin documenting horses and implementing fertility treatments, and assist with adoption events." BLM Colorado has found these types of partnerships effective in helping manage its wild horse herd management areas. "All four of Colorado's herd management areas now have citizen partner groups taking an active role in helping BLM successfully manage these areas," said BLM Northwest District Wild Horse Specialist Ben Smith. Interact with mustangs or connect with Tracy Scott at Steadfast Steeds Mustang Sanctuary of Western Colorado Follow the link to see the original article posted by the Bureau of Land Management.
Gentled and socialized (tame & safe) mustangs retain heightened senses from their experiences and family lineage in the wilderness. Most were born under the cloak of darkness and would walk miles at dawn to safety with their extended family band. They quickly learn what a threat is and where protection is; the experienced mother raises the fur baby to adapt to a changing environment and remain secure within the band relationships. Mary and Susan, couldn’t tell you much about these traits, but that didn’t keep them from having life-changing mentor sessions with a mustang! (their stories are below). Many of the traits in mustangs are not trained or taught. In fact, we count on this! Rather than training or conditioning a wild horse to behave in certain ways, the horse is actually the “standard” or “control” that is predictable. Each mustang mentor behaves congruently with its nature, thereby being a trustworthy barometer for the human participant and the coach.
Mary has never spent time around horses. She’s an acupuncturist who admits, “my head is in the clouds most of the time. I want to be more grounded and practical in my day-to-day tasks.” Susan actually lives with several mustang horses and is very practical, yet in her words, “I say ‘yes’ to everyone else’s requests, and then I resent them and get angry with myself for not holding better personal boundaries. I want to be able to say ‘no’ tactfully.” Satin is a gentle quiet mustang born in the Little Bookcliffs wilderness of Western Colorado. She was brought off the range at a young age, and adopted by a local person. Now she lives at the Sanctuary with her adopted family band. Satin and Tracy (equine-guided life coach) coached Mary and Susan on the same day, several hours apart. The two women never met and do not know one another. After an orientation, Tracy empowered each of the women to be fully present in the moment as they sat peacefully for one of the 9 horses to connect/choose to mentor them. Unusually, the same horse chose to mentor both persons on the same day. Due to Susan’s and Mary’s different needs and intentions, we were really curious as to how they would manifest in Satin’s behaviors? Satin calmly stood in the DiscoveRing as Mary entered through the gate. Satin immediately turned away and wandered toward the far side of the ring – actually sliding her head through the panel to graze weeds on the outside! Later that day when Susan was about to enter the DiscoveRing, Satin stood with her head extended over the gate and her chest pressing on it! Remember, Susan has troubles holding boundaries. Through the 45-minute coaching session, Satin’s behaviors and Tracy’s questions challenged each woman to release their needs and reclaim their intention; to embody and ground their authentic self in such a way that Satin’s behavior would tangibly reflect their recovery of true self. Sure enough, while Mary walked around the DiscoveRing with grounded strength and purpose, Satin followed her respectfully behind at liberty (without a rope for physical connection). Mary was beaming with the outcome of her manifested intention! Now, Susan had to release what her brain knows about mustangs and focus on her own need for healthier personal boundaries. This was a huge shift from “what I can do for and with horses” to “what a horse can do for and with me.” Sure enough, Susan was able to conclude her session by walking confidently within her own skin. And Satin? Of course she followed Susan at a few feet behind all the way around the DiscoveRing at liberty! While standing with Satin, Tracy helped Mary and Susan to integrate the life lessons into their daily behaviors and relationships. Then they thanked Satin respectively and received their own picture postcard of Satin to place in their cubical at work or mirror at home – a positive reminder of living into their authentic self. Live your LIFE@LIBERTY! Click Here to Learn more about being mentored by a mustang. |
|