The Space Between Us and Animals: "What Happens"

Chloe Mae

Dear Paper Girlfriend,

I have worn a variety of fashions throughout my life.  From the purple two piece bathing suit with netting that I loved as a seven year old, to bell bottoms that got stuck in the gear sprocket of my bike as a teen, to shoulder pads in the 80’s, and so on.  I have similarly gone through various genres with my horses such as trail riding, gathering cattle at round ups, Ranch Horse Versatility Shows, and the sport of cutting.  After all these years, I have hit upon something I enjoy and the horses most definitely do, as well.  I use the principles and the ideas of Intrinzen.  You will never find a manual for Intrinzen with “how to” instructions.  In a nutshell, Intrinzen can be likened to children's interactions with playground equipment. The environment is set up for play, exercise, balance, and using a variety of muscles as kids move about autonomously.  In practicing Intrinzen ideas, the horse interacts with a human and whatever crazy idea the human can create to promote autonomous movement without using whips, lead ropes, and flags to make the horse move.  The horse is free to leave at any time.  Mine don’t leave!  They enjoy it!  To check out Intrinzen further go to Instagram and search any hashtag with Intrinzen in it. 

Recently, I invited people to come over and “play” with my horses using an Intrinzen based approach.  Most of the people had little experience with horses.   Two of the guests, one at a time, played with my Welsh Pony Chloe Mae, who I got from the SPCA.  The kind person who surrendered her to the SPCA did so because of her own health issues.  This person had rescued her from an abusive situation.  I do not know much more than this, but by her behavior it is easy to see that someone beat her. I have had her for 3 years and she has been wary when I approach her. For example, I haven’t been able to reach my hand out and pet her like I do the other horses. She will flinch and move away from me.  For the longest time I wondered if I would ever be able to touch her rump without her clamping her tail down.

Tonight was different!  I had been brushing the horses as they were loose.  I have only been able to brush Chloe Mae if she has a halter on, so I did not try.  However, she came up to me and touched her nose to the brushes in my hands. I brushed her a little while being careful to only brush whatever part of her body she offered. When I would stop, she would touch her nose to one of the brushes.  I took that as her signal to continue.  I kept thinking “This is magic!  This is because of the people who played with her!”  Her experience with them helped her to trust humans!

She stayed with me for about 10 minutes, maybe more. She even offered the right side of her body where she is usually protective.  At one point she reached her nose to my face where I met her part way.  She blew air from her nostrils into mine, a horse kiss.  When she finally walked away I felt like she had dropped years of trauma.

The people who played with Chloe Mae flowed with their intuition and thought processes.  There were times where she would walk away, but keep one or both ears pointed toward the person.  It was almost as if she was asking what they were going to do about her leaving.  Both people approached her gently and offered a proverbial hand as if to ask her if she would like to dance. She accepted each time. 

This type of interaction with the horses touches an aspect of our being that only happens when we are in tune, or some would say in the flow state.  It involves our intuition, but not solely, there is something more.  I know there is.  I feel it and others feel it when they play with the horses. It happens when you hold a newborn child.  It happens when a December super moon rises over the eastern sky as the warm colors of the sunset are still present.  Yes, I think it is intuition, but it is more.  It somehow melds our "hereness", being in this reality, with the "otherness" we know exists, but only notice when we shift our usual focus and allow this realm, this door to open.