Equestrian News NI » karen hardy

Horses, Dragons and a Day to Remember

News Desk — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 08:23:27 +0000

With preparations for Journey Europe at a fevered pace and our living room looking like part tack room part crime scene we took some time off on Sunday to visit some friends and enjoy some music. If you’ve read the “Our Story” page you will know a little about Popcorn. She and her mother were the first two horses we rescued when we moved to New Mexico. Her mother was nearly starved to death and she was a spritely young foal only a few months old. They had been abandoned in the mountains like so many horses that year and as the snow grew deeper they were forced into more populated areas looking for food. So the day before the winter solstice I got the call to go with the local authorities to see if we couldn’t catch this starving horse and her baby. Catching the mare was easy. She was weak, frail, injured and happy to get in the trailer with fresh hay. Popcorn was a bit more challenging. She wanted to stay with her mom but she didn’t want to get in a horse trailer and quite frankly it was a bit of a task for someone so small. So after a few minutes of panicked pacing and her mother calling the most pathetic call. We decided for the safety of both of them we would have to just put her in the trailer. So like two NFL linebackers the brand inspector and I tackled the poor thing in a snow drift. We wrapped ourselves around her and endured her feisty kicks for freedom as we struggled through the deep snow back to the trailer. In moments she was safely in the trailer nursing off her very weak mom, no worse for the experience. It would take weeks before all my bruises were healed but that seemed like a small price to pay. So fast forward five years and Popcorn is living with some friends of ours. Her original adopter was unable to keep her but found her an amazing home with people we didn’t know at the time. Joe and Melissa also adopted another horse from us named Snort. Snort is a very special case and suffers from “Moon Blindness” and is progressively going blind. He ended up on the ranch because my vet didn’t want to put down a horse with so much life because of a slight disability. She talked the owners into giving the horse to me rather than ending his life. Joe and Melissa needed a horse to ride with Popcorn to help her build confidence and Snort needs a horse to ride with to help him find his way so it was a perfect match. Now Joe and Melissa both have a horse they can ride and both of the horses have a buddy to ride with and everyone is happy. So Sunday afternoon we all headed up to Joe and Melissa’s place so Olivia could ride Popcorn for the very first time. It had been nearly four years since Olivia had seen Popcorn and they had both grown so much but they greeted each other like old friends. Popcorn nuzzled all over Olivia’s face and shoulders then tried to take just a little nip to make sure it really was her old friend. She received the appropriate smack followed by a quick pat and the time that had passed since their last meeting just melted away. Melissa rode snort and Liv rode popcorn and as the two of them headed out across the range I was struck by how much each of those horses had given to the people who had shared their lives. We so often look at our relationships with horses in the terms of us providing for them when in reality they are so often the ones providing for us. After a short ride we had to get back to the ranch to have yet another horse experience for the day.

Big Joe’s First Ride

Big Joe was also rescued in a snow bank and he too had been abandoned in mountains and was nearly starved. Joe’s starvation caused serious long term digestive issues which after three years of treatment have healed to a very manageable point. He does have some special dietary needs and requires a little extra monitoring but aside from that, is a normal happy healthy productive member of the herd. Like many his weaknesses have built strength in character and he is one of the most thoughtful and expressive horses I have ever had the privilege to be around. Having a job and helping humans gives him such joy. He is the first to the gate if he sees a halter and always volunteers to go wherever we are going and does whatever we want. He is the horse you teach people to ride on and they get off feeling like they are expert riders because he has gone out of his way to do what he knows is right no matter how poorly they ask. Every barn should have a horse like Joe and every barn wants a horse like Joe so it was very difficult for me to admit it was time for Joe to move on to his forever home. I had such high standards for who could care for Joe’s special needs that I really didn’t think he would ever leave the ranch and that was fine with me. But I do know, no matter how well I care for them and how important they are to me the best thing for them is finding them a home where they are the top priority and one of two or three horses not one of twenty. A friend of mine recommended a friend of hers adopt Joe. It was a perfect match. She had the skills and knowledge to care for his special needs and he had the skills and knowledge to care for her needs. Although she is a true horse professional and has been around horses for most of her life she has developed some fear issues as a result of some accidents. Now fear is a dangerous thing around horses because it makes horses dangerous. It is impossible to safely work around horses in a state of fear. That being said horses are big strong animals that have the ability to hurt, maim and kill us so some fear is good. Keeping a balance between respectful fear and terror is so important if you want to be around horses. So again it will be the horse who is the teacher and the provider in this relationship. She will learn to trust again because Joe is trustworthy and her fears will subside as Joe proves ride after ride that he has no intentions of causing her any harm. In return she will care for his needs and provide him a with a safe loving environment and together they will both be able to move forward. So with some sadness but greater joy I sent Joe on to his forever home where he will have love, care and most importantly for him a job that he is good at.

Finally we needed some entertainment. Ray Wiley Hubbard played in Albuquerque for the first time in recent memory. He is an amazing musician, poet, performer and human. His songs are dark and musing while his character is full of light and life. Sitting in the theater listening to his stories about his life and the challenges he’s faced and how by facing his fears he has been able to live a quality life. He quoted some self help book he read that said “Fear is the dragon that guards our most precious treasures”. My mind instantly

went to Big Joe, Snort and Popcorn each of them had dealt with fear in their own way and each of them had showed me the treasure that lay behind that fear once the dragon was removed. Now each of them is helping a human slay dragons of fear and I know there will be treasures on the other side. Throughout planing for Journey Europe people have asked me if I’m afraid or what am I most afraid of and they always seemed surprised when I say I’m not afraid. I have concerns and there will be events that occur that scare me but I no longer need a dragon to guard my treasures thanks to the countless horses who have taught me to live without fear. The other great line of the evening from Ray was “the days my gratitude exceeds my expectations are good days”. Watching Olivia and Melissa ride Popcorn and Snort was a good day and I continue to be so grateful for the opportunities horses have brought into my life and so with that in mind I’m going to continue planning Journey Europe remembering to set my gratitude higher than my expectations and to leave the dragons in the fairy tales where they belong.

Karen, Liv and Ray Wylie Hubbard after the show.

The Only Certainty in Life is Change – Journey Europe Blog Update

News Desk — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 09:52:01 +0000

I have two very strong positive qualities, tenacity and flexibility. Some may define them as stubbornness and irresponsible spontaneity but I choose to look at the positive impact these qualities have on my life. The main difference between stubbornness and tenacity is the motivation behind the action. Tenacity is the refusal to quit or the insistence to go on while stubbornness is the refusal to start or the insistence to quit. It stands to reason that if I’m tenacious enough to keep moving toward my goal I need to be flexible enough to change to my plan accordingly. My ability and willingness to change plans or direction while still moving forward is very unsettling for some and misunderstood by many. After a lifetime of working in environments that require me to think quickly, clearly and react appropriately I have developed what my husband refers to as a “smokin’ hot processor” for a brain. Basically I just think fast. This allows me to react quickly if needed or slower and with a more measured response without sacrificing momentum. Over the past week I have been trying to balance my tenacity, flexibility and reaction speed to the changes occurring with Journey Europe. On some days I have enjoyed great success while other days I have failed miserably but as is my nature I have continued to move forward and keep a strong eye on the goals I have set out to accomplish.The reason behind the changes is not important and I want to publicly thank everyone who has helped, emailed, supported and followed Journey Europe for the kindness and generosity of spirit they have shown us. Journey Europe would not be possible without the army of kind souls willing to give freely of their time and expertise to this project. Knowing and experiencing this is what gives me the unwavering faith that together we can improve our relationships with and understanding of horses around the world. But enough with the babbling let me share the changes we have made.
Journey Europe will now be departing from Italy instead of Ireland. There are some tremendous benefits to beginning in Italy not the least of which is the weather. As the UK and Ireland sit blanketed in snow we will be leaving for Italy in just over a week. This will allow us to spend plenty of time training and conditioning our horses in relatively comfortable, dry conditions. Considering the fact we will be spending the better part of six months outdoors, starting warmer and drier is a bonus. Starting in Italy also allows us to start where so many horses end. An interesting law about the ability to label a product “Made in Italy” means the horses they use for salami and other processed meat products must be slaughtered in Italy. So horses are regularly transported from throughout Europe to Italy for the express purpose of being made into salami. Our goal is to take three such horses bound for these sausage factories and turn their journey around. By taking three horses whose value had been diminished being listed as a meat by product in salami “Made in Italy” and returning them as productive useful members of the equine world we can help show the value in what we are routinely treating with so little respect. We will also be adding a conditioning report to our blog as a way to quantify the changes in the physical and mental conditions of our horses as our journey progresses. We want to help people gain a better understanding of equine needs in relation to diet, exercise and mental stimulation. By documenting and compiling data about our horses, diets, exercise levels and training over the entire course of Journey Europe we should be able to provide some valuable insights and possibly dispel some common myths.
There will be a some other changes in our route as a result of traveling North to South. First we will arrive in the Alps prior to the snow leaving. This will force us to transport the horses via train or van across the sections that will not be rideable so early in the year. Again as disappointing as it is miss the high mountain riding we will gain a little extra time so we will be able to ride through Germany and Belgium which we had originally thought we would miss. Our final destination will now be the Uffington White Horse. It seems so appropriate to end our epic journey of raising awareness to the conditions that horses are living and dying in world wide at one of the most ancient symbols of man’s relationship with the horse. Our route has changed but our goals and mission have remained true and intact. Our horses have changed but their needs and their hardships are all too similar. Our story will be different but I think possibly stronger as is usually the case when adversity strikes. So hopefully our friends and supporters will remain. There will be so many stories to share in the coming weeks as we introduce our new horses and post our new route. There will be announcements of events being arranged in connection with Journey Europe and ways people can get involved and join Journey Europe in raising awareness and money for neglected and abandoned horses throughout Europe.
Thank you all for the kindness and support you have shown us. We are grateful for all the help we have received in making these changes possible. We are always open to suggestions, ideas and comments on ways of improving the lives of horses.