Hannah fell in love with Kami over a year ago but was afraid to ride. Rather than give up on her dream of riding Kami, she learned to teach Kami tricks and to play with her at liberty, learning a lot about reading Kami’s emotions and using her body language to communicate with Kami. Finally, she took the leap of riding Mystic, learning to communicate with her seat and legs. She even rode him bridle-less to help convince herself that he would stop to her sigh. Today, Kami came to the gate and asked that Hannah ride her, not Mystic, and Hannah rode Kami for the first time. Kami is more sensitive to Hannah’s emotions than Mystic. When Hannah tightens, Kami does too, pinning back her ears. Hannah must find confidence and relaxation to make this dream come true. She is on that path. I am very proud of them both. Music “Heart in Your Hands” by Mary Ann Kennedy, is used with the permission of the artist.

It is shedding season and Tori is itchy.  She asked me to scratch her and reciprocated by grooming me in return.  After I gave her relief from one itch, she identified another, then lifted her hind leg to ask me to scratch it too!  It is so much fun making your equine friend feel good!  “Horses and Life” by Mary Ann Kennedy is the perfect background music and is used with the permission of the artist.

Kami volunteers to do liberty with me when I am riding Tori, weaving the cones, circling, stopping and doing a figure eight.  I didn’t teach Kami to do this by driving her next to us with a whip.  Mirroring us was Kami’s idea.  All I did was wait for her if she fell behind and sigh her to a halt if she got ahead and praise her for staying with us.  I am in awe of this little mare!  The “Language of Love” by Mary Ann Kennedy is perfect for this video and is used with the permission of the artist.

I am happy to announce that Maia was safely delivered to Anne Frankowski in Hamburg, Germany.  It was a long trying journey, with almost two months of quarantine in Dallas, Texas and a flight to Frankfort, but she has found her permanent home with the girl of her heart.  Anne was kind enough to Skype with us so we got to share in their happy reunion.  I am so pleased that these two are together at last.  I look forward to hearing about all their adventures and seeing regular photos and videos posted and, of course, Ron and I will be going over to visit them!

Maia left the ranch today, en route to Hamburg, Germany.  I picked up this filly the day she was born and have loved her for her entire life.  Anne came to the ranch in 2012 and fell in love with Maia and won her heart.  From that moment on, Maia has been Anne’s horse.  Ron and I just acknowledged reality when we signed the paperwork to join these two together forever.  I am so happy for them both yet I shed a bucket of tears saying goodbye to my special girl.  Looking forward to seeing lots of photos and videos of the two having adventures together and to visiting them in Germany.  Safe travels my little girl.

This video is a loving reflection on Anne Frankowski’s many equestrian adventures in Oregon from 2012 through 2015. Anne was our first German exchange student and returned to visit each of the next two summers. She fell in love with our Paso Fino mare, Maia, and Maia returned her love, convinced that whatever Anne asked, Maia could do. From doing equestrian team, to trail rides throughout beautiful Oregon and at the California coast, to learning to do tricks, play at liberty and ride bridle-less , teaching Maia to swim, riding in a parade and passing their Parelli Levels 1, 2 and 3 together, this girl and horse were meant for each other. This Christmas, our Maia is moving to Germany to her forever home with Maia’s beloved Anne – who is also the daughter of our hearts. Music by Mary Ann Kennedy perfectly reflects the love they share for each other and is used with the permission of the artist.

This video is a loving reflection of Nadja Rietdorff’s many equestrian adventures with us at Mystic Ranch. Nadja was our German exchange student from 2013 to 2014. She fell in love with our Paso Fino gelding, Prince. Together they explored Oregon trails, rode the Pacific Ocean beach and California redwoods, took a Mountain Trail clinic, learned to jump and ride bridle-less, do tricks and a lot of liberty play. Prince taught Nadja to be self aware, leaving her if she became unhappy, returning when she found happiness in herself. Their magical relationship ended when Prince died two days before she returned to Germany. Nadja returned during the summer of 2015 and bonded with our Paso Fino mare, Tessa. Tessa taught her own lessons of leadership and laughter and Nadja’s heart was captured a second time. Nadja became the daughter of our hearts and while we miss her presence each day, we are delighted that we continue to share her life through weekly Skype sessions. We love you Nadja. Music is by Mary Ann Kennedy. It perfectly captures the magical relationship of girl and horses and is used with permission of the artist.

This video is a loving reflection of Julia Kauschke’s equestrian development and adventures while an exchange student at Mystic Ranch. Julia never knew you could play with a horse on the ground or teach them to do tricks. She had never ridden without a saddle or bridle back in Germany. Riding without reins at all seemed impossible! Julia fell in love with our Paso Fino mare, Kami, while we were riding at Crescent City, California. Kami is smart and playful but often unconfident, relying on her rider to give her confidence. Julia had to learn to trust herself and her mare and turn Kami’s reins loose. As she did, Kami’s confidence blossomed and the two became one – playing on the ground together at liberty, learning and doing tricks and riding, first on a loose rein and then bridle-less. As Julia’s confidence grew with Kami, she discovered that she was the young woman who “can,” rather than the girl who “can not.” Julia is the daughter of our hearts and while we miss her daily presence, we are so glad we can share in her life through Skype. Music by Mary Ann Kennedy perfectly captures the loving relationship these two built together and is used with the permission of the artist.

Everyone experiences fear though many are ashamed to admit to it, may even deny that they feel fear.  Being around or on top of horses often triggers fear.  They are big animals, easily frightened and if they run into you or you fall off of them you can be badly hurt. Fear is your brain’s way of trying to keep you safe.  “Don’t do something that might hurt you.”

That said, it is dangerous to be frightened around horses. Horses are prey animals whose primary instinct, when frightened, is to flee.  When we get frightened around or on a horse, our very fear makes the horse more likely to become frightened and more dangerous.

So, what do you do if you love horses but are afraid of them? I suggest that you face your fears directly, but don’t force yourself to do that which frightens you.  Think about what is actually triggering your fear. Is it a particular horse, doing a particular activity with the horse, being in a particular place with the horse? Test out your theory by getting close to each of those elements and see what your fear tells you. Then you are going to address each trigger separately.

Get as close as you can to your trigger without panic and simply stay there focusing on breathing. That is it. Stay there until the thought of being there is no longer frightening. In fact, long enough that just being there seems boring. Note how close you came and then turn around and walk away. That is it.  Go do something else for a bit and return.  You will generally note that you can get closer each successive time you approach the object of fear.

Go slowly. At no time do you force yourself forward. Doing so will trigger stronger fear as your brain ups the panic to keep you safe. No, you need to respect your fear, listen to it, stop before you cross the line into panic and then stay there long enough that your brain realizes that you are not, in fact, in danger.  Your fear, over time and exposure, will lessen.

How do I know that this works? This is the technique I use with my horses when they become frightened.  By not forcing them, they don’t feel the need to defend themselves against me. By staying there facing their fears at a distance they find tolerable, they discover that the object is not, in fact, dangerous.

Say you took a bad fall off of your horse. You do not want to get back on your horse until you can offer your horse calm relaxation. To do that you may well need to practice getting on another, safer horse, having someone there on the ground to help you if you get in trouble. Once you can offer that horse a calm relaxed presence, you may be ready to start over again in the same way with your own horse.

This is how I addressed my own fear after taking some bad wrecks that resulted in broken ribs and trips to the hospital.  Step by step, you move your threshold of fear back until it evaporates.

Getting something done is not the goal.  Getting yourself confident to do something is everything.  That is true for for horses and it is true for humans.

It is with great sadness that I report that Val’s 31 year old Cisco had a stroke and died at the ranch.  For those of you who knew him, Cisco was a consummate gentleman with horses and humans. He adored his Val and wherever he was in the pasture, if she called to him, he would always come to her. He could be counted on to fall in love with any mare who came to live on the ranch and would protect them from any attacker.  For the first two years he lived with us, he never went into the pond.  One hot day during Val’s visit, I suggested she teach him to enjoy the pond.  She got into shorts and sneakers and walked into the pond and invited Cisco to join her.  He looked a bit doubtful, but followed her into the water at liberty.  I suggested that she splash and invite Cisco to do the same.  She did and Cisco learned the joy of splashing in the water on a hot day.  They had a beautiful relationship and we will miss Cisco so very much. Our sorrow is lessened by knowing that he had a long and happy life and retirement at Mystic Ranch.