Horse Whispering: Here And There

I am happy to announce Julia Wood as the winner of the Horse Whispering trivia that was in ATHENS NOW/ Dec 20 – Jan 2, 2014 issue. Congratulations, Julia! It was fun to receive the many responses to the equine trivia. Julia was the first to respond; answering all the questions.

HERE is what Julia wrote:
“When I went to Ms. Deb’s it was so much fun!! We sat in the barn… some sat on hay bales. Ms. Deb taught us all about horses. She told us the parts of the horse. She used a live horse so we could see the parts on him & on our picture. We wrote the names of the parts so we could remember. Then we all got to brush the horses. I learned a lot!!!

Thank you for the horse brush & book.” 🙂
Julia

Although the requirements differed, 18 young ladies, ages 5-16, who came out to CORRAL CONNECTIONS, received their horsemanship badge from having spent time hearing and learning about horses. If you are in an equine group that requires time at a horse facility, please call CORRAL CONNECTIONS at 256-426-7947 and schedule a session.

In the Aug 17-Sept 6, 2012, edition of Athens Now, I wrote about “CONFIDENCE”. This particular HORSE WHISPERING article ended up in the hands of a horse person in Iowa. THERE in my email box I received my first connection with a NEIGHbor in Des Moines, Iowa. This ‘happened’ to be a timely article for her. Through expressions of gratitude and being encouraged she shared her horse story with me. This fall she came to the South! I asked Christine if she would share her experience with ya’ll. She was honored to do so. HERE is her story.

“Over the course of 3 weeks my 8 year old Quarter Horse, Willie, transported this Iowa farm girl through some amazing country I’ve never seen before at the Cross Country Trail Ride at Eminence, MO, the Shawnee National Forest in South IL, and Land Between the Lakes in KY. We hauled over 1700 miles. We spent over 100 hours in the saddle in 4 states in 15 days, averaging over 6 hours/ day riding with 4 days of it in rain and 1 day in hail. And after a 20 mile trail ride from KY to TN and back, we woke up one morning in Eminence to a frosty 27 degrees.

This entire trip was full of firsts: my first encounter with a copperhead, seeing Cypress trees with knees, learning about tobacco sticks, riding into territorial ground wasps, zip lining, visiting a pawn shop, tasting liver, persimmon, wild grapes, and grits.

It’s not possible to choose just one beloved new place. The 81 million gallons a day rushing through Alley Spring in Eminence and the barn red color of that grist mill next to that multi colored clear water is unforgettable. Also the metal art was clever and “old West” shops felt homey. The Blue Hole in KY held the prettiest of hidden treasures – rocks turned blue from the process used to create Iron Ore in the area. The hues range from pale to teal, iridescent, purple, and striped. I’d love to live on the edge of the serene One Horse Gap Lake in Shawnee. Lunch at Peter’s cave, taking in the tumultuous clouds at Crow’s Knob, the waterfalls at Jackson Falls and Jackson Hole, the Tin Whistle culvert and tunnel are just a few of my favorite things.

Everywhere we went the people were wonderful: the people at tack stores helping me with saddle fitting, the staff at the various campgrounds, other riders, and non-horse people. The time spent with new fiends and growing closer to current ones was precious.”

Christine and I want to encourage you to go THERE sometime.

HERE (at this time, at this point, at this juncture) is where qualifications were met to receive a horsemanship badge because of choices, decisions and interests INSIDE individuals.

THERE was a connection with another person because I was HERE writing and horse/human sparks ignited a new friendship.
The only difference between the spellings of here and there is the letter “t”.
The “T” reminds me of the cross where Jesus cried out, “IT IS FINISHED”!
May you keep hearing and learning about how much God loves you and how precious you are to HIM.
Your NEIGHbor,
Deb Kitchenmaster