Finding the way home

Now it been 2 days since Susan, Gloria and I arrived back in Ontario via Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, from Colorado. I figured it is time to write the final post to my blog, although I am sure that the "adventure to Colorado to study equine massage" is far from over!

The last week of school was as expected, difficult, fun and surreal -- all of us were excited for friends and/or family to arrive (and some of my classmates created their own "family structure" with each other.) Here is a photo of me and my roommates, with our "caps" and tassles after the "formal" graduation. What a fun group of people. The "ceremony" consisted of brunch at one of the ranches where we worked, followed by nice comments from the faculty and some classmates (of course, I said something) and the presentation of the formal certificates.

As a class, we had class-shirts made (thanks to Stefanie's dad for facilitating and transporting them!) which you see us wearing in that photo. The pictures was a drawing by Elisa (who is from Italy) and the acronym (FIGJAM) was imported from Australia. As Cat explained to the wide-age-range crowd, FIGJAM means "Ffffar out I'm Good, Just Ask Me". Even as I type this, I am remembering the laughter of my friends and colleagues on this day that was exciting (it was what we were all working for, right?) and sad ("does it have to come to an end?") After the ceremony people dispersed, some taking off directly from the ranch (Kimi and Ken had the truck loaded from the apartment before heading to grad) and others back to various apartments, hotels or wherever -- to pack, show friends and family the "classrooms" around Loveland, visit or just nap. (Jess left after a brief dip in the pool and then a shoe-horn-manuver to get her stuff and her sister and cousin into the Tiburon for the 27 hour drive to North Bay.)

On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to get the car loaded up, and say "good bye" to Heidi. Sue joined us for a caravan back to Ontario (on her way to Halifax), so we pointed our three cars toward Maxwell, Nebraska and drove. The goal was to meet Mom and Dad at the farm (or Boxelder Canyon Stock Farm, depending on how optimistic one is feeling at the time) for lunch. We did eventually get there, and over lunch, Dad asked if Sue and I would be interested and/or willing to work on a horse after lunch. Of course! So, the day after graduation, we had our first official client and customer! Here are a couple of pictures, one of us working on Cody (pointtour head to 9 o'clock to have correct picture orientation) and the other with our first payment. :)
















The whole trip sounded a bit like a narrated version of my life, as we drove by (and sometimes into) the landscapes of my formative years including, (from west to east)

• "....these are the mountains I visited on family vacations and youth work camps..."
• "..this is the farm that my Grandparents lived on while I was growing up..."
  
• "...this is the spot on the road up The Hill that was really scary when we were riding in the back of the pick-up..." (as it was where the banks fell away and there weren't any sides on the road above the canyon -- here is a picture of the canyon, albeit from a different spot)
• "....this is the pasture that I lost the tailgate of the truck...." (If you don't know the story, you'll have to ask my sisters. My Grandpa loved to tell the story, and now I am sure they'll assume the mantel.)
• "....this is where I went to undergraduate....."
• "....this is the town I grew up in..."
• "....this is where Carin went to college...."
• "...this is where Lynette lived while we were dating...."
• "....this is the road I would go on to drive to graduate school...."
• "....this is where I worked/lived at .Western Michigan University.."
• "....this is the exit that Gloria took to visit me in Kalamazoo for the first time..."
  
• "....this is where I taught Faith to drive standard...."
• "...this is the gas station I like to stop at before going over the bridge into Canada...."

....and so on....as we got into Canada, the stories were shared amongst all of the Canadians, so I did less narrating (and we were almost "home" so we didn't stop!) And, we arrived safely in Waterloo on Tuesday night.

And so the adventure continues, and as I write this, I know that I had opportunities of "finding quiet" and experiences of grounded and centred connection with myself, the horses, my classmates and colleagues. I believe that life is about process, and the "finding" continues. So, I'll leave you with this picture and begin my reflections on "finding home"......
Welcome to 35 West Street (yes, I have now seen our house!)....when you get to this point, you know you can ring the bell and be welcomed!

Thanks for following my blog and my adventures.

Cheers,
Liw

Grand kick-off to Week 8

As I had promised, I want to give you a brief recap of the adventures of this last weekend here in Colorado. Most of the weekend was dedicated to playing and only peripherially equine-related. In fact, I may need to go back to school tomorrow to rest up from the weekend! :)

Yesterday, with Stefanie's encouragement and detective work, 8 of us from class (and accompanying companions) took in the Colorado Renaissance Festival. It was a hot and sunny day, so while the Festival went from 10-6:30, The Roomies and I only made it from 10:30-3. Of course, Jessica and I were dressed in our finest medieval garb, although we couldn't find good crown around Loveland. During both of the jousting events, we were "the people" of Sir Michael and Sir Aiden, who were the knights battling on behalf of the King. We didn't stay for the "Joust to the death", so we are not sure if we are now subjects of Roderick (who was an incredibly good jouster) or Tristan. Hopefully, there won't be any troubles at the border next week! This picture was Sir William (red and white) having a sword fight with Sir Roderick. It was a bit difficult to see how the horses moved under their costumes, but we were able to see yet another way that horses are partnered with humans to perform a task or job.
There were lots of different people, wearing lots of different clothes and costumes. This is one other world of interests and activities that I can only visit (e.g., rowing, horses, pottery, beach volleyball tournaments....) and imagine how people spend all of their leisure time and money. Heidi captured one of the fairies during the Festival parade....and there were so many more!

By the time we got home, we were hot, tired, dusty and in need of a refreshing "swim" in the pool. I qualify "swim" as Jessica and I invented a new game, using a Frisbee ring and a couple set of water wings: Wing Ring. It was inspired by the jousting skill of the knights! The goal of the game is to toss and catch the Frisbee, with ones hands and feet, respectively. (Jess would throw the Frisbee as I floated with my feet in front of me, aided by the water wings, then I would try to jab my toe/foot/leg through the Frisbee as the "catch".) This game went on for quite a while, until two little girls (ages 5 and 7) came into the pool area, and we thought they might want to use the wings! And, besides, it was about time for the pizza to be delivered, poolside, for dinner!

Today was another adventure day, which primarily consisted of whitewater rafting on the Poudre River. Kimi, Heidi, Cat, Karen, Jessica and I all donned the appropriate safety gear, and wedged feet in cracks and crevices on a large, yellow, rubber raft to take on 6 miles of Class II and III rapids. This was classified as a beginner/intermediate trip, and since the water was on the high side of medium, the water was moving pretty well! We all stayed in the boat, although got pretty wet and a bit cold (the water was approximately 42F), but warmed up pretty quickly (as long as you didn't stand in the river to get the boats in/out.) A proof of all of us safely returning to solid ground, we took a picture with the "Cool Bus" which transported to and from the raft ports. The guides were good, and the company seemed well-prepared for this trip. Maybe next time we'll be ready for the "Advanced" trip!

Following this adventure, a sit in the hot tub was useful to calm the muscles that haven't been used in this way before. This is on top of the sore leg muscles that Jess and I woke up with from our hearty game of Wing Ring (go figure!?). Tomorrow should be an interesting day for movement!

So, that is how Week 8 has started. One week from tonight, we will have had a graduation ceremony and be heading back home (finalizing packing to head out.) I expect that this week will have lots emotions attached: excitement at achieving closure; anxiety about having learned enough to be done; saddness at leaving this place and these people..... And, I will be trying to find my spaces of quiet, so that I can move to this step in the journey with the intention I started. And, will try to keep in mind that the journey IS the destination.

Lots happening in short period of time - Week 7

One of the challenges of not posting to my blog more than once/week, is that there is so much happening in the last weeks of being here in Colorado, it kind of gets in a jumble in the reporting.

Last weekend, Kimi, Heidi, Jessica and I had an extra horsemanship class with Rick. I really respect what I am learning about an approach to working with horses that can be transferrable, and there just doesn't seem to be enough time during the week -- so we spent 4 hours on

Saturday getting more practice and working with different horses. Here is a picture of me
working with Red, through a combination of direct and indirect feel to do a trick that Rick has been trained him. It is really amazing how much communication happens, between you and a horse, when you pay attention. We could have stayed and worked longer, on different tasks with different horses, but we had already made other plans.....

We met Cat and Sue for a trek to Rocky Mountain National Park....here is a picture that Kimi took of us on one of the boardwalks in the park. At first, I thought we wouldn't have enough

time, and it felt like quite a full day...and it was great. We did a bit of crawling on rocks and taking pictures that looked like we were accomplished cliff climbers and hangers. (Here is Kimi and I on the edge.) Then, we drove up to the Alpine Centre which I believe has an elevation over 10,000 feet. It was fun to drive on Trail Ridge Road, beside the snowbanks that had been carved with the snowplows, and were still about 10 feet above the road! Due to time, we didn't do any hiking, but did get out on the alpine tundra to make snow angels and have a snowball fight (note the date stamp on this snow angel picture)!






It was a great day, and exciting to be up in the mountains, reminding me of times in RMNP with as a kid (when we spent the summer in Estes with Grandma and Grandpa), or in high school on church work trips, and will Lisa, when she was living in Boulder. This place/space/geography is so calming and grounding for me....has been a part of my life (or is it lives?) I can't believe it took me/us 5 weeks to get into the park, and we probably won't get back there before heading back home. Seems crazy, but I guess this is what happens .... you don't get to the vacation places where you live!

Sunday, I went down to a suburb north of Denver and had lunch with my cousin Mary Jo and her family. It was good to see her family, and meet her sons, Noa and Dylan (I can't believe the kids of my generation are growing up so quickly!) Unfortunately, I was so focussed on spending time and talking with them, that I didn't get any pictures! Jim to a snap of MJ and I at the restraunt, in case we need to find proof that I was there.

In the afternoon, we had a 3rd class potluck, this time at Rick's farm. After dinner, he harnessed horses and ponies (sequentially, so no one horse got too tired) and gave cart rides. This is Jess and Rick coming back from the pasture with Black (aka Wisdom). It was fun to have some informal time to talk with classmates and instructors.

As we headed into Week 7, it seems like every other conversation is about a topic, like "can you believe we are almost done?!" Sometimes the conversation is about our confidence at heading home to start our new business, and other times it is related to needing to find time to get the homework done or to complete the activities that "of course" we'd do while we were here. And, it seems like everybody is shifting into transition -- like making plans for the week of June 23, or packing or just talking alot more the logistics of leaving.

When we are doing equine massage (our hand-on class) now Sara and Michael are giving us more "slack" so that we can work on our form and pace for "listening a massage". And, a few times we went into the paddock and massaged the horses without halters, to gain an understanding of how/why we use that piece of tack as a tool of massage. On Tuesday morning, I was working on a "low man on the totem pole" mare in the pasture (as I deduced by a fairly fresh shoe print on her left shoulder.) She was listening and quieting pretty well, although she seemed a bit sensitive in some areas. At one point, I was consulting with Sara about the horse, and she (the horse, not Sara) squealed, turned and kicked out! It happened so quickly, I have to try really hard to recreate the sequence of events...what I know was that I was pushed into Sara and spun around a bit. I figure I was standing relaxed enough (perhaps some constructive residual effect of the 6 weeks of Tai Chi class) that I was able to flow out of the way of any significant danger. Here is a picture of the mark on my arm, which a few applications of arnica, hasn't even been reminding me of the incident. It was kind of a good reminder about how to stay connected to a horse, and also be disconnected enough to not get hurt, and a milestone in this new career of equine massage therapy.

I will close this post with a bit more information about stuff going on at home. Yes, Gloria, Susan and I have found and purchased a house in Collingwood (closing on July 28) and, this week it looks like we have found a buyer for our house in Waterloo (details still pending). All of this is very exciting and happening very quickly. At this time, I don't have pictures of the new house in a format that I can post, but suffice it to say that it has the right amount of space, in the right configuration, in a neighbourhood that is a 10 minute walk to both downtown and Georgian Bay.

Which reminds me that there is alot happening, and lots of emotions. Week 8 will be an interesting one, too, as we have "last" classes and prepare to put the wrapper on this chapter. Stay tuned!

Preview - this weekend we have gone to the Colorado Renaissance Fair as well as Whitewater rafting on the Poudre River....Hopefully, I'll be able to post Sunday night, so that the next post doesn't have to be so wordy.

Kick-butt massage...or something like that

I am long overdue for a blog post, and while it may sound like an excuse, things have been very busy, both at home and around here. Actually, this post is just a bit of a place holder, where I can let you know that Gloria, Susan and I have firmed up an offer on a house in Collingwood (!!!) and to let you know that today I received my first official kick, as an equine massage therapist (or student of said discipline.) I am hoping to be able to develop more of a blog post on these and other interesting musings, tomorrow (Wednesday).

Tonight, I gave Kimi a massage, and then got to work on my S.W.A.G. business plan estimates...that is due in business class on Friday. Let's just say that making realistic guesses is hard work!

I hope to post more, soon!

Gaining confidence, from the outside-in

One of the things that we discuss in our program is working with the horse from the "inside-out". This is metaphorical, meaning that we are checking in with the horse and her body to help her shift and release the tension. And, theoretically, that is how one gains self-confidence, too, right? Just know what you know, and keep learning and builiding your skill set. Then, when you get good at something new, you'll know it and exude the confidence, so that other people will know it.

The past few weeks, as we have been working with different horses (e.g., polo, dude/trail, rescue, dude/cattle-working) I am gaining some confidence with my knowledge of the process of equine massage -- and also noting that I was still seeking external validation. And, while I was able to check out my techniques, and results with others (e.g., Casey, Sarah and Michael) I am still striving to "know what I know". So, as a training aid, I have started the practice of taking Before and After pictures of the horses that I have been working on. Since I want them to be close-up enough to catch the detail, I take a picture of the withers (shoulder) area and the loin-croup-rump area. Here is an example of the impact I had on the withers of a horse last week:













You'll have to take my word for it that it was the same horse, same day, same shoulder, etc. (You can see the small light-coloured spot that might help understand the context between the two pics.) I am trying to be consistent in my distance away from the body part I am capturing, so that it is a reasonably similar scale/perspective. Anyway, I was really pleased to see some differences. Since then, I have captured Before/After from 3 other horses, and the lighting and body does not always make changes that are perceived through pictures, but even so, I know I am making a difference.

Last Thursday, we went to a Dude Ranch where guests are able to be part of a working cattle ranch. It was a ways from the mountains, and while some people felt that we were "in the middle of nowhere", I felt right at home. Here is a picture of a mare and her new colt, which also gives a perspective on the landscape. Too cute!
That was the same day that I worked on a "resucue horse", I called her PB, since she had black skin and white hair, like a Polar Bear. Evidentily, she had been purchased from someone (!?) who hadn't been feeding her, or taking care of her. She looked like a walking skeleton when I picked her (she picked me?) from the herd. When we got done working together, she looked like a walking skeleton with a bit of a lilt to her walk. That was rewarding, too.

It's not just about the boots!

Now we are mid-week of Week 5 and the title of this post captures a thought I have been mulling since Sunday morning. Before I get to that, I'd like to say that I had a great time in Nebraska with my family of origin, which included playing with Violet and Vincent (sometimes in a canoe as in the picture and sometimes as a Treehouse waitress), taking a tour of the pasture and new waterline with Mom and Dad on the BushHog, and hanging out with my sisters. Here are a few pictures of a couple of those activities, as well as a "family that was present" shot in the backyard in Doniphan. The weather held pretty well, and we were able to be outside when we wanted, and inside when we wanted, too.

Since it was the long (Memorial Day) weekend in the US we didn't have school on Monday, but we do have class this Saturday, to make up for it. Yesterday, we recalibrated our perspectives on learning -- both personally and professionally in the morning. This included writing a couple of obituaries for ourselves, which was an interesting and useful exercise. In the afternoon, we worked on horsemanship at Rick's place we'll make that day up this Saturday.

Today, the plan was to go to a new ranch, but due to the weather (rainy, cloudy) we were in the classroom in the morning. During this time, we were able to ask questions of Sara and discuss ideas or things that we wanted clarified. This allowed me to continue to mull over the thought I had on Sunday morning, in the shower (TMI?), at Mom and Dad's. What came to me was the fact that when I return to Ontario, I will need to actively seek out clients for horse massage, so that I can have contact with horses, and get my "fix". This occured to me, as even for the 3 days I was in Nebraska, I missed having horse energy nearby! So, when I was talking to Casey about this, I realized that this sojourn to Colorado for 8 weeks of Equine Massage training has started me down a path that I cannot turn away from. I am aware of my enjoyment of life and my work in ways that have not always been familar and/or accessible to me. So, that is why I believe that this time in my life "...Is not just about the boots." (That being said, the boots are pretty darn cool!)

This afternoon we were back at a Dude Ranch where we have frequently worked, although this time, we went to the back pasture and extended invitations to horses that have been "out" all winter and have now been brought in to get ready for the busy summer season. It is still amazing to me that we can walk into the pasture and find horses that will accept our invitations! So, this is some of my classmates walking toward "our "office" -- another additional cool point to the boots!

End of Week 4 -- already!

Well, I don't know how many of you have looked here this week and not seen any new information. While it may seem like that doesn't give you any information, it actually does -- I would suggest that this will tell you that I have had a VERY busy week! But before I tell you about that, I want to mention that I had a great time in Goshen, IN (and Chicago, IL, and the road in between) this weekend. Here is a picture of Lora, on the way out of the hall after graduating with her Masters of Divinity degree. It was fun to be able to celebrate with her, and to see the friends and community celebrate with her, too. It really does take a village to raise a child! :)

Here is a shot of the people who were gathered at the Open House that Adam and Lora hosted in Goshen, Saturday afternoon. And, another of Lisa and Joelle during a walk we took along the Millrace in Goshen. All in all, a great weekend (even if I did drive to/from Chicago 4 times in 3 days!


Back to Colorado -- so far, in Week 4, we have spent 1.5 days with a farrier, .5 day in an Anatomy Lab, .5 day in a pasture with 25 horses, .5 of a day working on horsemanship and a full day of Business. All of it the classes continue to be useful and interesting -- and I continue to be impressed with the quality of the content and instructors in this program.

(Warning: Some of the pictures below are interesting, but are of a dissection of a horse's hoof, so you may not want to look at them while eating lunch!)

Monday and Wednesday we were with Brian Buckner, a certified (by the American Farrier Association) Journeyman Farrier, who has been practicing and refining his art and craft for the past 20 years. Brian's commitment to life-long learning was evident in his passion and enthusiasm to share what he has learned with us! He is quite knowledgable about the form and function of the lower limbs of a horse, and blasted us with lots of great information on Monday and Wednesday. I learned lots of things, including a bit of history, philosophies and techniques of horseshoeing as well as benefits and drawbacks of different types of shoes and shoeing, in general. bottom. We had an opportunity to really practice this as Brian had a collection of lower limbs which he used as teaching aids. (Yes, he has a separate freezer to keep the limbs between classes.)While the whole time was fascinating (and I have to admit I was skeptical about what we would be doing for 12 hours) there were a few highlights I will mention. First of all, it was quite interesting to hear what we could learn, about a horse by just looking at the hoof, sides and Another highlight was watching Brian craft a handmade shoe, to fit a specific hoof. He was "hot shoeing", and the picture above shows him comparing the shoe and the burn marks on the bottom of the hoof. (Notice that there isn't a horse attached to the hoof/let that is being shoed, there isn't any trick photography for this picture.)

A bit later, he actually dissected two hooves, one to show us the anatomy and construction of the foot/hoof, and one to look at the anatomy of the muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons in/around the fetlock joint. It is at this joint that the anatomy of the front and hind limb are the same. Here is a picture of me and (most of) my classmates touching the coffin bone, after the hoof has been peeled off. It helped to give me a better understanding of the structures that hold the hoof together, even when you have 800-1500 lbs of static weight resting on it -- imagine the strength of those connections when the horse is moving! As I mentioned , the second dissection is of the limb, and this picture shows the distal end of the canon bone, and the articular surfaces with the proximal sesimoid bones and beneath those ligaments and tendons, the long pastern. It was very interesting to get "hands on" experience with the inside of the horse's leg! After spending most of the day talking about hooves and feet while looking at just the feet, then Brian introduced us to his family's horses, and it was great to end the day talking about how a horse moves and stands on its feet with live horses as the models!

Thanks for all of your input to my recent poll regarding content on this blog. This particular post was not really responsive to what you are interested in, but I wanted to give you a nutshell of the range of experiences that I am having here....and I'll post more ramblings and reflections and pictures of me and live horses in the near future.