Asking for Help
June 23, 2014
I will be the first one to admit that I rarely ask for help. Human pride, human error or just being human is what I attribute it to. But yesterday after I woke up, I went into a meditation because I wanted that day to be different. I wanted help because I had a myriad of problems that were surfacing.
The phone rang early in the morning, not too early but at a time where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be on the phone. I was going to get very busy that day. I looked at the caller and it was my husband’s cousin. He was in the area and I knew he’d want a coffee and a visit so I answered. His client (he’s a farrier) was curiously absent so I figured hey, he can have a coffee with me and then give me his man’s opinion on the things I needed help with.
He arrived just after I’d put colour on my hair so after a quick coffee, I showed him the planter on my front deck that just had to come out. He easily removed it within minutes while I had taken a lot longer than that the night before just getting started. Then after I’d washed the colour out, we took a walk to a leanin’ tree that was just about to fall on my fence line. That’ll take me five minutes to fix he told me. And it did.
When we were done, he went into the pasture because you see, when he drove in the yard and asked where my ponies were, I said they’d be along because he was there. They arrived and he slipped into the pasture. When he was there he took a look at my horse’s hooves and said he’d show me how to create a beveled edge on the outside of the hoof wall to take the stress off it and eliminate cracking. He did one horse and when he was working on her hind feet, Star positioned himself right at the back end of that mare who was getting her feet done and would not leave. You’d better do him because he’s never like this. Usually he plays a game when I go to catch him but this time he’s asking for it I told him. Sure enough I easily slipped the halter on him and he stood quietly while Lyle created that beveled edge. He explained to me as he was working what he was doing. Then he told me to look up Pete Ramey on the internet (on those computers and do whatever it is you do he told me) for a better explanation of what he was doing. On his website Peter Ramey has published a series of articles, including one on hoof wall cracks (http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/support-files/wall-cracks.pdf).
Why am I posting this here? Because my horses were not happy. Flicka the mare Lyle trimmed felt immense relief after he trimmed her. She laid her head on my arm and whispered thank you. I didn’t ask Lyle to trim any of my horses, yet he did. I know for sure it was because I asked for help when I meditated that morning. Ask for help and wait for it. It always shows up. My horses are my life. I love them so much but I have never really had to pay attention to their feet because my late husband was a farrier and he took care of them all of the time. He knew exactly what to do so I never paid much attention other than to tell him that the horses needed trimming. It is my mistake because when all of my horses began to have hoof wall cracks I was made to pay attention. I know that I need to get riding and exercise their portly bodies. I also know that the beveled edge Lyle showed me on the trim will help correct their problems.
I know that life with animals is not always easy. I know that I am constantly learning. I learn. I grow. I make mistakes. I understand. And that’s the way it goes.
I will be the first one to admit that I rarely ask for help. Human pride, human error or just being human is what I attribute it to. But yesterday after I woke up, I went into a meditation because I wanted that day to be different. I wanted help because I had a myriad of problems that were surfacing.
The phone rang early in the morning, not too early but at a time where I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be on the phone. I was going to get very busy that day. I looked at the caller and it was my husband’s cousin. He was in the area and I knew he’d want a coffee and a visit so I answered. His client (he’s a farrier) was curiously absent so I figured hey, he can have a coffee with me and then give me his man’s opinion on the things I needed help with.
He arrived just after I’d put colour on my hair so after a quick coffee, I showed him the planter on my front deck that just had to come out. He easily removed it within minutes while I had taken a lot longer than that the night before just getting started. Then after I’d washed the colour out, we took a walk to a leanin’ tree that was just about to fall on my fence line. That’ll take me five minutes to fix he told me. And it did.
When we were done, he went into the pasture because you see, when he drove in the yard and asked where my ponies were, I said they’d be along because he was there. They arrived and he slipped into the pasture. When he was there he took a look at my horse’s hooves and said he’d show me how to create a beveled edge on the outside of the hoof wall to take the stress off it and eliminate cracking. He did one horse and when he was working on her hind feet, Star positioned himself right at the back end of that mare who was getting her feet done and would not leave. You’d better do him because he’s never like this. Usually he plays a game when I go to catch him but this time he’s asking for it I told him. Sure enough I easily slipped the halter on him and he stood quietly while Lyle created that beveled edge. He explained to me as he was working what he was doing. Then he told me to look up Pete Ramey on the internet (on those computers and do whatever it is you do he told me) for a better explanation of what he was doing. On his website Peter Ramey has published a series of articles, including one on hoof wall cracks (http://www.all-natural-horse-care.com/support-files/wall-cracks.pdf).
Why am I posting this here? Because my horses were not happy. Flicka the mare Lyle trimmed felt immense relief after he trimmed her. She laid her head on my arm and whispered thank you. I didn’t ask Lyle to trim any of my horses, yet he did. I know for sure it was because I asked for help when I meditated that morning. Ask for help and wait for it. It always shows up. My horses are my life. I love them so much but I have never really had to pay attention to their feet because my late husband was a farrier and he took care of them all of the time. He knew exactly what to do so I never paid much attention other than to tell him that the horses needed trimming. It is my mistake because when all of my horses began to have hoof wall cracks I was made to pay attention. I know that I need to get riding and exercise their portly bodies. I also know that the beveled edge Lyle showed me on the trim will help correct their problems.
I know that life with animals is not always easy. I know that I am constantly learning. I learn. I grow. I make mistakes. I understand. And that’s the way it goes.