Take Care of Yourself

It is definitely spring here at Hold Your Horses Farm, and we four horses are thoroughly enjoying it. We continue to shed most of our winter hair, and it feels good when we roll to get it off. At least once a week, our human brushes us, and then comments "There's enough hair here to build another horse." I don't understand what that means, and I sure don't want any more horses with whom to share my pasture. Four is plenty.

Shedding our winter hair is only one of the things we do to take care of ourselves. We graze around the pasture most nights; then sleep in the run-in shed during the hottest, sunniest times. The flies like the sun, so we like to stay in the shade to keep them off us. This time of year the flies don't bite us, but they annoy us by landing on our faces. We scratch each other's withers as we snooze in the shed, almost massaging each other. Ah, relaxing is great!

We drink plenty of water and lick the mineral block our humans put out for us. We move around a lot across this 7 acre farm because we know that movement is important. It helps us stay healthy and helps us digest the grass. We graze, and at least once a day we break into a gallop and race from the bottom pasture back up to the top of the hill. We sometimes chase each other. It's fun.

We avoid the plants that we know aren't good tasting or good for us. Although those yellow flowers look pretty, they aren't nice at all, and I'm glad our other human sprays stuff on them. Pretty soon the yellow flowers wilt and leave more room for the grass to grow in.

About every six weeks, a man comes that Linda calls "the farrier" and gives us a pedicure on all four of our feet. I have shoes on my front feet, so he comes and takes them off, files down my hooves and refits them. The boys just have to have their hooves filed down properly. Doing this regularly helps us move correctly and protects us from ending up lame from hooves that have grown too long. We look forward to it, and even let Linda catch us easily, instead of playing hard to get.

It is important to take care of yourself. Horses know that our survival depends on being smart, and horses recognize (although we don't talk about it a lot) the importance of self care. I think humans need to pay attention to taking care of themselves too. Eating well, drinking plenty of water, moving around, taking care of grooming, and taking time to relax are all part of a self care routine that will keep you healthy. I think if humans did what horses do, they would be lots less stressed and could enjoy themselves more. Watch us. We'll show you what to do.

Neighs and Whinnies,


Ginger

P.S. If you have trouble taking care of yourself, my human, Linda Pucci, may be able to help you get over whatever is blocking you. She says that usually the obstacle is some belief that limits you from taking the action you know you should take. She calls it "self sabotage." You humans must be pretty complicated. Anyway, she knows ways to help you break those bad habits that interfere with doing what you need to do to be successful and happy. You can email her at Linda@InnerResourceCenter.com or call her at 865-983-7544.

P.P.S. I know you might wonder why I've provided the Wisdom from the Horse's Mouth two months in a row. Linda says since I'm the princess, I know all about self-care and had to be the one to talk about it. I'm sure she must be right about this. I'm the only mare in our herd and I am very special.

© 2010 Linda S. Pucci, Ph.D. All rights reserved.