Unedited Casey

Just got a Flip camcorder. And Kim has requested a video of Casey, her namesake, and storytelling. Here is the unedited, unfiltered, rough cut of our first attempt to sit down with Casey and the camcorder LOL. I'll work on figuring out how to use editing software. Promise!

Undemanding time in the snow

With all the snow there is in the paddock I think I going to try and widen the paths, already trampled areas and around water trough. But a little bit each day. Hopefully. I happen to glance at the Friesians (3) paddock and it is trampled almost smooth. Maybe I'll ask M if I can borrow one to help me.

Both Cici and Casey greet me at the gate. This is definitely habit forming. And we nuzzle a while. Then I go off on my rounds. Shovel out their eating area, work on the path to Cici's hanging out with Cheeta place and also enlarge that space. Then dig out the other gate and around the water trough. Exhausted.

I get my folding camp chair that hangs in the shed and set it up for a bit of rest and undemanding time. Of course I set it down on a path. Get comfortable and think, "Hey great time and place for picture and video taking." And I have remembered to bring my camera. Cici is hanging out with Cheeta at the fence, enjoying (I hope) the larger area I have just shoveled out, and Casey is at the far end of the track watching me.


Get thinking that maybe Cici would like to hang out without her turnout. So I get up and take it off. Hang it on the gate and go back to stand with her. Casey removes it from the gate and is now trampling it. I go back to hang it up on the gate and turn around to go back to my chair...


Once I've brushed all the snow off I sit down again. Cici walks over to me on my left and starts nuzzling me and looking for treats. Casey is watching and since he is sure I'm giving out treats comes up the path on my right. Who's undemanding time is this? I just want to sit and they sure are demanding LOL.

I keep backing Casey up out of teeth range and Cici is now standing with her head hanging down, nose nuzzling my hair. This is heaven.

Of course Casey creeps into nipping range and disturbs the tranquility. Cici goes back to checking me out for treats. And then she decides its time to put your foot on it - only the "it" is me and the chair! I gently discourage that thought.

After another round of just hanging out all together quietly, Cici turns and walks over to see if any hay has miraculously appeared. She gleans the hay dust that is left in the snow and then sees my snow shovel and decides to help out.

Doing vs Being

I've been reading "Gallop to Freedom, training horses with the founding stars of Cavalia" by Magali Delagdo and Frederic Pignon. And Fred talks about observing and seeing what your horse is like, how she stands, how she breathes, how she holds her head, ears, eyes. He suggests trying different ways of touching and see what they like and dislike. And how to allow them to be themselves. And to be together with them. And some much more.

Today's undemanding time I thought I'd observe Cici. And try different ways of touching, scratching her. It is cold and muddy today. She has her blanket on and her neck and jaws are covered in dry mud. So I start to scratch the mud off of her. But she moves her head away. Hmmm, how interesting. I stand next to her quietly. And she stands next to me. I am noticing that when she chews she does it for much longer than before. I used to be happy if she did three chews. Now, well here I find myself counting, she will do six or seven. Notice I'm already doing things. Trying to get the mud off. Counting her chewing.

As the time passes my arm is getting tired so I go sit on the rock. She walks over to me. And quietly stands over me. I reach up to work some more on the dry mud. She moves her head out of the way. I drop my hand. I just sit. She swings her head over my head. Just breathing in my hair. She nuzzles my shoulder and starts to groom it LOL! But I have to sit still. Slowly I am hearing her. Quiet time. Just be.

She is teaching me to just be in the moment. No plans, no doing things, just be. Who is the master and who is the student now?

Continued undemanding time

Friday Cici, Casey and on the other side of the fence Bella, were all hanging out together. I walked into the paddock and after Cici greeted me I walked to the rock and sat down. Cici took a few moments then left Casey and Bella and walked over to hang out with me. Bella even nickered to her but she stayed by my side. How cool is that!

And today, Sunday she was standing in the shed. I came to the gate at since she looked at me I took that as permission to enter. Thinking back I could have waited at the gate to see what woud happen. Hmmm how interesting. I sat down and Casey came over. Started lipping my knee so I backed him up. Then I invited him in closer. Again lipping, which leads to nipping so I backed him up. By now Bella (mare in heat who has become his girl friend..an aside she is 16.3 and he is a very small mini) was at the fence making eyes at him so he backs and wanders over to her.

He nips at her through the fence. Can only reach up her arm pits and along bottom of her barrel. She squeals but stays put. Then noses touch, another nip and she turns to walk away. Casey saunders away from her, staying on the fence line and she completes a circle to follow him! Crafty devil is he. I can learn a lot watching this little guy.

All this while Cici is hanging out in the shed behind me, away from the fall weather flies that are biting. I am not paying her any attention as I am engrossed in Casey antics. I've been in the paddock maybe 10 minutes. I glance over at her and she walks out of the shed to where I am sitting on the rock. Sigh.

After about 15-20 minutes of rock sitting and hanging out with my girl I get up and walk away from her to see what she will do. She thinks about it a little while and then slowly walks to me. We stand together for a little bit and then I walk away again. She thinks some more and follows me. Then she walks off to Casey and Bella. I waited a bit then glance at her and walk slowly away again. Takes her a little before she is cutting across the paddock to my side.

More stories on Undemanding Time

Laura: At night I enjoy sitting in Sultan's stall and listening to him chew his hay, every few bites he swings his head over towards me and just touches my knee, I rub his face, he closes his eyes and then slowly returns to his hay...we repeat this over and over. Just last night for the first time I sat at the open stall doorway of Roo. I think I may have told you that he got right brained and unseated his trainer and she fractured her sacrum, so I am restarting him 100% naturally and she, luckily, is on board with this...anyway, Roo was eating and looking at me out of his right eye like he wasn't sure why I was sitting in the doorway and finally he left his hay and came over and sniffed me, I rubbed his face, he only allowed one pat on his face and turned away back to his hay...but this was huge for him, he is the fancy dressage dutch warmblood that had nothing but "make" in his 11 years of life...it's alot to undo but his trust in humans and his confidence are starting to come out.

Kris: Undemanding time is something isn't it? I went over planning on riding doing some finesse and freestyle today and I got there and there was some kids playing around the barn and I just was not in the mood to be bothered today so I took Chicle for a walk to find some grass. I figured the kids would be gone when I got back and I would ride then. Well, we ended up being gone for 2 hours. we found lots of good grass. I sat on the fence and he placed himself next to me like he was saying get on. I thought oh that's funny I'll scratch his back. He moved away. Hhmm interesting, what is he looking for? Scratched again when he moved close, this time he swished his tail at me. Ok he didn't want a scratch so I got on. Yep that was it. We moseyed all over the place eating grass. It was so relaxing I couldn't believe I was out for 2 hours. I was in the best mood the rest of the day.

Undemanding time

The most wonderful thing is coming out of the accident. I am spending lots and lots of not doing anything time with Cici and Casey. Spent lots of time being either nibbled on by Casey or ignored by Cici. But I continue to sit. Sometimes I stand next to Cici and scratch her all over til she walks away.

On Saturday it was sunny blue skies and she was just standing still. I walked up to her left side and started scratching her withers. Moved up her neck to her no-no muscles and then began to work on her jaws. She stood still, eyes half closed.

Then she s l o w l y shifted her weight back and took maybe two steps backwards. I was thinking okay guess this session is over. But once her nose was past me she walked forward two steps. All I did was turn around 180 and began to scratch her right side. Eyes closed she sighed.

For about an hour she kept positioning herself for me to scratch, shoulders, hips, butt, jaw. Sometimes she would walk forward then turn back, sometimes she backed then walked forward! This was soooo wonderful.

On Sunday I wondered if it would happen again. When I walked into her paddock she walked to greet me. I went to scratch her but she walked away. Okay I thought, I'll just go sit on the large rock. I walked to rock and she turned and followed. We spent the next hour soaking up the sun. She stood with her head over me, sometimes dropping it to nuzzle my hair or ear or groom my right shoulder at bit. I kept the flies off her legs with my carrot stick. Lots of licking, chewing. We even had yawning. She started it and I got caught up and yawned and she yawned and I yawned. WoW!

Yesterday, Tuesday, I got there late in the afternoon. Hay time was soon. Usually she stands by the gate watching and waiting. I went and sat on my rock chair. She came and stood over me. Would glance over her shoulder at any activity in the vicinity of the barn, but stayed with me. Allowed Casey to join us. So the three of us just hung out together.