Giant Step Forward!

This will be brief. But I want to share what felt to me like a huge step forward for Angel. This past Saturday, March 19, was a cold, windy, stormy day. Debbie Krimsley was scheduled to give Angel a cranio-sacral bodywork session and I wanted to cancel. It was very cold and very windy and I thought Angel would be upset by the storm and agitated and jumping around. So I suggested to Debbie that we cancel and she said, "I'm game to do it." So I met Debbie at Angel's paddock, expecting the session to last less than fifteen minutes because I thought Angel would be too agitated from the wind.

Debbie said that Angel walked up to greet her when she arrived, which is a huge improvement. Until very recently, Angel would turn tail and run away from everyone but the bringer of dinner.

The summary is, Angel stood still, quiet and visibly happy, for one hour and fifteen minutes while Debbie worked on her. Debbie was able to touch and massage body areas she has not been able to touch before. She was even able to massage her poll, forehead, jaws and ears! Woohoo!! That was a big first.

Angel had her head down, licking and chewing, throughout the entire session. She usually had one foot relaxed and resting, and she stood rock still while the gale blew around her. She genuinely seemed happy. Angel's response to this session made me think there may be hope for her after all.

I wrote Debbie an email to tell her thank you for coming out in the freezing cold and wind to donate a session to Angel. She wrote back, "It's my pleasure! She's such a doll and it's a privilege to see her blossom under your care. I'm really excited by today's progress." I was really excited about the day's progress also!

For one hour and fifteen minutes Angel allowed Debbie to mess around with her head, her withers, her back, her ribs and various acupressure points and she did not pin her ears once or threaten to kick once. That is HUGE progress! She looked like a quiet, confident, relaxed, well-behaved backyard horse. I was thrilled and amazed. Debbie is a quiet, confident, brave and sensitive horsewoman and she has clearly won Angel's trust. It was very cool to watch.

There are no photos from the day because I was so cold I didn't want to mess around with a camera. And the driving rain and wind made it all look pretty dismal. But Miss Angel was a shining star. She seemed to realize that Debbie is a good person there to help her and she seemed to relax and enjoy the attention. For Angel to stand quietly for one hour and fifteen minutes without pinning her ears or threatening to kick once was as big a transformation as the "My Fair Lady" scene where Eliza Doolittle passes as a lady at the Embassy Ball. "The rain in [Gilroy] stays mainly in the plain!" Maybe she should be called "Eliza."