Leave The Gate Open

For International Women’s Day I am highly recommending the book Warrior Women, An Archaeologist’s Search for History’s Hidden Heroines, written by Jeannine Davis-Kimball, Ph.D. Ms. Davis-Kimball is an archaeologist who helped excavate burial mounds called kurgans in Southern Russia. In her discoveries she began to understand that many of the mummified bodies preserved in the permafrost were women and those women were buried with weapons, jewelry, pots, food, and horses with elaborate headdresses. Many archaeologists at the time wanted to assume these women were married to men of high status, hence their attire and well decorated kurgans yet Ms. Davis-Kimball stood firm and said these women were warriors and priestesses in their own right.  Needless to say, she did cause a stir in the archaeological world with her theories but soon others began to agree with her on the status of women. Her book is filled with adventures on her excursions to Pokrovka in Southern Russia as she takes us on a journey of discovery of our ancient roots as warrior women, where our love and bond with horses began, and how our ancestral women warriors lived and died riding alongside the men of their tribes.

The Scythians and Sarmatians (circa 2500 BC) are considered some of the first peoples of the Russian steppes in the Altai mountains to use horses as a mode of transportation giving them freedom to travel further distances on swift four feet instead of two slow feet.  Their nomadic culture was egalitarian because women, men, and children all rode horses allowing them to expand their range of territory for hunting, grazing, and raiding cultures who were foot bound to the earth. Not relying on the strength of hand-to-hand combat equality in war and hunting was equalized through the power, swiftness, and strength of the horse. Men and women were adept at riding and using weaponry at high speeds from the back of the horse. 
 
What a marvelous thing that humans have a 5000+ year herstory/history using horses for transport, sport, hunting, war, and survival. Our ancient horse culture continues to influence us through the ages to these modern times. For example, the width of car wheels is the same as the width of Chariot wheels. We wear pants today because Chinese women warriors invented them to make riding easier. Stirrups are considered one of the most important inventions of human kind making riding stable for the human and easier on the horse. Humans and horses have evolved over the millenniums together and our bond is ancient, enduring, and ever changing to meet the challenges of the times. It is a tightly bonded companionship that we have carried with us through times of peace, war, famine, droughts, and floods.
 
This modern day as we question gender roles and how we might come to a more equitable understanding of its disfunction, we might ask, “What levels the playing field of equality where men and women can compete in the same sport and the winner is not necessarily the one with the greatest strength but the one with the most finesse? … It is our equestrian sports. So here we are in a world where it does not matter one bit to the sport and certainly not for the horse what your gender is but what your skill level is with your horse. What other modern-day sport allows for that kind of equality? I think that makes our equestrian sports special in that regard.


Sometimes I just sit and imagine what it must have been like then with no fences just wide-open spaces where wild birds flew, game was plentiful, and the days were spent on horseback. It was a different time of freedoms and going to a job was not even a concept. While the environment of that time is gone to us forever, what lives on in all of us is the love of the horse. This gives me great hope and inspiration actually … to know that there will always be horses, there will always be people who love them, and there will always be ways to live a life full of the joy horses bring to the hearts of all equestrians.

So hail, to the Warrior Women, our ancient sisters of long ago who left their stories written in artistic refinements on their mummified selves dressed in beautifully tailored Chinese woven silks, their arms and legs tattooed with spirit animals made with piercing tools and fire ash, and the remains of intricate hand tooled boots, saddles, weapons. And the most stunning discovery were the bones of their horses in elaborate headdresses laid to rest beside them. A tribute to their bond with horses so tightly woven into the tapestry of their lives, they rode them on their journey into the next world. They, too, have endured time and teach us about our ancestral world of long ago.

Hail to the modern Warrior Women who spends her life on horseback. Perhaps we all feel that ancient connection that has remained hidden from view but feeds that long ago feeling of freedom in the world before so many fences. We don’t own horses; we live with our horses. Our roots run deep.

The most famous and controversial mummified woman has an interesting modern life and is named The Siberian Ice Maiden who was recently shipped back to the people to which she belonged. You can read all about her if you google her name. I highly recommend you know her and her story because women always have had and will always have an unbreakable bond with the horse contrary to the fact that history has hidden this heritage from us and from the modern world.
 
Happy International Women’s Day.

Sara Stenson
Lead Mare
Equine Align Academy
Citra, Florida 32113
970 481 5857


 

I brought my horse, Leo, with me to Colorado this year. I needed the company while teaching my six week equine massage class. I enjoy spending evening time with him after a day of teaching. As soon as we arrived at our barn where he would stay in west Loveland, we unloaded Leo and settled him in then we backed our three horse trailer into the slot where the trailers are parked. We put it on the block. It will be there for the duration of my stay.

Often times I will feed Leo his grain by the trailer where I can sit in the shade and share the time with him. A week into our six week stay I noticed a Western Peewee bird fly from the front of my trailer. On closer inspection I discovered the little bird was busy building her nest in the crook of the hitch. I took a closer look at her architectural design and building skills. It is impressive and very functional. Her beautiful little nest of mud, dried grasses, and horse hair sits snugly between two vertical bars above the ball and hitch. I was blessed by her presence but I grew concerned about the hatch and fly timeline – six weeks.

The only way I could see into the nest was with my cell phone camera and I could not help myself. I have a life long love affair with babies of every species … nothing is cuter than nature’s babies. A few days later there were five beautiful little blue speckled eggs arranged neatly in the circular bowl of grasses and hair. How long will it take for them to hatch? I checked every few days with my camera. She would see me come to sit with Leo and I decided I wouldn’t stay to long so that she could get back to her nest. She was nervous when I was around so I made my visits brief. I was  counting the days and weeks before I would have to move the trailer for my return trip home to New Mexico.

About a week ago when I took another picture the eggs had hatched and the little naked birds with their yellow lined prominent beaks were snuggled in close together. Now when the momma bird watches me I see bugs and worms dangling from her beak anxious to feed her babes. I keep my visits brief.

I am still counting the days and hope that they fly before I have to hitch to the truck for Leo and I to return home. The last thing I want to do is endanger a precious nest of baby birds. It is a time in our ecological history that all life needs serious protection for their survival and ultimately our own. Every day I watch, every day I hope they grow fast and become ready to fly the nest. Strange, I have become attached to the little feathered family that chirp so sweetly.

Note: They flew a few days before I had to hitch to the truck. All five babies sat on the horse fence near by and watched they home and nest leave the ranch. I have the nest tucked neatly away in my tack room. A reminder of a time spent with birds and horses.

This morning I was reminded of a saying my first massage teacher used to say about bumping into things and leaving bruises or stubbing toes. She would say, “you always get the massage you need!” I used to laugh whenever she would say that. This morning I was out for a ride on my horse that hasn’t been ridden for a few weeks so he was a bit of a dawdler and constantly looking around instead of paying attention to the task at hand. I kept thinking he would warm up and I didn’t push on him too much. We rode into an arroyo and just as we got down into the bottom a raven flew out of the trees, startling my absent minded mount causing him to spin a 180 degrees to the right which left me hanging on to left side half way out of the saddle. My fingers were full of mane and rein. My left inner thigh muscles and right calf muscles were screaming at being forcefully pulled and lengthened. I shifted back into the saddle and worked at relaxing those leg muscles so they wouldn’t cramp up on me. “You always get the massage you need!” my teacher’s voice popped into my head and I had to smile. You see for the past couple of months my left knee has been strained and painful because my inner thigh muscles felt shortened! I have been thoughtfully stretching them and encouraging them to lengthen these last few months and slowly bringing them into alignment. Now, I am hoping that I did get the massage I need and my knee will improve since my inner thigh muscles were stretched almost beyond capacity. Horses are always so willing to help us out!

The Perfect Ride

Think about the times you just stepped out of the saddle all invigorated and thought, I just had the most perfect ride on my horse today. It was amazing, like the two of us were one! All I had to do was think it and my horse was right there with me. Those rides I call The Perfect Ride.

If you have ridden long enough I would believe you have felt that perfect ride. I live for those moments of great joy with my horse. To me, thats worth all the money spent on my horses for hay, hoof care, vet visits, then we have to have the truck, trailer, a beautiful saddle, several blankets, bridles and did I mention the acreage to keep it all on? Well, you get the idea. We dont spend our lifetime with these wonderful creatures without good reason. We love the communion, the partnership, freedom and spirit of the horse when all the elements come together and the magic just seems to set the stage for the perfect ride and we are dancing together like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Grace in motion.

We know this takes spending hours together practicing making the connection of communication with each other and wanting the partnership to be perfect. That is why we seek out good trainers to help us understand horses and the way they think and trainers to help us see where our riding needs improvement. We make sure the saddle fits, the bridle fits, the feet are correct and the nutrition is balanced (along with our checkbook). Then we can rest assured the perfect ride inevitable. Right? Discouragingly not always, sometimes something feels amiss, your horse wont pick up a lead, she is short striding, cant bend properly through the neck or just aint doin right.

Theres help. I am going to add into your budget one more essential ingredient that is of the utmost importance for your horses well being whether you are riding endurance, reining, a dressage, hunter/jumper, or on the trails (the list is a lot longer but again you get the idea). A few sessions with a talented equine massage therapist can often help your partner move with suppleness, ease and greater range of motion in all of the joints then you are back to enjoying your ride. Regardless of your riding discipline, equine massage is essential to keep your horse dancing like a pro.

I am going to assume here that most of you have read at least one article on the benefits of massage therapy for your horse. I would guess some of you have had a massage therapist work on your horse. But this is not just another: good for circulation, good for lymph drainage, good for the digestion article about the benefits of massage because the truth is how would you know all of those things are true? Your horse is not transparent and you cannot possibly see if the circulation did or did not improve. I believe what you really would like to know and dont want to have to guess about is this: Did my horse improve in the way he moves? When asked does he feel willing and able to laterally flex left and right? Can she now pick up that right or left lead with grace and agility where she could not before? Can he lift and step through with that hind leg or stop wearing his toes off the back feet? These are problems that can be addressed by a skillful massage therapist.

Problems in the way your horse moves most times are a result of restrictions caused by trauma to the soft tissues of muscle and fascia. A slip, a fall, pulling back on the halter, wrestling with other horses in the paddock and other such nonsense in which they love to engage all are causes for trauma and anomalies in the way they carry themselves which affect their ability to perform with ease. Injuries seem to heal and you go on but they dont necessarily go away. After a time these old traumas can become chronic restrictions, which create compensation patterns and habits of movement that are asymmetrical, tense and tight throughout the body. Muscle torque inhibits free motion of joints and sometimes behavior problems arise from low-level pain and discomfort. A skillful therapist can assist in solving those restrictive patterns. How freely your horse moves and responds after a massage is a great measure of a really effective equine bodywork session.

As an equine massage and body worker I strive to create efficiency in the horses ability for self-carriage. The structure must line up with itself, each element being in the proper position for peak performance. When the skeletal alignment is correct, there is flexibility and full range of motion of all the joints. Supple muscles pull equally on the bones, have the ability to move with ease, and are not susceptible to being twisted out of position. When the muscles are doing their job correctly they are not burning vital energy or creating pain. Symmetry, suppleness, strength, stamina, rhythm, balance, and relaxation are all results of a bio-mechanically efficient system.

I used to think rehabilitate first, fix what is broken, but I have changed my approach over the years to encouraging equestrians to first think enhance what the horse has, then prevent injury by keeping bio-mechanics in their proper place and when trauma happens, rehabilitate through massage and body work.

I believe it to be another essential ingredient for your horses wellbeing and grace in movement and performance. When all elements are in their place and doing the job they were designed to do your horse will move with ease, comfort, joy, spirit and vitality. Who knows you just might see him kicking up his heels again and offering up to you that Perfect Ride.

Sara Stenson, CEMT owns Art of Equine Massage and Bodywork where she teaches dedicated equestrians equine massage therapy. She can be reached through www.artofequinemassage.com

Enchanted I was by that family of wild horses. On four legs they were swift and agile. Their quick gentle spirits awakened a lounging deep within my soul. Quietly I asked the beautiful golden mare for a favor. She agreed. Straddling her warm curving back I slipped seamlessly into her form. Weaving my fingers through her thick black mane I gave a gentle squeeze asking for a journey into her world. She raced with me breathlessly into the wind forging a mysterious love of freedom born from the seed of my lounging. Our fortuitous encounter bonded horse and human forever.

Flash Fiction