MEET THE HERD
Wahoo
Wahoo has been with me since 2001, I walked into the barn where I was taking a lessons and as he stuck his head out of his stall, I knew I had to have him in my life. If I were a horse, I would be Wahoo, we have a lot in common. He is extremely sensitive, hyper alert and pretty much scared of everything. We have been tip toeing through this life together for 19 years.
We both push one another to self regulate and co-regulate during stressful times. He has a tendency to freeze when he is scared so we work on getting through things together and building our confidence and resiliency. Wahoo likes the predictability of life, the uncertain is tough for him, he has pushed me to find my confident and assertive self to get us both through difficult times.
Wahoo is the lead horse of the herd, he looks out for both his mares, which is a big job for such a fearful guy, but one he takes very seriously. You can sometimes still see Wahoo galloping and practicing his very impressive aerial moves in the pasture. You probably wouldn’t guess him to be 25 years old, he still has the energy of a 5 year old. He is a beautiful big guy with a lot of heart. He requires a strong presence, he loves a good leader who can help him feel safe in such a big, scary world.
Lena
Lena came to me a few years from a good friend of mine. Lena taught her daughters how to ride and now that her girls are in college, Lena is on my farm, enjoying the good life with her best buddy, Wahoo. Sometimes she is seen teaching kids to ride but mostly she is keeping the herd calm and collected, Lena doesn’t get too worried about much.
Lena is about 24 years old. Not much can rattle Lena, she is solid and secure, she has seen it and done it all. She is never really in much of a hurry to get anywhere. She prefers to take her time and conserve her energy, it’s rare that you see Lena tearing around the pasture, but she does like to watch Wahoo be his crazy self. Lena can help people feel safe around horses because she is the quietest of the herd. She has a calming presence about her and kids love to dot all over her (and I think she likes it too).
Bailey
Bailey is a rescue horse that I stumbled upon a few years ago working at the horse rescue and I had to have her. I love her off centered white blaze on her face, I love she has a white set of eyelashes and a black set of eyelashes. She is the youngest one of the herd, at about 10 years old. Bailey was rescued out of a herd where she was with 3 other mares and a stallion.
It was clear she developed some very strong boundaries with the stallion to keep him away from her, the problem was she was the same way with people. She was pushy and aggressive when I first got her. She has come along way, she can be very curious and brave and even sweet when she wants to be.
She is still learning about boundaries, respecting her humans and she is a great teacher/therapist for us humans that need some help in setting and or maintaining boundaries. Her biggest strengths, brave and bold, have also been her greatest weaknesses in her relationships. Bailey can require quite a bit of pressure sometimes but she can also be a very sensitive horse who thrives when she is truly connected with her human partner.
