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The Couch In the Barn
The Mental Side of
Riding With
Martha McNiel, LMFT |
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Kanga Speaks |
by Martha McNiel, LMFT |
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Seeing the hula hoop in my hand, Kanga closed his eyes. With his ears flattened so the hoop would not touch them, Kanga lowered his head and leaned forward into the hoop.
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"I know what you want. I really do not understand why you people like to make me wear a hula hoop like a bizarre neon necklace, but I am happy to amuse you. Just please don't hit my ears with that hoop. It doesn't hurt, it's just annoying."
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The tall gray gelding looked so cute, standing there in the arena with his eyes closed, head down, wearing a bright pink hula hoop. I couldn't resist and began to scratch him behind his left ear.
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"Ooo o o o h h h hhhh, yeeeessssss ... That feels goooood ."
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He closed his eyes a little tighter and looked just a wee bit cuter.
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"Can you scratch a little bit higher? Please? And a little bit harder? Down a little. Yes! You've got it! Now don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop. Keep going. Your hand will be OK. I know you can do it. Scratch harder. Just behind my ear. The other ear."
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"Ooo o o o h h h hhhh, yeeeessssss ... That feels s o o o goooood ." |
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Kanga said, "Those bison are hairy dudes!"
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Knowing what his response would be, I began to scratch in the center of his belly. Kanga groaned with pleasure and arched his back like a black cat on a Halloween greeting card. With a scratch in the correct place, Kanga would lift his belly like he was demonstrating a belly lift in a Linda Tellington-Jones video. I would scratch his belly just to watch the amazing undulations of his long and flexible spine, like a hiphop dancer doing a body wave on YouTube.
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Tall and a little on the thin side, Kanga is an Appaloosa/Tennessee Walker cross in his early twenties. He lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and 8-year-old children are his usual riders. Kanga is one of the founding horses of Horse Warriors, an equine facilitated youth empowerment program in Jackson Hole. Kanga is a priceless confidence builder who takes great care of his riders. Although his namesake in the Winnie the Pooh books is the only female character in the stories, this Kanga is a gelding.
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Wikipedia describes Winnie the Pooh's friend Kanga as "a kind-hearted, motherly character. She takes great care of Roo, and is constantly concerned with his well-being ... [She] is so concerned about Roo that she will always be able to take care of him, automatically knowing 'a Good Thing to Do' without thinking about it. She is not without a sense of humor, however ..."
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After lunch at the arena, I offered my apple core to Kanga the gray gelding. He accepted the treat, then looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Thank you. I like apples. Thanks for sharing. But you know what I'd really like? I'd like some black licorice. Apples are OK. But I really like licorice. Would it be too much trouble to ask you to bring me some tomorrow? You can get it at the candy store downtown. It's not too far from here. If it's not too much trouble, I really would appreciate it."
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I first met Kanga a few weeks ago, when I had the privilege of visiting Horse Warriors and participating in their week-long women's horse camp. On the first day, all the participants were to see which horse chose them. But before the other horses had a chance to chose their riders, Kanga had already chosen me.
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I first saw him standing alone in the field early in the morning, apart from the rest of the herd and not moving. As we approached him standing so still in the wet grass, we could see his legs were cut and bleeding. It was obvious he had cut them during the previous night, probably on wire. He was shaking with cold and fear and looked very lonely.
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Kanga said, "Do I match the snow on the mountains?"
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"Will you be my friend? I'm scared out here and my legs hurt. Will you take care of me?" Looking back, I think Kanga may have exaggerated his condition just a little, playing on the sympathy factor. I now know that Kanga is a very intuitive horse, and I think he saw me looking at him in the field and he said to himself, "Now she looks like a scratcher! Look at that pathetic look on her face. If I play my cards right, I will get some great scratches this week! Remember to groan! Oh, my legs hurt ..." |
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I washed his legs and decided to work with him in the morning groundwork session, just to evaluate how severe his injuries were and to see if I could help him feel better and stop shaking. I never really intended to ride him, because Kanga is a much taller horse than I am used to mounting from the ground!
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But once Kanga started talking to me, he had me hooked. His very kind and expressive personality won me over completely. Kanga is such a wonderful communicator. He speaks with sighs, groans, facial expressions, body language and words. |
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He told me where to scratch and moaned with pleasure when I found the magic spot. |
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| When we rode past bison on a trail ride, Kanga said, "Hey! Look over there! Those are some hairy dudes! Nothing to worry about unless you are afraid of fleas." |
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As we trotted through a hay field, Kanga said, "OK, honestly, trotting is OK, but I'd much prefer to canter. If it's all the same to you, I shall canter instead, and that way, we will both be more comfortable. Let me know if that's not OK." |
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I had the privilege of riding and talking with Kanga for a week. Now I am back home and my new friend is back at work, safely and carefully teaching 8-year-olds the magic of listening to horses that talk. |
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Read comments or post your own comments to this article at the bottom of this page. |
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Martha C. McNiel is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a NARHA Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor. She is the Founder and Director of DreamPower Horsemanship, a therapeutic horsemanship program serving children and adults with mental, emotional and behavioral problems. She is a professional member of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA), the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA) and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT). She can be reached at dreampowerhorsemanship@hotmail.com. Her website is www.dreampowerhorsemanship.com. |
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Copyright © 2008 All rights reserved. The above article is the property of the Author and may not be duplicated or redistributed in any way without permission. |
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