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Save Corazon's Friends in Montana from being extinquished! Petition to Save the Wild Herd
The Cloud Foundation - Learn about Corazon's Families in the Arrowhead Mountains of Mountain.
Read about current plans the BLM has for the Wild Horses
Past Blogs Enteries
Divine Time is Perfect Timing 6/08
Corazon de la Montana - Pryor Mountain Mustang
Little Horse, Big Heart
Corazon de la Montana taught his first group of students in EFLC work. Corazon, black and brown in color, small in size and BIG in energy and heart touched each person. Before the group arrived I placed Corazon in the round pen. He stood and watched as the cars slowly drove down the long driveway.
Once all of the participants were seated outside of the round pen Corazon walked over to them and stood silently. Slowly his eyes gazed upon each person blinking occasionally. I asked the group what they were experiencing with Corazon; no one spoke. They all continued to stare at Corazon as if they were in a trance. I waited another few minutes and asked again, a few people offered a few words such as powerful, intense, heart warming, penetrating and big.
One at a time, each person entered the round pen to engage in Active EFLC work with Corazon. We had spent four days during the Level Two EFLC Apprenticeship program studying and practicing the key concepts in shifting from reflective work to active work. Each participant understood the importance of aligning one’s heart, intention, focus and body energy while working with a horse.
A few individuals requested that I stay in the round pen while they worked with Corazon. As they would enter the round pen Corazon would keep one ear on me, and then move directly past me to connect with the participant. He stood and waited until each participant began to work with him. He mirrored to each participant the power of his or her intention and alignment as he offered them exactly what they had consciously or unconsciously asked.
Another participant was reticent to go in with Corazon, she finally did. She said she just wanted to say hello and that was enough. Hesitantly she reached out for him, and he accepted her touch. She then, without question, continued on with Corazon. He did everything she asked and helped her to see when her intention or focus was not clear as they moved around the pen.
Another participant requested to work alone with Corazon. She had entered the round pen, centered herself at the gate, walked softly over to him and placed her hand on his withers. His head turned to her. She and Corazon then proceeded to move around the pen. She did not make him lunge for her as she had learned to do as a horse trainer (she is well trained in Parelli and Leslie Desmond processes).
Instead, with Corazon by her side they moved from walk to a trot and shifted directions at different times, all without a halter or tools, all with heart based intention and energy. She later told us how she had found a lost part of herself, the part that knew what it was like to simply enjoy and play with horses--the part that dances with horses.
I am proud of my little brown mustang. He was curious, generous, and confident in his presence and flowed with each person beautifully. On some level he understood what we were doing and what he could offer to help each person expand, grow, and feel ignited within. He knew whom he was working with and what to teach them. He was relaxed and fully present for the group.
I was equally proud to see the growth in each participant. They were fully practicing the tools by working with their internal landscape as they were with Corazon. Each one demonstrated a breakthrough in their growth and a deep understanding of the progression from relationship and connection to movement and flow. I still marvel at the empowerment and joy that I saw in each person. My heart is filled with gratitude for my mustang and each individual who worked with him. It has taken me to a new level of seeing and experiencing potential in humans and in horses. Corazon de la Montana (Heart of the Mountains) helped each person find a piece of her heart here in the Colorado Rocky Mountains!
Corazon (aka Romeo) coliced on July 5th. After a stressful night he was taken to the vet at 10pm. The vet did everything he could to make him comfortable. When I arrived in the morning he had a temperature and was in complete distress. Once he stabilized they put him back into his tiny white stall. It was a long day. I was alone and the only thing I knew that I could do was to massage him. I massaged him on and off for six hours stopping only to take him out to walk. I had to leave him at 9:00pm. When I walked into my home the phone rang, it was the vet letting me know that he had passed some manure. I was elated.
Unfortunately by morning he was not doing well again. The vet had done all he could. Because it was a small intestine impaction, and I said I would not do surgery, the only option left was to put him down. I was exhausted from our intense two days. I picked up my phone and called everyone I knew for help.
Susan Gibbs (my co-facilitator of the Spirit Rides) showed up 20 minutes later. All morning Corazon had been staring me in the eye, never taking his eye off me wherever I went. I knew in my heart he did not want to go, but I felt the pressure of my vet’s opinion. With Susan’s help we decided to wait. She then took over the massaging and worked even deeper in this belly area. Every time we massaged we got noises from his gut. However, the vet continued to hold that he was not going to make it, and I needed to make a decision.
I decided if Corazon’s destiny was to die, that he would die a death of dignity and with the joy of eating green grass before he ventured to the heavens. I went and told Corazon that we were going back to the ranch. I felt better than I had the whole time we were at the vet. He passed more manure 10 minutes later. We loaded him up and took him back to the ranch. As soon as we returned to the ranch his health improved 70%. Two days later I visited my vet, who was still insisting that Corazon was not going to make it. Today, July 25rd, he still seems in good health.
There are so many more pieces to this story; the significance of who I spoke to and when and how they helped me make decisions, how Corazon was through the whole process, and the conflict between my intuition and my vet’s science based thinking. It was a significant spiritual experience for me. It will be a chapter in my next book. It is so important to have your ‘team’ of support and to trust what your horse is telling you, even when it is counter to what science has “proven.”
Thank you to all of the individuals who supported me and Corazon: Ginger, Hugh, Bridget, Susan, Barbara (and her extended pray community), Lisa, Cassandra, John, Theresa, Willow, Eileen, Leeanne and Nancy. Horses continue to teach me the importance of belonging and community. I love you all and thank you.
Every live animal is communicating with us. There is an invisible bond that can form. I know that now, after this experience, that Corazon and I will be bonded for life. I know that he understands that I made a significant choice in his benefit. I leave you with a clip to watch on Utube. It is not of a human horse connection, but of a profound display of recognition, gratitude, and connection between two species. Get a tissue before you start it. Christian the Lion
Listen deeply to yourself and to the animals around you.
Divine Timing is Perfect Timing (June 2008)
(copyright 2008 Kathy Pike)
Corazon de la Montana, a 7 year-old mustang, deemed un-trainable and un-rideable by BLM (Bureau of Land Management), was branded with the numbers 5298 on his hip and placed in a holding facility to live the rest of his life, along with thousands of other mustangs that will never see freedom again. The holding facility might be called a ‘reservation’ for mustangs.
One year ago I adopted Corazon from Ginger Kathrens who has been filming the Pryor Mountain Herd for the past 15 years. She was able to get Corazon out of the holding facility. Corazon (also called Romeo) has earned his keep. He deserves to be honored for not only his intelligence but also his willingness to learn the human ways and to partner with humans. He has demonstrated an amazing level of effort to learn and accept where life is taking him.
Corazon and I have made significant strides in our relationship after one full year of working together. This last month I started to ride Corazon. It has been heart warming, thrilling, and has put the biggest smile on my face that I have had in a long time.
I have spent a lot of time fretting about his path, doubting my abilities, and wondering how long it would take to get some of the wildness out of him. Now those worries seem like a waste of time. This little black horse has had me in wonder, frustration, anger, confusion, despair, and low self-confidence. There were moments during this winter that I contemplated finding him a new home, wondering if it was ever going to come together and if I would have the skills to ride him.
When I reflect on our last year together; the different trainers who have helped me at different times, the times he got a break from work because of my life circumstances or finances, where we were, have moved to and are now all seemed to work out just perfectly. I could not have created better timing, and it was not my job to do so. It seems to me that when it comes to building relationships and teaching others, regardless if it is teaching humans or horses, that the timing of the unfolding of the being, the flowering of possibility can not be determined by the human ego, it can only bloom on its own accord when all of the right elements have come together and when the time is right for all who are involved.
The timing of life can be a hard thing for humans to accept and embrace: to allow the natural flow, to live with trust, to take one step at a time and be on the path, to be on the adventure. Instead we search for the ending, want instant gratification, seek the happiness at the end of the rainbow and forget that all along the path are brilliant colors wanting to be noticed. We want to push the river.
Everything has its divine timing. To ask of anything less would be to separate ourselves from the natural connection we have with the greater world or the universe, the force that is bigger than us. The unfolding of one’s growth, of the development of a relationship only finds richness when humbled by divine timing.
Corazon has taught me so much about life. This week he teaches me the sweet rewards of riding the waves of challenge and frustration on the way to new levels of partnership. Corazon has given me the gift of patience. He has taught me that his path is enhanced and/or diminished by my or my trainer’s determination or abilities; however there is also a timing to respect in order for him to bloom in the human world.
Thank you Corazon de la Montana (Heart of the Mountain), you are a little black horse that is filling my Heart and putting a huge smile on my face.
Buddies Heading to the Barn - Hugh Coleby, Corazon's trainer, leads him back to the barn after our ride. Hugh has made a tremendous impact on Corazon's path and taught him to accept the saddle (which proved to be an interesting job).
Broken Trust….Mended (May 2008)
(copyright 2008 Kathy Pike)
It seems that at some point in every relationship there is a chance that trust will be broken. The question is if it can be repaired, mended, and eventually create even a deeper level of connection and bond.
Corazon de la Montana, sometimes also called Romeo, continues to teach me about the importance of trust in a relationship. His wild ways and highly tuned instincts examine my motives and my levels of leadership every day I see him. I am convinced he knows me better than I know myself.
Corazon is doing well with his transition from the wild mountains of Montana to the human world. He has been with me for one year, and during that time we have spent an enormous amount of time bonding. Sometimes through doing nothing, other times during training, or his favorite times when he gets to eat. He trusts me and therefore other humans. Unfortunately, it only takes one human doing the wrong thing that can break the trust that we have built.
Horses receive their vaccinations in the spring. One vaccination, for strangles, requires a very thin straw to be placed inside the horse’s nostril and then the vaccination is sprayed up their nose. As you can image not too many horses enjoy this. When the vet came to give spring shots I was busy with a program and could not be present. I did not even think to suggest that Corazon not receive the strangles vaccination, instead I completely trusted my veterinarian’s judgment and methodology for administering the vaccination. After all, I had seen him work with Corazon before and Corazon seemed completely comfortable with this man.
Unfortunately, it was the vet tech who administered the vaccination. She befriended Corazon, stuck the straw up his nose, shot the fluids in and then stepped backward with relief and an exclamation “I did it!” and at the same time completely startling Corazon. He was not so sure what had just crept up on him and what the heck was happening to his nose. He was not happy to say the least.
I went to visit Corazon the next day. I approached Corazon in the usual way, not knowing what had happened. He wanted nothing to do with me. Around and around the pasture we went. At times I could get near him, but as soon as I reached to touch him he would take off. I decided it was because I had not been out to see him for over a week, a cold wind was blowing from the north making all the horses rambunctious, and it was feeding time. My trainer, Hugh, came out to help and eventually he caught Corazon. However, it was not because Corazon wanted to connect; he had complete resistance to us.
The next day my trainer and I worked with him. We both noticed how differently he was acting. He attention was not fully with me as he head was slightly cocked away from me. He was reticent to allow my hands around his head and nose. He seemed more sensitive than he had in months. It seemed that we were back to some basic foundational processes in the round pen, joining up and working on relationship pieces.
It wasn’t until the next day that Hugh connected the dots. He told me about what had happened during the spring shots and that he thought some trust was broken from Corazon experience with a human sneaking up on him to administer the shots. Back to the round pen we all went and for another day we worked to rebuild the relationship with Corazon and his new issues about being touched around the head and especially his nose.
Hugh and I spent several sessions working through the trust that we perceived had been broken between Corazon and humans. Eventually Corazon came around. Now, he trusts both of us again, and to some degree I believe he trusts us even more. This was possible because: we were able to identify that his misbehavior was a form of communication (we listened to what he was telling us), we were willing to invest the time needed to rebuild that trust (we had the patience to stay in the conversation with him) and we already had built a strong foundation of trust with him that we could be reestablish, verses starting from scratch with distrust.
Trust is not a simply thing. It has many nuances around intention, honesty, kindness, straight talk, consistence, reliability, and the level of one’s abilities and skills. Horses in the wild extend trust as needed in order to form relationships, belong to a herd, and have a higher chance of survive within the herd. Horses follow and extend the greatest level of trust to those who demonstrate a higher level of trustworthiness. Horses need to depend on each other.
In my human-to-human relationships, I have ended relationships because of broken promises, betrayal, and hurt that I felt could not be restored. I have stepped away from budding relationships because of gut feelings that a person was not trustworthy. Some of my choices were made from a consciousness of being wounded, others from a place of strength and trusting myself. I have also welcomed people back into my life after they have broken trust. In these times I had to find my place of heart-based power, a place of knowing that I would be ok no mater what the circumstance around me. Each time of extended trust or distrust was a learning lessons for me.
As I work with Corazon he deepens my understanding of how trust flowers, wilts, and buds again. These cycles can only happen through the nurturing of the beings in the relationship and through a commitment to understand before judging and to have patience and courage to explore what is possible. As Corazon steps into another level of accepting the human world, and me, it only sparks me to become a better person for him. His extension of trust to me has inspired me to extend the same to him. To be in relationship with him I must be willing to grow.Standing with the Herd - 3/01/08
(copyright 2008 by Kathy Pike)
Corazon has been in training for the past two months. It has been a wonderful growth period for him and I marvel as he demonstrates a high desire to understand what is being asked of him. He wants to please.
It is important to blend training with other unexpected moments of sharing. These moments keep your horse curious and excited about interacting with you. It breaks up the flow and prevents redundancy. Yesterday, I arrived at the barn and Hugh, my trainer, was not there. I decided to walk on out to the gelding pasture. On the far side I saw Corazon. He was standing in the first warm sunshine we have had in weeks. He was relaxed and partly asleep I trudged through the eight inches of new snow until I reached him.
I am a very tactile person. I love to touch everything. When I shop or I am in new environments I touch everything, fabrics, veggies (all the more reason to wash your veggies), countertops, and plants. Many people that come to my programs have this same desire. It compels them to want to touch the horses, to feel the warmth of their bodies and the texture of their coat.
Today, instead of reaching out to touch and scratch my horse, instead, I stood quietly, about two feet beside him. Not once did I reach up to touch or stroke him. As we stood together I allowed myself to enter into ‘horse’ time. Breathing in the air, tuning into the distance sounds, and feeling sunshine on my face, time slowed down. After about five minutes the other horses in the pasture became curious.
A horse broke away from a group positioned about fifty feet away from us. He headed straight towards us and I could feel his intention to come right into the inner circle that Corazon and I were sharing. Corazon continued to stand, not moving an inch. I stepped forward, like a horse, and sent my energy right to the approaching horse with a verbal NO. The horse instantly turned and walked in a circle around us. I stepped back to my spot. Corazon let out a deep sign and began to lick and chew. Five seconds later I could see out of the corner of my eye that the horse was once again was poking into our inner circle, but from the side that Corazon was standing on.
This time Corazon lifted his head, turned his body and directed his energy towards the horse, ordering him out of our space one more time. I stood silently. Once the horse walked off for the last time, Corazon stepped back to the exact spot he was originally in next to me. He let out another sigh. Then, very gently and slowly, he moved his front leg one step closer to me and assumed his position of relaxation.
My heart skipped a beat and a smile spread across my face. As Hugh has been working with Corazon on a regular basis, I had become concern that my connection and bond with Corazon would be compromised. In that moment my fears were dispelled. I felt that Corazon first saw me preserving our inner private circle of personal space from the approaching horse. Then when the horse attempting to get into our space again Corazon stepped forward as if to say ‘we said no, this is our space.’
In that moment I felt close and accepted by Corazon. I felt he was protecting me and out space. This simply small gesture said more to me than if he stood there an allowed me to scratch and pet him. This gesture said to me, “Our connection is important, you are a part of my herd and I honor you.” We stood silently together as three more horses broke away from the other group and came over to explore what was going on. Each one would hit the edge of our private space and then move off. Together Corazon and I stood for about 20 minutes. As I stood there I felt into my body and my whole being, taking an inventory of my inner landscape. I walked away never touching Corazon, showing him that I can also honor him and his personal space and that I do not have to touch to feel connected to him.
If I had been caught up in my thinking head and unconscious of the present moment, I would have simply done the usual. Scratch and petted him, like an object that I get to love on. Instead, my ability to simply be with him, in his way, the way of the horse, allowed him to step forward towards me, even if it was a single small step. One small step from Corazon is one big step for our relationship.
Do something different in your life and in your relationships. If you have the tendency to step forward and approach, experiment with standing still and waiting. If you have the tendency to wait, then do the opposite, be the first to reach out. There is no right or wrong. Simply embrace the curiosity of what might happen if you do something differently. Offer the unexpected.
Corazon de la Montana - Summer Check In
(copyright 2007 by Kathy Pike, photo copyright Kathy Pike- Corazon meets the Herd leader)
Corazon is doing well! He has been a great partner with the groundwork. He now allows me to lift all of his feet, he understands my commands with a stick and a rope and moves around me willingly with grace and strength. He backs into all the gates I can find on the ranch, has been in the indoor arena, and easily jumps over the small jumps I make for him. I have begun to prepare him for the saddle and he is learning to accept the blanket and also some tightness around his girth. Each day we do something different and I move deliberately and confidently with him, listening to him earnestly for when he gets too stressed or needs a few minutes to digest things. The pacing is slow, as rushing a mustang will only make one short step turn into a long extended exercise.
Yesterday I set up a series of logs, with cones at each for him to jump over and then back over. He loved the jumping going forward and he easily backed in one direction, but refused the opposite direction. After trying all of the ways I knew to move and instruct him, he began to paw the ground with impatience and frustration. I felt stuck. Knowing him well now, I am smart enough not to push him when he gets like this.
At the same time a nice man came over to the round pen to speak with me. Corazon and I moved to the edge of the round pen and chatted with him for a few minutes. After he left Corazon and I walked back to the log. I turned Corazon around and he backed over the log without hesitation. That simple five-minute break away from the exercise gave him time to relax and digest his activities. Timing is everything. It is easy to fall into the habit of ‘pushing’ to get what I want. I have been doing this all of my life. This behavior often can lead me to frustration and anger when what I am pushing for does not show up or happen. When I can take a step back and relax, often what I want to happen, happens and with a higher level of flow with ease.
The experiences I am having with Corazon are amazing, and as Ginger Kathren’s told me, training a mustang is like no other experience. She was right. Corazon is not a domesticated horse. I cannot expect anything that I expect with my buckskin Moon, or the other horses I have worked with. Corazon is teaching me about how he thinks and how he sees the world and I am paying attention and listening so that I can best communicate with him. At times it is soft and connecting, a sense of true bonding. At other times it is challenging, his energy is big and forces me to step up, stand my ground, be fully body/mind present and to be the leader between the two of us.
Everyday when I am with him I wonder how it must be for him; to once have been free and now to be in the confines created by humans. Will he grow to appreciate his home and owner? We he someday enjoy the Equine Assisted Learning and Coaching programs? Or, on some level will he always know that what is between him and the vast open spaces and hillsides is me? I can only hope that I can offer his a stimulating life, one that is filled with learning, partnership and adventure, one that keeps him wanting more time with me.
Welcome a New Member of the Herd - Corazon de la Montana - May 12, 2007
(copyright 2007 by Kathy Pike)
A new member of my herd has arrived. His name is Corazon de la Montana, which means Heart of the Mountain in Spanish. Corazon is 14.2 hands, his coloring looks black, with some deep brown around his nose. Officially he is called a Brown. Corazon was labeled as unadoptable and untrainable by the BLM, branded with the numbers 5293 on his butt, and placed into a holding facility. The holding facility is pretty much a dead end place for horses who were previously free on public lands. Holding facilities are a dead end for wild horses. Once there they will spend the rest of their lives doing nothing. There are approximately over 25,000 wild horses in holding facilities at this time.
Shortly after Corazon's arrival an Equine Assisted Learning workshop group of six people, stood about fifteen feet from his area and next to some of the other horses. The group focused on the body scanning process. This process brings presence, awareness and grounding to one’s body. As I glanced around I noticed that ALL of the horses (about 30) in that area had stopped what they were doing and had turned to face the group and Corazon. It was an ocean of horse faces all intent in their focus. The stillness was palpable. Seldom do these horses see humans being ‘still’ and doing nothing for 20 minutes straight! Corazon stood as close as he could to the group, cocked his leg and did some licking and chewing.
Corazon has been alert and very interested in all of the activities at the ranch. On his first day, he stood with an unrelenting gaze on a group of women in the far pasture practicing how to move cows. I wonder if he has ever seen a cow, much less a human on a horses back!
He and Moon have touched noses. It was rather uneventful, like two good friends shaking hands. Moon is in a paddock right next to Corazon so that I can do everything I do with Moon, while Corazon can watch from his own space. Corazon has allowed me to move all around him, making lots of noises and mucking his stale. Each time I enter his space he allows me to walk closer to him. The second day he ate hay from my hand while I was outside of the round pen. The third day he ate green grass out of my hand while I was inside his round pen. He then proceeded to follow me around. Yesterday he allowed me to scratch his neck while he nibbled on the grass. It seems that the old saying, "the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," seems to be applicable for Corazon too.
I am thrilled at the level of confidence and curiosity he is demonstrating. His only training was halter training at the Cannon City Prison program. I will not push him, as I know he needs the time to understand his environment, which is vastly different than the spacious ridges of the Pryor Mountains, where he was born.
Ginger Kathrens, the women who has been filming and following the Pryor Mountain Mustangs of Montana, was able to get five of these horses out of the holding facility and down to the Cannon City Prison where they have a mustang training and adoption program. One of the horses unfortunately had an accident while training and was put down. The other four, one of which is Corazon, have all been successfully adopted.
I believe in trusting what we feel compelled to do. Often a voice that comes from deep inside directs us. It is a voice that continues to speak to us until we take action. Every time I listen to this voice I move further on my life path in a direction that feels satisfying and aligned with purpose. For three years mustangs have touched my heart. Every time I read about what is happening to them anger and tears would surface. Finally I listened to that voice and gave Ginger a call.
That one call back in December changed my life. It was perfect timing as she told me about these five horses that would be available for adoption. Before I knew it, I heard myself say, “Put me on the list for one. I will take one of them.” Since that time I have waited patiently as the dynamics of adoption unfolded. Corazon is now here with me, and Moon. My heart is filled with excitement to experience the path that he and I will take, and how my current horse Moon will also help to facilitate that.
At the same time, my heart goes out to Corazon. Part of what we will do together is to bring more awareness to the horses that are left in the wild, especially the Pryor Mountain horses, so that the herds can continue to survive and thrive in the wild.
What would it mean for a horse that has always run free to be captured and live in small spaces for months on end. Does he wonder if he will ever be able to run again? Does he worry that smaller paddocks with five foot rails is his destination. The plight of the mustangs compels me to act, to learn, to see how I might serve them and people at the same time. I am thankful that I have followed mine. The gifts that this relationship will bring me will be diverse, challenging, rewarding and take me to a new level of service.
Many of you have reached out to me to better understand how I am employing horses to help humans grow and to come to Carbondale to experienced this powerful and wonderful work in person. Thank you. I encourage all of you to follow what is compelling to you, to follow the calling of your heart, to listen to the voice inside that is encouraging you to become the person you are meant to be.
If you are touched by the wild hearts of mustangs and you want to help preserve their presence on our public lands I strongly encourage you to take action by offering a donation to The Cloud Foundation. The Cloud Foundation financially sponsored all four of these horses for several months until the appropriate adoptee were found. This was very expensive. To contribute to The Cloud Foundation’s effort in saving these horses, and in keeping the ones that are free in the wild, please send a check of any amount to:
The Cloud Foundation
107 South 7th Street
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80905
Make your check out to The Cloud Foundation, Inc. and include that it is for the Pryor Boys via Kathy Pike. Your contribution is tax deductible. Its time to take action!
Thank you Ginger Kathrens for trusting me with one of your boys!
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