After the Baroness, my dear horse friend of twenty-five years, died, I wasn’t able to take care of another horse for a while due to health issues (that are now fine) and the financial tangle that ensued.
At the end of 2011, I had a strong sense that it was time to invite another horse into my life, one who would be special to me. I have great horses in my coaching work and treasure those relationships, but none of those horses are “my own.” I had no idea how having my own horse again would come about or how I would support a horse if it did—I was still chipping away at those medical bills— but I knew it was time and that it would work out.
Come January, 2012, I received a video of a young woman riding a horse named Blue Angel to the song “Shoe Fits” played by my nephew Dan Ellsworth and his hot indie band The Great Lakes. I watched the video over and over, mesmerized by the connection between woman and horse. I recognized myself in that connection, ancient as if from lifetimes with horses, not just this one. It wasn’t until I met the woman, Alyssa, at Dan’s CD release party that I realized she was selling Blue Angel—but, she insisted, “only to the right person”. A light went on. “Maybe I’m the right person,” I hardly dared think. What came out of my mouth was, “Can I come out and see her?”
Well, the shoe fit perfectly and Blue Angel is now my horse. I smile, laugh, even cry sometimes, when I’m with her. Her gentle soul teaches me much. She’s my heart horse, healing horse, and also my partner in working and playing with Spirited Midlife Women. And within a couple of months after she came to me, she drew in two women who wanted to connect with the spirit of the horse with her as a guide, helping me seamlessly take care of her board and other expenses.
I invite you to dance with us and the other horses out in the pasture. Call or email to design your own Blue Angel coaching program. We can even do it long-distance. The spirit of Horse is not confined.
Lynn Baskfield, owner of SpiritDance Coaching, is a New Mexico based equine guided coach and educator doing individual coaching, retreats, and group workshops for spirited midlife women (and older) around the world. She is also conducting a yearlong apprenticeship program in Australia starting March, 2015 for coaches and horse professionals who want to become qualified Equine Guided Coaches. www.equinecoaching.com.
© Lynn Baskfield 2014
