Thank You Johanna

 This morning started like any ordinary day, feed, coffee, clean stalls, walk Cordelia. When I got back in the house my world was rocked by a message from my friend, Karen that Johanna had passed away on Thursday. 

We don't know what happened but it was a shock. I've been spending the whole day thinking about the clinics I've taken from her. Long time readers of my blog will remember that I've benefitted from Johanna's teaching since 2015. In those early days with Carmen she gave me hope that we'd be okay. 

May 2015 

Johanna loved horses to her very bones and they knew it. When Carmen came home and really wanted nothing to do with any human she was completely drawn to Johanna. And that never changed. 

2016

Even when the clinics paused because of Covid, Carmen greeted Johanna each time like an old friend.  Johanna believed in keeping things simple. Make it clear to the horse and stay out of their way.  She freaked me out at first because she was often quiet during her lessons. At first I thought it was because she thought I was so bad she didn't know where to start. But then I learned that she used the quiet to assess how things were and then begin to work.  when she introduced something new she would tell you to go off and play with it. She never expected that you would have mastered it. Instead she gave time for it to sink in. 

We all know how difficult my early years were with Carmen and I've had tons of help from many people. Johanna was a key part of our journey. She never even voiced that we should part ways or that I couldn't make progress. Each year she would note the progress we made and then get us a little further. 

Quaid also benefitted from her expertise. 

one of may first rides

Johanna was not just a clinician, she was my friend. She had a wicked sense of humour. She was an easy house guest. She retired a few years ago and moved to Portugal. She took two horses with her. One of the horses was one that had been set free in the national park near her Hacienda. The horse was a mix and many horses were being dumped because owners couldn't afford them. This guy assessed her property and decided to move in. Instead of moving him off she took him in. the past few years we talked a lot about an adult German shepherd she rescued. The poor dog had lived his life on a tiny patio, never touching grass, going for a walk or hanging out with his human. She gave him the best life. I know it's ridiculous but thinking of that dog and the two horses she left behind. I'm sure they are taken care of but do they know? Probably.  

So I'm sad.  I am in my 60's,  I know that none of us are getting out of this alive. But I miss the friends I've lost.  Johanna made the life of those who knew her (animal and human) better. I hope I can do the same. 

Thank you Johanna. 

 

Spring Things

 It has been a very wintery winter- cold and snowy. It has been the snowiest that we've had in a while. 

this photo sums up my winter

Things were starting to clear up when we were hit with a blizzard that dropped a crap ton of snow right at the end of February. 

Feb 25th

I needed snow shoes to walk Cordelia because parts of our walk the snow was up to my thighs.  Then the temperature began to rise and things started to melt. The last two days the temps have been in the teens and the snow is pretty much gone.  Yesterday I started work on cleaning up the poop that has accumulated. 

This morning I did laundry and hung it out on the line. On my walk this morning I saw that my ring was mostly bare. And no only that- it wasn't frozen rock hard. 

two days ago the snow was a foot deep here. 

It seemed like a good idea to knock some of the mud of the horses and get them back to work. I was tempted to ride but thought I should probably use today just to lunge and do groundwork.  

Carmen was pretty chill about the whole thing. It was just a bit of exercise to get her going and to check in on her focus.  She's going to be 16 this March and pretty much knows the drill. 

this was her AFTER I groomed. Sigh
Buy a gray horse everyone. They are so pretty

She's not too overweight but definitely out of shape.  We worked about 25-30 minutes and called it quits. 

I then got Quaid out. 

Quaid: what's happening, are we doing stuff? 
We're doing stuff aren't we? 

Quaid behaved pretty much like you'd expect a coming 6 year old who's been confined by deep snow and a mare who has zero tolerance for shenanigans.  He really wanted to be a Quaid-shaped kite. Then was offended when I said I had a 'zero kite rule'.  We had a little bit of 'you're not the boss of me' with some distractableness thrown in for extra spice.  

I just stuck to the plan, matched his energy and had more resolve so we settled reasonably quickly. It helps that he still has his winter coat and it's warm. But I'll take every advantage I can get. 

Quaid: you're no fun

In the end he was lunging politely, leading and yielding easily. 

Later we got a delivery of hay. Quaid was fascinated watching them dump it. Carmen just napped. 

I love being able to have hay delivered

It's early days yet and I know that there will be cold, wet and possibly snow. But today was a lovely and it was great to get back to work.