A Day of A's: Adventure, Anxiety & Australia

Phew! Well I've been here at the Australian Savvy Center about 4 days now and it's been just awesome! The center is simply stunning and it's been so fun to reconnect with Tanya and Carmen and Sue and Shannon, and also meet the new instructors in the area, and all of the amazing Parelli Australia team! Fast Track students check in tomorrow, and Im so excited for leading a stellar 4 weeks of fast tracking Horaemanship here in the country of my birth! Dreams do come true.... Because I can remember coming to visit this campus before I was an instructor in 2009, and wishing to one day lead a course here! 

As per usual, upon arrival Parelli required my flexibility and teamsmanship as the team had a demo Saturday for a local pony club, and they were hoping that in Neil's absence I could be the Emcee! I jumped on board and loved watching the team prepare for their demo. Last night I had a great brainstorm with Neil and I was excited to get to share with the future of horsemanship .... Natural horsemanship! Unfortunately... Upon arriving to the show I could tell that my body had a different plan, as my breathing began to get shallow, my stomach cramping, and my vision blurry.... I sat down, did some trauma breathing, and a few other techniques I have been shown to control my anxiety. It helped a little, but as the demo grew closer I could feel I wasn't gonna win this one :(. Luckily, as I handed off the mic to Carmen, who did a stellar presentation, I felt fully supported and cared for, and I couldn't have been happier to once again realize how important it is to surround yourself with like minded people! 

I watched from the sideline as the team put on a beautiful presentation of the value of Parelli, and the first three Savvys, to a young and very enthusiasutic crowd!

After the presentation, we then all got the opportunity to watch the leading Australian Eventer, Shane Rose, teaching all the pony club kids!! It was beautiful to hear him sharing awesome tid bits like, "when your horse gets upset, and then we pull on the reins, they just get more upset." And when horses went to get a little playful, "rub him and ride him more forward, give him a place to go!" He helped the kids over small logs first, then banks, and then the water! Included are some pictures is Shane and all the kids! 

Let the Healing Begin!

Ok! So, thank you to amazing work by Dr. Britt Harris and Centennial Equine Sports Medicine, we have diagnosed Damo's Injury. And through a few conversations with Dr. Harris ... and my own positive framing, I have started to have a very positive view of that word!

Many of you know that when we began this adventure, I was worried that whatever was causing the lameness was some sort of career-ending arthritic or age changes. Damo turned 17 on June 2, and that's not that old, especially for an Arabian .... However ... she had terrible nutrition as a foal as she came from a rescue, and in those 17 years I have asked a LOT of her, as has Parelli. And because of that we have had the opportunity to present and inspire in 26 States and 1 Province ... lead and teach clinics together all over ... ride in the mountains ... have lessons with Pat, Linda, Walter Zettle and many other masters. So if she was trying to tell me she was ready to be done ... I was ready to listen.

However, through the Ultra Sound, we learned that Damo actually has a tendonitis (or for us layman, damage to the tendon) in her superficial digital flexor tendon ... it is the worst in the upper pastern of her left front, but shows damage in the fetlock region as well. Dr. Harris and I were both surprised at the mildness of the lameness considering the extent of the injury. AKA ... She is one tough cookie!

So ... Let the adventures of 90 days of stall rest begin! As I am leaving the country today to teach the Fast Track in Australia, I have left her to spend the next few months in the stellar care of Maree Stewart and Debbie and Don Stinnett at 4DS ranch. Im SO lucky to have this top notch facility available to me and my special girl at this tough time ... and in Debbie's amazing words she said "you just get on that plane and don't even give it another thought! We will take amazing care of her!" Well, I dunno about the first part because Damo, and her recovery will be on my mind all the time; but, I am 100% confident in the care she will receive! To all of my Pagosa Parelli Friends ... Please send me an email at lillanroquet@hotmail.com if you think you might be able to take a shift of hand walking, or are available for visits or scratches or cookies!

My amazing vet is confident that she will make a full recovery ... and I think we have a few more years of inspiring demo's in us starting in 2015! Thank you all for your love and support!

Damo Update: Lessons of Poise and Possibility Through Injury

"There is an enormous freedom and joy in living a life in the context of possibility. Living in time (past, present, future) is appropriate to an “in order to,” to “getting to” some place—to becoming; living in possibility is appropriate to being. It’s not that it’s magical, but it is magic—a place where magic can evidence itself." ~Jerry Baden

Thank you all SO much for all of your support, possibility and positive energy around Damo's lameness. I thought I would write a quick update to share where we are at now :). She is only VERY slightly off on her LF.... The first and lowest nerve block did not produce soundness, the second nerve block did.... Which indicates something in the Pastern area. Radiographs of the area are in my amazing vets words "Actually, her joints looked extremely clean for a horse of any age, let alone an 18 year old!"

So! We are now proceeding with ultrasounds of the area that she blocked to, to assess for possible soft tissue damage, tendons, ligaments, etc.... And we will know more soon.

My little superstar is as always being her regal, poised, and amazing self .... And Dr. Harris of Centennial Equine Sports Medicine said, "BTW, she was the best-behaved horse I’ve worked on all month!! Thank you for that!!" What a huge compliment. 

The quote at the beginning is meant to continue to inspire me to live in the land of possibility :). Knowing that positive energy effects outcomes! Thank you all for your love and support for Miss Damo :). She continues to teach me lessons of living in the now, and the poise and grace with which we can choose to carry ourselves through all situations. 

I can not thank Dr. Harris, Maree Steeart, and Debbie and Don at 4DS Ranch, Jeannie Parkinson, and everyone else who has helped us during this most recent adventure. The outpouring of support and encouragement at the Parelli Summit was almost too much to bear at times. Thank you all.... And please continue to send your best healing energy to Miss Damo.