Happiness, Healing & Beautiful Horsemanship

happiness and healing for horses and people

To Boots with love and yes he’s gone…

General ·

There were no ropes or anything for Mel to lay him down in the photo above (taken 20 years ago), just a gentle supporting of the head as she took him from sitting to laying.

Continuing from the previous post – if you haven’t seen it:

To Boots with love…

Boots had a wonderful upbringing.  When it was time to integrate Copper and Boots into the rest of the herd, Copper stepped up from bottom of the pecking order to being fierce mamma.  It was interesting to watch how tolerant the whole herd were of Boots’s shenanigans as he was growing up – things that they wouldn’t have tolerated in an older horse.  There was lots to learn about gentle and effective horse training by watching the herd with this youngster.  Looking back in hindsight and with the gifts that Oliver has brought me, they never made any of his behavior wrong.

I remember watching him lash out at another horse with multiple kicks one day and hearing UT – our wise herd leader at the time – saying “Leaders don’t do it like that son.”  Boots himself developed into an incredibly wise herd leader.

Boots being a very generous little horse with tiny Bree and Mel. That’s old Copper standing in the background.

He had a wonderful colt start with Melissa, whose horse he was by then, filled with curiosity and everything carefully layered into his Comfort Zone.

There are many people from all over the world who have been touched by his gorgeous nature and generosity of spirit.

This is Boots playing foreman with Natasha from Israel who was taking a rest from fence building. He had his nose in everything, supervising, keeping things on an even keel for both the humans and the rest of the herd.  And oh man did he like to keep things on an even keel in the herd!

This was back in the days when Sunny wasn’t quite comfortable enough to do her feet trimming at liberty routinely.
I nearly missed this lovely example of looking after his herd. This is Boots leading Bobby from the big back paddock up to the hayshed at feed time, the third time that Bobby went blind.

He was featured in the book Bobby’s Diaries as a 4 or 5 year old having a very light first start, with non riding grandson Tristan having a sit on him.  Everything had been done so gently and with such co-operation that everything about his start for riding was soft and smooth and willing and above all, kept his curiosity intact.

I did say non rider grandson lol!

He’s been a favorite of visitors from all over the world for his lovely hugs and his willingness to help people experience deep connection and inner conversation.

I’m trying to remember this girl’s name – Suelyn I think?
Here’s Boots mingling with the crowds of people on an International Peace Day event that we held with the horse herd. The horses gave everyone an experience of what it felt like to connect to others in way that could actually promote world peace.

I remember Rapunzel and I playing at getting an S bend at liberty happening together, looking for a lovely stepping under of the hind feet and a curve through the ribs.  I could feel a blockage inside myself that was a block through HER ribs in the bend.  (That’s Physical Feel at work folks.)  I was feeling into the block and looking for the release, when Boots unasked, stepped in front of us as we were working and walked in front of us, bending through the S’s exactly what I was asking her to do!   She released the block in her ribs and we were able to bend in absolute sync the three of us together, beautifully bent through the ribs and stepping under with such freedom and power – and not a rope or a line on either of them.  What a gorgeous memory.

All his later riding was bareback and bridle-less with not even a rope. Here he is with Charlie who would invariably find his peaceful place with Boots down in the paddock and then just jump up, have a play in the paddock and then come galloping bareback and bridle-less with a wicked grin on his face.
When a horse invites you on their back like ours do, it’s such a beautiful thing.
That’s Bobby in the lead, Mel’s Buck is the big bay behind him, Val’s Topacio next, with Rapunzel her mother just behind, the name of the little bay at the back escapes me, he was here on agistment, then Boots, UT, Celtic Peace, Sunny and I’m thinking that will be Peppi’s nose. 

Run free our beautiful boy…

  • What a sweet tribute to Boots. So much love for Boots and you too Jenny. How lovely that he shared his life with you and everyone else whose heart he so dearly touched. Beautiful boy is playfully running free and herding up his new friends in another dimension :).

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