Laredo
Meet Laredo, a 100+ pound friendly, gentle & cautiously curious boy. He was born in 2014(ish), and he is most likely a German shepherd & Alaskan malamute mix.
He was adopted by our friend Scotty in 2018 from a local rescue, which had pulled him from an animal shelter as a "stray" in Ocala, FL. Before Scotty died he told his daughter that she and I would need to "fight it out" for who keeps Laredo. There was definitely no fighting, only gracious discussion. His daughter took Scotty's other dog (Gypsy / Whiskey) back to Denver and we get to keep Laredo! We are fortunate Laredo lived on our property with Scott for the past few months, so he was already meeting all the animals and kids. Now we just need to get used to seeing this gigantic guy in our house.
An article!! About us!!
Well this is exciting… a lovely mom, dad + toddler, along with the grandparents, including the OG (original grandma) visited Cheyne Ranch and the mama is a travel photojournalist!!!! She published an article about Cheyne Ranch! In a real magazine! Images for your viewing pleasure. Click the link to read the lovely article.
The author, Kelsey Walters, was kind enough to send me my own fresh copy IN PRINT!! I’m a little excited.
I’m in the big time now baby, you can say you knew me when…
Scotty tribute
Our friend Scotty came to live on our property in August. He passed away on Friday, November 20th at 2:22 in the afternoon. I shared my thoughts on Facebook and since he (and his dogs) were such a big part of Cheyne Ranch these past few months, I am sharing my post here on this blog too.
Most of us Oviedens (oh-vee-EY-dens) know of Scott's passing, I appreciate Melissa's update posts on Scotty and I'm so thankful for Melissa and also Scotty's daughter, Lindsay, who are carrying the bulk of the weight dealing with the details of his life and death. Scotty has an entire community of support and love surrounding him, and that is primarily the same community of people that I love, all because Melissa welcomed us both in, sharing this incredible fellowship that she & Allen built naturally and continue to extend.
That is actually the bond that Scotty and I share most deeply, our gratitude for having a place to go where our friends gathered, and a place we felt we belonged. I met Scotty just over 4 years ago and it was mutual love & trust by association, we both loved Melissa, so that was that. It was an easy friendship right from the start. I don't remember too much time ever passing between our ongoing conversations, reaffirming our gratitude and his proud sense of purpose being part of this community.
Scotty worked for us (Cheyne Ranch) for 5 months during the second half of 2018, in the barn and around our property. He was this amazing guy who knew "everything" (except when he needed to consult with Allen), and was willing to work on anything. I was working from home as a software instructor at the time and he'd walk in my office and say, "I know you are so working, so I won't bother you for long..." and somehow it always became a long, lovely discussion about anything and everything really. Scotty (and me) certainly know how to talk. He drove Evan & Sophia to school those months, and they ran to his truck with big smiles and he greeted them the same. He took that job so seriously, he was 15 minutes early every single day! And he usually sent some ridiculously covert operation text letting me know "the goods were delivered" and the volume during transport wasn't too loud
When he moved to our property because he was getting sick this past August, we talked about how he would get better and just work for Cheyne Ranch, because working for "the man" (corporations) was not something he wanted to do again. I had a feeling his time here was shorter than he planned, but I'm not sure anyone (even Scott) knew just how fast-moving his cancer really was. He talked about getting better after he recovered from the radiation treatment and all of the wildlife photographs he wanted to take and how he wanted to teach my kids how to scuba dive and shoot a gun.
All 4 Cheyne kids love Scotty, and his dogs. Evan & Sophia, even Anna & Graci take his dogs out, feed them, and clean up after the dogs and inside Scotty's place. Several evenings, they would walk Scotty back to his place, to make sure he made it back safely. The last night Scott was at our house, Sophia saw him walking around the yard and went and held him, arm and arm and walked him home. Later that at night, he and I spent a long time talking. I remember asking if he was in pain and for the first time in months he shook his head and said, "not really, I got the good stuff, want some?" He showed me one of his nifty flashlights that plugs in! and, btw, can be used as a weapon of needed. We talked about how he (reluctantly but gratefully) agreed to move into Melissa's guest room soon, as in the next day. But! just to fatten him up - and not on the weekend! He said, "my mind doesn't want to (leave his dogs) but my body can't do it anymore (live alone) so there's no more arguing about it."
The next morning I checked on Scott, he had not answered my text or Melissa's phone call. I did that loud knock announcing myself then opened the door. He responded to me! I had such relief for just a split second. My sweet husband had followed me out, and he heard us talking and thought everything was fine too. We made some initial joke (was I busting in on him indecent? ) But his head was leaning over and he wouldn't straighten it out. I asked him if he was having a stroke and he said, "eh? I don't think so." I told him I was calling an ambulance for him, then continued asking him if that was ok? I was expecting him to protest and tell me he was actually super pissed at me and he was fine. It turns out it wasn't a stroke, but he definitely was not ok. The paramedics knew pretty quick they were assessing a man in respiratory failure. Melissa (with Bob and Jill visiting too) was at his side moments later and in the hospital for the next 15 hours!! making sure he was never alone. I was attempting COVID cautiousness (getting tested), feeling like a drug seeker begging for antibiotics for what I knew was my own respiratory infection, and ensuring his daughter Lindsay arrived in town.
For the night I did spend by his side in the ICU, I'm so grateful for that awful bipap machine, which helped his CO2 levels calm down enough so he had several lucid, touching, and, of course, hilarious moments. A few of those moments are probably best kept out of public consumption, but I hope I will write some of them down sometime soon. At one point we were laughing so loud the nurse came over and closed the door. When I dozed off and awoke to him awake too, I said, oh hell, did my snoring wake you up? He said "no (super lie) try to go back to sleep." I said ummmmm... No you are the one who needs to be sleeping! I'm pretty sure he went back to sleep. My overwhelming thought that night was, I'm the lucky one who gets to be here with Scott right now.
Friday afternoon when I joined Melissa and Lindsay at his bedside in the hospital, I just kept thinking how lucky I was to know him, how lucky the 3 of us are to be at his side (during a pandemic!) and how lucky he is pass so peacefully, surrounded by such an outpouring of love.
Defining Love and (not so randomly) understanding more about Equine Therapy
I am not a therapist - maybe someday I will be. However, I do have 4 children and my mission as their mother is to provide them the tools so they can be their best selves. Come to think of it, my mission for my own self is to continue developing skills that make me the best version of myself. The same can be said of all my primary relationships, my definitive reason for being in those relationships is to help others and myself continue growing and learning.
I think this is the true definition of love, helping ourselves and others become the best version we can be. A book I read as a young adult defined love in a way that has stuck with me all these years:
“The will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth. Genuine love is volitional rather than emotional. The person who truly loves does so because of a decision to love.”
The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck 1978
Of course, I’m a completely failing human much of the time, so I am not always operating, in fact, probably rarely, in “growth mode.” But this brings me to horses, and caring for horses, and why I am passionate about sharing the experience of caring for horses and being in their presence:
Because the skills we develop to best care for and be present with the horse are the same skills that help make us better people!
The infographic below illustrates this in terms of Equine Therapy:
Here is a link to an excellent article summarizing what Equine Therapy is, who it may benefit and what the benefits are. I am so passionate about developing the skills mentioned in this article because whether I had horses or not, these are the skills I want my loved ones and I to keep improving!
One key takeaway from the article I have is:
Equine-assisted psychotherapy is often not the sole form of treatment, but rather a complementary therapeutic service to be used in partnership with more traditional treatment.
Something I didn’t understand about Equine Therapy for a long time was if being around horses is so therapeutic, why do we still encounter so many unhealthy people in the profession / industry. The answer (I’m learning) is simply being around horses isn’t some magic potion to a zen state of mind. Quite the contrary actually, anyone with the means (some land maybe, or the means to rent the stall or land) can buy, inherit or adopt a horse. But owning a horse is expensive, complex and potentially dangerous - which can all be very stressful. And being in the industry, most jobs are unregulated, meaning anyone can call themselves a “horseman or woman,” “horse trainer, “horseshoer / farrier", “horse masseuse,” etc. So there are lots of people who are horse owners, or involved in the equine industry in some way, who are ill-equipped to handle the complexities, danger and expenses. Which generally leads to their stress and underlying anger / frustration / denial or fear being on constant display.
The good news is, the opposite is also true. Putting in the time and effort to develop a trusting relationship with the horse brings big reward. The rewards include being present with a horse and the horse trusts the person so both the horse and person share a moment of shared time and space together. Also the reward of achieving a particular goal while riding or walking the horse, whether it is a stroll through nature, a ride to strengthen one’s core muscles, or to walk a special needs client on the horse so they too can experience the thrill - these are all inherent rewards that come from a successful trusting partnership developed between horse and human. Achieving this partnership requires the presence of emotional control, awareness, confidence, calmness and lots of coping and problem solving along the way. We (I) can always keep improving these skills.
Let’s spend that time together, with the horses and work towards mastering these skills. We can all work together for ourselves and for each other. There is no better motivator, coach and reflective partner than a horse.
Body clipping
We are moving into our 4th Florida fall & winter season with horses in our barn, and this is our first time attempting to "clip" them (shave / trim their heavy coats). It's been mixed results, I'm still pretty sure there's horse hair in my eye…
More scarlett
She is lovely! Half arabian, half trakehner, born on May 26, 2008. Welcome to the herd Scarlett!
Welcome Scarlett
I woke up this morning like a kid on Christmas morning! I have been so excited to welcome this lovely mare to Cheyne Ranch! Scarlett is such a beautiful warmblood / arab cross. She has been a mama for 2 babies the last 3 years, and we are going to slowly (slowly) see if she wants to join our horse lovin' nature therapy program here at Cheyne Ranch. Thank you to Robin Cyr @cyrpointstable for allowing us the chance to love on Scarlett. Thank you to Lauren @pitchforkprincess for transporting her for us <3 <3
Scarlett arrived at Cheyne Ranch on October 22, 2020 from Cyr Point Stables. She is a registered Arabian / Trakehner cross and has a famous grandfather named Bask. Her coloring is called dappled grey. From 2016 - 2020, she has delivered and raised 2 babies. Scarlett was born on May 26, 2008 in Wellborn, FL.
Luna Lovegood loves chasing bubbles
This is adorable… Luna loves chasing bubbles. It is hard to believe this dog is 5 years old! Even harder to believe she is so recently recovered from what should have been a life-ending accident. This dog is really living her best life.
