You are here: Home / cowgirl / Pause When Agitated
09
Aug 2011

Pause When Agitated

By
I follow a spiritual program that (among other things) asks me to �pause when agitated or doubtful and ask for the right thought or action.� I�ve had much practice with this spiritual principle living out here in the �toolies� with T.H.  Until recently this spiritual discipline has been solely dedicated to T.H. since he is the one who solely agitates me. Now you are asking what this has to do with Pard having porcupine quills in his nose?  We�ll get there�.


I walked out to the barn to do chores and work Puncher on the practice calves in the early morning coolness.  My horses heard us approach and, as always, poked their heads around the barn door to see what�s going on.  I glanced over and had to squint to see�.what I thought I saw�..Pard had a nose full of porcupine quills!  Oh NO!!!  I must have said it out loud. Very out loud.  T.H. was loading feed nearby and he shouted over �What?�   I said nothing. �WHAT?� louder yet.   �Pard has porcupine quills in his nose!�  He walked over. Looked at him.  �Get a halter on him. We�ll pull �em out.�  Then he promptly drove off.   

           Exit T.H., stage left.     Enter agitation, stage right.
Now I was having a flashback to a few nights before when T.H.�s dog got it. We spent an hour pulling quills out of her. The screaming and whining and thrashing were unbearable. And that was just T.H. Not to mention the poor dog. No offense to the male species, but sometimes you guys think you have to man-handle every situation with animals.  All that man-handling energy causes me high anxiety.  
I reverted into my well rehearsed panic/fear mode. Racing up to the house to look for vet supplies, tranquilizer, pliers. Of which I had none.  I ran two scenarios in my mind: 
1.) Haul him to vet, it�s Sunday, big bucks  2.) T.H. helps me, he yells at my horse, I deck him.
I found myself nervous, shaking, nauseated.  As I was standing there my kitchen a cosmic hand grabbed my shoulder and metaphorically shook me like a rag doll.

 �Now would be the time to hit the PAUSE button�. 
The rest of the story takes place over the next 20 minutes:
I braced my hands on the kitchen table. Took several deep breaths and asked for help to calm down. Asking for guidance and some calm assertive energy, I walked back out to the barn.  I haltered Paint and laid a lead rope over Pard�s neck. He turned his face to me and I slipped the halter easily over the quills. That went well.  I walked them both out to the shade of the Cottonwood and tied them close together. I looked Pard in the eyes and scratched him between his ears. He looked back at me and turned his sweet face towards me again.  I thought,  �Wow, let�s see what happens.�  I gently tugged on one quill and it came out. He never even flinched.  I tried it again. Same result. This was going really well. 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvWWkhMvwyA?f=user_uploads]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlBVzKVGTC8?f=user_uploads]

I pulled every single quill out by hand and he let me.  When I was finished I scratched him on the head again, rubbed his nose and wiped off the droplets of blood.  I slipped his halter off. He took two steps, dropped his head and started eating.

When T.H. came home a couple hours later, he  asked if I needed some help getting Pard caught up.    I dislocated my finger jamming that Pause Button.


Love,  Cowgirl Red    aka    Terah




P.S.  All kidding aside,  I know some things to be entirely true about myself and energy.  Calm assertive energy is both a shield and a magnet at the same time. The calm assertive energy I bring with me into a situation is the same energy I see being reflected back at me.  It also deflects the panic/fear/anger of other entities that try to attach to me. This is especially true when dealing with large farm animals and spouses.    xoxoxo

Categories: cowgirl Tags: , ,

Comments

  1. Rita says
    August 9, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    What a beautiful post! And so true. I find that animals and children, especially, will react to your energy. If you are calm, they are (more likely to be) calm. 😉 I absolutely loved it that you got some quick videos of how easy they came out. Of course, Pard also loves and trusts you, too. A person's reputation can have a long reach. :):)

    Now, this is supposed to work on men, too? LOL! 😉

  2. Catherine... says
    August 10, 2011 at 12:52 am

    Wow Terah, I'm amazed that Pard didn't flinch…those spines look really really nasty. I found my cat once on top of the fridge making an awful noice. She was obviously hurt and scared…she let me pick her up and put antiseptic spray (that I used on the kids – which used to send them screaming down the hallway)…she didn't move – seemed to realise I was making it better…after that I used the spray on the dog…he was fine too…Husband and kids….what a palava! Maybe I was calmer with the animals then I was with them…Good for you not decking TH…

  3. By Word of Mouth Musings says
    August 10, 2011 at 11:14 pm

    Breathe, breathe … and the restraint you showed later 😉
    Admirable !

  4. Cowgirl Red says
    August 11, 2011 at 6:52 am

    Thank you so much for reading my blog and leaving comments! Xoxoxoxo. Terah

  5. Emmy says
    August 14, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    I AM IMPRESSED I have a fear for horses they are so big and i am so small and you are always with them …horses are beautiful silly me