Welcome a New Member of the Herd - Corazon de la Montana
May 12, 2007
A new member of my herd has arrived. His name is Corazon de la Montana, which means Heart of the Mountain in Spanish. Corazon is 14.2 hands, his coloring looks black, with some deep brown around his nose. Officially he is called a Brown. Corazon was labeled as unadoptable and untrainable by the BLM, branded with the numbers 5293 on his butt, and placed into a holding facility. The holding facility is pretty much a dead end place for horses who were previously free on public lands. Holding faciliaties are a dead end for wild horses. Once there they will spend the rest of their lives doing nothing. There are approximately over 25,000 wild horses in holding facilities at this time.
Shortly after Corazon's arrival a workshop group of six people, stood about fifteen feet from his area and next to some of the other horses. The group focused on the body scanning process. This process brings presence, awareness and grounding to one’s body. As I glanced around I noticed that ALL of the ranch horses in that area had stopped what they were doing and had turned to face the group and Corazon. It was an ocean of horse faces all intent in their focus. The stillness was palpable. Seldom do these horses see humans being ‘still’ and doing nothing for 20 minutes straight! Corazon stood as close as he could to the group, cocked his leg and did some licking and chewing. Corazon has been alert and very interested in all of the activities at the ranch. On his first day, he stood with an unrelenting gaze on a group of women in the far pasture practicing how to move cows. I wonder if he has ever seen a cow, much less a human on a horses back! He and Moon have touched noses. It was rather uneventful, like two good friends shaking hands. Moon is in a paddock right next to Corazon so that I can do everything I do with Moon, while Corazon can watch from his own space. Corazon has allowed me to move all around him, making lots of noises and mucking his stale. Each time I enter his space he allows me to walk closer to him. The second day he ate hay from my hand while I was outside of the round pen. The third day he ate green grass out of my hand while I was inside his round pen. He then proceed to follow me around. Yesterday he alllowed me to scratch his neck while he nibbled on the grass. It seems that the old saying, "the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach," seems to be applicable for Corazon too. I am thrilled at the level of confidence and curiosity he is demonstrating. His only training was halter training at the Cannon City Prison program. I will not push him as I know he needs the time to understand his environment, which is vastly different than the spacious ridges of the Pryor Mountains, where he was born. Ginger Kathrens, the women who has been filming and following the Pryor Mountain Mustangs of Montana, was able to get five of these horses out of the holding facility and down to the Cannon City Prison where they have a mustang training and adoption program. One of the horses unfortunately had an accident while training and was put down. The other four, one of which is Corazon, have all been successfully adopted. I believe in trusting what we feel compelled to do. Often a voice that comes from deep inside directs us. It is a voice that continues to speak to us until we take action. Every time I listen to this voice I move further on my life path in a direction that feels satisfying and aligned with purpose. For three years mustangs have touched my heart. Every time I read about what is happening to them anger and tears would surface. Finally I listened to that voice and gave Ginger a call. That one call back in December changed my life. It was perfect timing as she told me about these five horses that would be available for adoption. Before I knew it, I heard myself say, “Put me on the list for one. I will take one of them.” Since that time I have waited patiently as the dynamics of adoption unfolded. Corazon is now here with me and Moon. My heart is filled with excitement to experience the path that he and I will take, and how my current horse Moon will also help to facilitate that. At the same time, my heart goes out to Corazon. Part of what we will do together is to bring more awareness to the horses that are left in the wild, especially the Pryor Mountain horses, so that the herds can continue to survive and thrive in the wild. What would it mean for a horse who has always run free to be captured and live in small spaces for months on end. Does he wonder if he will ever be able to run again? Does he worry that smaller paddocks with five foot rails is his destination. The plight of the mustangs compels me to act, to learn, to see how I might serve them and people at the same time. I am thankful that I have followed mine. The gifts that this relationship will bring me will be diverse, challenging, rewarding and take me to a new level of service. Many of you have reached out to me to better understand how I am employing horses to help humans grow and to come to Carbondale to experienced this powerful and wonderful work in person. Thank you. I encourage all of you to follow what is compelling to you, to follow the calling of your heart, to listen to the voice inside that is encouraging you to become the person you are meant to be. If you are touched by the wild hearts of mustangs and you want to help preserve their presence on our public lands I strongly encourage you to take action by offering a donation to The Cloud Foundation. The Cloud Foundation financially sponsored all four of these horses for several months until the appropriate adoptee were found. This was very expensive. To contribute to The Cloud Foundation’s effort in saving these horses, and in keeping the ones that are free in the wild, please send a check of any amount to: The Cloud Foundation
107 South 7th Street
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80905 Make your check out to The Could Foundation, Inc. and include that it is for the Pryor Boys via Kathy Pike. Your contribution is tax deductible. Its time to take action! Thank you Ginger Kathrens for trusting me with one of your boys!
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