Day: May 14, 2015

Karen sent me this photo of Fate today, and also a video and photos showing her mixing with the other dogs at Karen’s farm. She is social and playful, Red is going to have his hands full. So are we. Fate has a lot of personality, her tail goes back and forth like a Lab, and she is exploring every inch of her new universe. She is getting crate work, name recognition and socializing, Karen is building a platform on which Maria and I can work.

Seeing these photos and videos has been so important to us, we can learn so much about her and prepare for her. She likes chew toys, she moves them around, she wants to know where she is, she soaks up the smells and stories. I believe this is the kind of dog that will be so much fun to train, love and enthusiasm all around.

We are leaving for Virginia  Saturday afternoon, staying with a friend in Bucks County, then heading to Virgina Sunday morning. We are ready for Fate, I’ve ordered toys, Fromm’s puppy food, some hard puppy chew  bones, crates are set up in the house and Maria’s studio.

I can already see she is a publicity hound, she loves the camera, she loves attention. A good place for a dog like that to be. Housebreaking will be the first order, then eye contact, recall, recall, recall. When you get a dog to pay attention to you, you are halfway there. Maria will do the feeding and walking, so that the two of them will bond. Border collies love whosoever brings them to work.

We were at Ken Norman’s farm, Thornwood, Maria was riding Chloe, Red was sitting quietly along the edge of the riding ring, four loud and assertive guinea hens – many farmers use them as watch-hens, they squawk loudly and long when strangers appear – came marching right up to Red, making an ear-shattering din.

Red, who is the Dean Martin of dogs, didn’t budge, he just ignored the hens who couldn’t run him off, so they were satisfied with honking past him loudly and persistently. They met their match, I expect Red sometimes to be enjoying a Martini in the evening as she flirts with the ladies and remains unruffled by life.

I doubt I will ever ride a horse again in my life – never say never – I am not especially drawn to it, even though I am increasingly fascinated by horses. Maria is sharing some of the things she is learning with me, how to move, how to give the horse gentle but clear instructions, how to be a leader while always being positive. Her trainer, Eli Norman is a sensitive and positive trainer, she even uses special bits for the horses mouths that can not reach up and harm them.

Maria is intuitively positive, she is establishing a powerful relationship of trust and partnership with this pony, who accepts her direction gracefully and easily. These two are already very drawn to one another, they are already communicating.

Maria and I (and Red) went out to Thornwood Farm in Pawlet, Vt. to groom and ride Chloe. Actually, Maria rode Chloe, I brushed her a bit and took photos. Red was his usual calm and steady self as Maria and Chloe went trotting by. It was a lovely thing to see, Maria has work hard on her grooming and riding lessons with Eli Anita-Norman (who underwent surgery today for her broken wrist). This was the first time Maria took care of Chloe by herself, got the hardness, brought her into the barn, brushed and saddled her.

The two rode in the ring at the farm for 30 or 40 minutes, they walked, trotted, climbed over tubes, backed up. I was startled at  how natural Maria looked, and at the visible strong connection between these two. Chloe is a calm, affectionate, experienced horse, she does not rattle or fright. It’s a great match.

I am, as always, amazed at Red’s ability to enter into any situation we are in and be a still and patient part of it. He sat there the whole time, never moved except to come over and say hello to me, he was as natural around Chloe and the other the horses as if he lived in the stables.

The horses do speak to us, especially the people who can listen, as Maria does. They belong in our lives, there is nothing more natural than for working animals like horses to be with people, those who would take them away us are simply creating a new kind of abuse, of horses, of people.

Once we get the new puppy settled, Chloe is coming to the farm. We are eager to have her here. It was a great gift to see the look on Maria’s face as she is mastering this relationship.

I think the apple tree out in the pasture is the spiritual center of the farm. Simon and Ma are buried in graves to the left of it, it casts the longest shadow on the farm, it sits in the center of the pasture, it is a beautifully formed and evolved tree, I come out to the shadow sometimes to find strength.