From Moshi

Honesty is an interesting concept. Most of us horses are truly honest. We don’t know how to be any other way. But people, well, not so much.

Most people believe they are honest. But often humans are simply justifying their behavior and calling it honesty. If they really looked at what was going on, they’d probably realize they were either manipulating a situation to their advantage, or ignoring the truth of their behavior.

Are you honest? I’ll bet you are, at least most of the time. Sometimes not being honest is the kindest thing… like when your grandmother asks if you like her mince pie, but you really don’t. You don’t want to hurt feelings. So, when is honesty the best policy and when is it a matter of violating values and honor? That’s a tough question that I don’t have an answer to. But perhaps just asking the question will stir the kind of thought that’s helpful.

Do you appreciate honesty? Are you a good example for your children, friends, co-workers? A reputation is an easy thing to damage, so use your good sense of honesty well.

I’m honestly hungry! Will you bring me a carrot or two? Jane’s out of town and I want my treat!

Love, Moshi

From Indy

Oooo my tooth got tugged on today, and I’m really in pain! I accidentally hooked my big left canine tooth on Geoffrey’s collar while we were playing, and it almost got pulled out. I think it’s going to be okay, but it sure did hurt!

Jane says I have to go to the doggie dentist. I hate the dentist. Do you? I hear most people really fear the dentist. Do you have fear?

Jane told me that fear is future thinking. Anger is past thinking. Being a dog, I’m usually in the present, which is why I’m so happy all the time. I think people are unhappy a lot because they are either upset about the past, or worried about the future. Most people are not NOW.

Are you a past or future thinker? Can you bring your attention to NOW? If that’s hard for you, you can at least think about good things from your past or happy hopes for your future. That makes for a nicer NOW. And aren’t we all just looking for a nice NOW?

I’d sure love a nice soft chewie cookie, right NOW. How about you?

Love, Indy

From Moshi

I had trouble sleeping last night. I’m about to start the new show season, and I started fretting about being ready. Now that I’m showing at Grand Prix, I’m worried that I won’t be able to keep up with the up and coming younger horses. Then I realized that I had put my negative musings into a future that’s not here yet. I always pride myself at being in the present, and realized I was not doing that. I was projecting negative thoughts into my own future. I had to stop!

Awareness is the first step to changing something. Once I became aware that I was projecting negative thinking, I could stop and change where I put my intention. I decided to visualize a better future. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and created a movie in my mind of the perfect Grand Prix test with Jane. I went through the whole thing, with perfect pirouettes and perfect one-tempis, and with a satisfying pat on the neck from Jane at the end. I saw the judge write down lots of sevens and eights, and even a few nines on the test sheet. In my mind I saw the final score being written by the judge, and felt the excitement of receiving the best scores of my life!

Changing your mental focus is not hard, but you have to decide to do it. You have to put the mental energy into changing what you’re thinking about. You have to create the images you WANT, not ponder on what you don’t want. That takes some focus and discipline.

What would be your best outcome for today? What could you focus on to give energy to that? Give it a try, and see what happens! You may be in for a surprise!

Once I gave a little bit of mental time to what I do want, I went right to sleep. Now I’m rested and ready to go! When is the first show? I want to earn that terrific score!

Love, Moshi

From Indy

I love to wrestle. It’s so much fun. I love to play with my dog friends, but I especially love to wrestle with Jane. I’m very careful with my teeth, because I know they can hurt her.

Friends don’t hurt friends. At least, not on purpose.

Have you ever been hurt by a friend? It’s so much more painful than being hurt by a stranger. That’s because we invest our expectations in our friends. hey become our friends because we like them, so when a friend does something we don’t like, it’s hard to bear. We get mad or we get hurt with much more intensity.

Friends are important. Friends are not perfect. Neither are we. Sometimes we have to forgive our friends, or ourselves for that matter. We’re all doing the best we can with what we have in the moment. Sometimes our best comes up short. But if your friendship is worth saving, it’s worth taking the time to heal the wounds.

Healed wounds leave scars. That’s as true for mental wounds as it is physical. But you CAN heal wounds in a relationship. Scars may remain, but they do fade with time. The key to healing is forgiving and letting go. Like Moshi says, focus on the good stuff about the person or relationship, and let the bad stuff wither away from lack of attention.

Once, when we were playing, Jane’s favorite sweater got caught on one of my teeth. My tooth pulled a big snag in her sleeve, and hurt my mouth in the process. Both of us were upset. But the event, while upsetting, had nothing to do with our relationship. We didn’t take it personally. I forgave Jane for her sweater pulling on my tooth, and Jane forgave me for hooking my tooth on her sweater. We moved on, in love and in friendship.

Is there a situation where you could move on? Can you forgive? Can you let it go? The gift of forgiveness is more for forgiver than the forgivee.

Love, Indy

From Moshi

Responsibility. It’s a big part of life. Jane tells her students that their horses should be responsible for their own gaits. They shouldn’t repeatedly ask or nag at their horses, or they’ll just get tuned out and ignored. She says your horse should respond to the first request, and should maintain his or her gait until asked to do something else.

It’s pretty easy for me to get lazy about being responsible for my job. How about you? Have you ever avoided doing those things you know you should be doing? Perhaps it was because you became lazy, or because no one seemed to care one way or another if you got it done? This tendency is why we have leaders or bosses. We often need someone to keep us on track.

A good leader or boss is someone who inspires you to do your best without nagging or shaming. A good leader finds ways to help their subordinates feel important and valued. A poor leader uses punishment or embarrassment to force compliance. A good leader creates a desire to do well. A poor leader makes people unhappy, and is often looking for replacements when their subordinates leave or quit.

Which kind of leader are you for your horse? Do you intentionally create desire to be good, or do you inspire fear of doing poorly? What kind of leader are you with other people? Are you an uplifter or a tear downer?

I’m so glad my person is an uplifter! Jane makes me want to be the best I can be. She makes me feel good about myself. There’s nothing more important than that. I’d do anything for Jane, because it feels so good to please her. She makes me feel good about ME.

How about you? Do people feel good when they’re around you? Remember, molasses horse cookies catch more flies than vinegar!

Love, Moshi

From Indy

I got in trouble today. I was home alone when I smelled the most wondrous smell! I know I shouldn’t, but I put my paws up on the kitchen counter and there it was! An entire chicken! It was frozen, but it smelled so good! Before I could stop and think about what I was doing, I grabbed it and pulled it onto the floor. I shredded the plastic and was chewing that luscious cold meat apart when I heard Jane’s car pull up. I panicked! I realized I was going to be in big trouble!

I left the mangled bird on the kitchen floor and ran for the bedroom. I hid under the bed, hoping Jane would think the cat was the one who ruined dinner. She didn’t fall for it. She called for me in a really LOUD voice. Then she found me with my head under the bed. She ordered me into the kitchen and scolded me severely. I kept telling her that the cat did it, not me, but she didn’t believe me. In fact, she told me she was very disappointed in me, that I was trying to get the cat in trouble for my mistake. She told me it was very childish of me to point my paw at the cat. She was right, of course. I apologized and promised not to do it again.

Jane thought about it, and told me she realized she was responsible for keeping such tempting things out of my reach. She took responsibility for her mistake, and vowed to do better. She forgave me, but also told me not to do any more “counter-surfing”.

I was very impressed with her willingness to take ownership of her part in the situation. I decided right then that I want to always be as mature and honorable as Jane. After all, most people aren’t fooled when we try to blame someone else anyway. It just makes us look silly. I realized I’ll never lose as much respect by being responsible for my own actions, as I will by trying to point my paw at someone else.

Say, do you have any frozen chicken you could bring over? I’ve developed a craving for fowl popsicles! YUM!

Love, Indy

From Moshi

There’s a whole lot that goes on in this world that we never hear about. Some of it is bad, but a lot of it is good. If you could measure the bad against the good, you’d find that the good stuff far outweighs the bad stuff. How do I know? As a horse, I’m very connected to the energy of the planet. I can feel what’s going on because I am totally present. I spend little or no time in the past or future, I’m just NOW. And I can feel the positive pulse of the earth. Well-being abounds!

What if well-being isn’t showing up in YOUR life as much as you like? Then I’d ask, what are you thinking about? Where are you putting your mental energy? Are you looking for the things that are WRONG in your world, or are you looking for the things that are RIGHT? Which is it? You get MORE of whatever you put your energy into. So if things are bad, well… Think about that!
Just for today, look for something that is great about you or your most pressing situation. Then spend some time feeling the wonderful feelings that thought brings to you.

I’m basking in the Florida sunshine today. It feels so good on my sleek black coat. It warms my muscles and makes me want to nap. I love the sun and the soft breeze caressing my skin. I’m looking forward to Jane showing up for our ride. It’s a great day.
Are you going riding today? If it’s too cold and snowy where you are, at least take your friend a carrot. Your horse misses your voice and your soft, loving touch! It will make you both feel good to spend some time together.

Love, Moshi

From Indy

I’m so excited to get to visit my friends back in Florida! It’s been a long summer without them. The cat isn’t nearly as much fun as my Florida barn friends! Besides, in Florida, we have a POOL!

Do you like to swim? I love it. It’s terrific exercise. Some of my friends were afraid of the water, but we helped them get over it. Dogs are natural swimmers, so all they needed was some gentle, friendly support.

Is there something you’d like to do, but you’re afraid to try? Sometimes all you need is a friend’s helping hand. Knowing someone is there to help keep you safe can make all the difference in the world.

Would you do that thing you’re afraid of if someone was there to support you? Can you be that support to someone else?

We’re all in this life together. No one is truly alone. If you need help, or can offer help, look around you and see how you can participate.You get back out of life whatever you put into it. Maybe now is the time to take that big jump into the pool!

Come on! Let’s go swimming! Bring along a tennis ball to throw. PLEASE!!!!

Love, Indy

From Moshi

Fall is so beautiful in Vermont, USA. We have lots of trees, and they turn the most incredible colors. I only see yellow, green, and blue, but the many shades of yellows are amazing. I hear red and orange are really striking, but I have no way of relating to that. Like all horses, my eye structure doesn’t let me see red.

I heard a fellow at the barn say an interesting thing… “if you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” That reminded me of how everyone sees the world through their own filters. What’s good in one person’s eyes, may be evil in another’s. It’s why we have wars. It’s why we have prejudice. It’s the cause of most of man’s (and woman’s) suffering.

Is there a solution to this? It’s not possible for us to all see things the same way, but knowing that fact is a big help in releasing the judgement of others. When we can acknowledge that we’re all doing the best we can with what we’ve got, it’s a lot easier to let go of any anger or frustration we feel. Just let people be who they are, protect yourself if you have to, but let the rest of it go. If you really look at it, there’s very little in this world that’s worth fighting about.

Is there something going on in your life right now that you could heal by simply letting it go? Give it a try!

Love, Moshi

Form Indy

I came in the house with my long tawny coat full of nasty burrs. Jane spent an hour pulling the prickly things out of my hair. It hurt sometimes, when she’d pull on just a few hairs, but I knew she was trying to help me so I gritted my teeth and tolerated it.

Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. Like go to the doctor or the dentist. Maybe, for you, it’s going to a job that’s not exactly fulfilling your dreams.

So what can you do to make an icky situation more tolerable?

I do my best to make dealing with discomfort a game. I find the top three best things about the situation, and then occupy my mind with finding a way to make those elements even better. Such as, when I have to go to the vet, I look for the most beautiful girl dog in the place, and make funny faces at her until she smiles. It’s a great game that takes my mind off the fact that I might be there to get a shot or some other unpleasantness.

While Jane was pulling burrs out of my coat, I stared out the window and imagined flying over the houses and the trees. I saw a big hawk flying around, and pretended I was on his back, searching for bunnies from the air with sharp, hawk eyes. It was a fun vision that took my mind of the sting of my hair getting pulled.

What do you do to help you tolerate uncomfortable situations? Do you have tools you know you can use, or do you make up solutions on the spot?

Love, Indy

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