The Pull of the Moon
Guest Author: Carrie O'Neill | Animal Communicator, Founder of Possibilities Farm
I spend most full moon nights with my herd. Two Novembers ago I laid my beloved horse Sweet Potato to rest in the frosty morning meadow. With his last breath he told me, “I am galloping for the moon.” Every full moon since, there is a line in the sky by the moon representing Potato’s galloping trail.
Sweet Potato is my Chief Equine Officer. We met in 2015 as I was building Possibilities Farm. I wanted to create a retreat center where people could learn from just being with horses, something I envisioned as a young child when I told my parents that the world would be a better place if everyone spent time with horses. I didn’t have a horse of my own until I was an adult, but being in a barn was sacred for me. In the barn, I always felt comfortable, safe, and valued.
When Sweet Potato came into my life, he was “failing” at a lesson barn to which he had been donated. Sweet Potato had been a very successful international grand prix show jumper. The arthritis he developed in his hocks meant he could no longer compete at that level and he needed more turnout to stay sound than the lesson barn could provide. He was a joy to be around and the entire team was upset that Sweet Potato would not be able to stay. Their sorrow quickly turned to elation when I told them that I was building a barn with 24/7 indoor/outdoor access.
My barn wasn’t ready yet so I found a nearby barn to board Sweet Potato in the meantime. He settled in nicely, but within a week was refusing to let me pick his hooves. I began to question whether I had the skills to bring my dream to life. I sought out books and videos, looking to horse trainer “experts” to tell me how to get Sweet Potato to pick up his hooves, something he had done easily for the children at the lesson barn and for me during his first week. I tried all the recommended strategies, including the instruction from a well-known trainer to refuse to let go of Potato’s leg until he lifted it. After 45 minutes holding Potato’s leg in a paddock during which he was completely free to move yet did not, I let go. I stood up dizzy with tears in my eyes and apologized to Potato for not knowing how to properly care for him. In that moment, he lifted the leg I had been holding onto and held it up by himself. I clearly heard him say that I needed to stop listening to the experts. He told me he chose to come with me because I truly wanted to listen to and partner with horses and that he would teach me everything I needed to know. He kept that promise and taught me more than I could ever have imagined, including how to hear horses and other animals.
Being able to converse with horses over the past several years has been a life-changing experience. I currently offer a weekly zoom meditation led by the herd and recently they have focused on adjusting to seasonal changes. One week, the herd invited us on a meditative journey to plant bulbs representing what we wanted to grow more of in our life. Another week, Magic, the youngest member of our herd led a meditation on rebalancing. He guided us to imagine we were standing in the center of a large flower. Each petal had a unique label representing an important aspect of our life. He encouraged us to adjust each petal for this season, stretching some further out and pulling some inward. Magic noted that balance is not always achieved by standing in the center. Instead, equilibrium is achieved by continually adjusting different characteristics (activity v. rest, solitude v. companionship, etc.) to the changes in our lives.
As we enter this season of shorter days, longer nights, frosty meadows, and bright winter moons, the horses encourage us to simply note where we are without judgment. With each daily, monthly, and seasonal cycle, we have the opportunity to discover the equilibrium that works for us right now. We may not physically be able to do some of the things we used to do or may no longer enjoy what we once did. Our roles in our herd may change and the people in our herd may change. As we continue to partner with our horses, celebrating their authenticity in each moment, we can learn to partner with life itself, realizing that we can flow easily with changes. Presence, awareness, and an appreciation for all that is right now brings freedom to grow into new facets of ourselves and to choose to let go of anything that no longer serves us.
I cherish my full moon nights with the herd, celebrating the month past and looking forward to the month to come. Looking up at Sweet Potato’s galloping trail, I am reminded that the horses will always teach me everything I need to know if I am wise enough to keep listening.
Carrie O'Neill
Animal Communicator
Founder of Possibilities Farm
https://www.possibilitiesfarm.com/
