Happy New Year everyone!!! I am sending each one of you light for a brighter New Year. If you remember in a previous blog titled Bad Baby Bella, you will recall the struggle that I have had in my relationship with her. You’ll be happy to know that we have turned the corner, or should I say I have turned the corner.

I knew a shift had happened inside of me when the farrier came to trim Bella’s feet. She tried to kick him several times as he was attempting to work on her back feet. The farrier remarked that he would like to have Bella for a week and he would return her a different horse. I hated to consider what type of “training” he might have in mind for Bella.

As you may recall, I had decided some time ago to stop trying to train or to change Bella and to accept her for the spirited young horse that she is, and fortunately I have done just that! As I have often said, animals can bring out the best and the worst in all of us. My acceptance of Bella for who she is and not wanting to change her is a gift that only Bella could give to me. It is a gift that has not come easily, I might add.

Although I have not been training Bella, I decided that I needed to take her into the arena and begin to work with her on picking up her feet. Oddly, I had no trouble at all. She picked up her feet beautifully and never resisted the slightest bit. We had such a good training session that I decided to send her off at the trot and off she went. She then returned at the trot when I backed up and called her to me. She did everything that I asked and it was a pleasure to have her in the arena.

I have spent countless hours contemplating and trying to understand my relationship with Bella. I totally believe that our discord has been a by-product of my previous inability to accept her just the way she is without my own expectations of how she should be. Is she a handful and is she different from any other horse I have ever been around? Most definitely! As I have said before, she is difficult and often acts like the proverbial class clown. I have often asked myself why I keep Bella when I have seven other horses who are great students always willing to learn anything I offer to teach them. The answer is that there has always been this little voice inside of me that said BELLA had something to teach ME! There was some type of rough edge inside of me that needed to be smoothed out. We have heard it said that when the student is ready the teacher appears. My desire to fit Bella into my world delayed the student in me and blinded me from seeing the lesson. Finally I see the gift that Bella truly is! Now that I am able to accept Bella unconditionally, she no longer has the ability to hit my hot spot. Isn’t it amazing how these things work out? I welcome the change Bella has provided in me and I feel her influence has made me a better person. How many training methods can have an effect on humans involving a shift in consciousness which clearly lies within one's self?

I’m sure you have heard me say this before but I must say it again; fear and intimidation are NOT training methods. They never have been and never will be. Of course, I don’t want Bella to kick the farrier but I certainly cannot advocate “his way” of training. Thus, I am faced with yet another challenge. I must now learn to accept the farrier for who He is without wanting to change Him either! I am certain of one thing; you can rest assured that Bella will be there to guide me every step of the way!

Have a great rest of the week and for many of you in this part of the country I hope you are able to stay warm. Enjoy this short video of Bella interacting with my neighbor's bull! You've gotta love that Bella!

The Gift of Bad Baby Bella