Upside Down on Unseen Threads

The, larger than a ladybug, spider hangs upside down on her intricate, yet unseen thread, dangling just above the water’s surface. Her extra long legs, three times the length of her slender figure, are barely seen by the naked eye. The one thread she purposefully strides along (still upside down) traverses the entire width of the koi pond. The koi, big and small, swim effortlessly in the waters below.

I am drawn into spider’s finely spun web meant to catch her nurturement, those little flying insects on their way to and from the water’s surface. Those little buggers who we swat at and wiggle away from wincing as we sigh, “Ew, yuck.” Yet for her, it‘s how she lives.

A new world unfolds, and I see other spiders, some smaller than her, maybe even her children, who have spun their webs to span the pond. The whole pond is covered with a microcosm of spider web strands. She drew me back into her trance, calling me to ponder.

So many metaphors to...

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Ladybugs, horse mane, and beach sand

By Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi 
Lady bug, lady bug, fly away home. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing hundreds of lady bugs. Everywhere I look, in my garden, on my palomino’s golden mane, on my blouse, in my hair and even at Doran Beach ladybugs catch my fancy. Whenever I see them, I smile with joy and my heart relaxes, and the tensions of the world disappear. I fall into a fantasy world of warm light and the sweet scent of pink jasmine folding into me, showing me a peaceful world hidden right before me.
          The message of the lady bug presented herself daily during my 10 day class in Equine Guided Education. Nine women, who had traveled from near and far, came together to listen, to share, to support and to be supported. Old wounds tried to rear their ugly heads, but the ladybugs and a pair of Canadian geese kept interrupting the sadness with their positive display of peace and connection. The...
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All Tangled Up and When to Ask for Help

Uncategorized Mar 10, 2022
By Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi, 3/8/2022
 
I was walking down the sheep field this morning to let the sheep out of the barn for their daily grazing in the vineyard, and I noticed one of the rams up close to a metal gate. It was an odd scene. Sheep don't just stand still like that. Immediately I noticed his beautiful curved horn was stuck in an old piece of fence that the previous shepherd had used to patch the gate to keep coyotes out. In his efforts to get out he had twisted the wire tightly around his horn. “Thank goodness it is just your horn dude.” I whispered to him. I tried to help him extricate his horn, but the more he struggled the more I could see my petite fingers could easily be excised if they got in the wrong place as he struggled.
 I looked him in the eye and said, “I’ll be right back with some wire cutters.” He had not struggled until I was there helping him as if he knew I was there to help and to surely let me know where...
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If what a heart rock does is lost on you, then what?

By Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi 2/2022

If a little heart rock shining up at you from a dusty driveway doesn't just make you smile for a moment, where has your happiness gone ?
What if you refrain from picking it up, because someone might see you smiling at a rock that is smaller than a quarter, and it could be dirty. Your logical mind is like a rabid dog barking at your childlike happiness, “Don't show your enthusiasm for that little rock, it’s just gravel on the road. Keep walking and talking.”
Your self doubt shuts you down saying, “Oh my’ what will people think? That is child’s play.” Your analytical mind takes it a step further and gives you an order, "Pretend you don't see it. Just pretend you don't see it. You don't want anyone to know you were distracted by a rock, for goodness sake.”
What if, on the other hand, you stop everything and gather the little rock. The people you are walking with stop and watch...
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MOTHER EARTH IS ASKING US TO ADAPT OR DIE

AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW ON ‘SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST’, INSTINCT AND INTUTION

I had an optimistic thought yesterday in the midst of warding off feelings of sadness. I thought, “Mother Nature is giving us bits and pieces of what’s to come. She is giving us a chance to adapt and change to our now everchanging environment. Some of us wont make it, some of us will adapt. The opportunity now is to adapt, ask not ‘when will this stop?’ or ‘why is this happening?’, but rather, ‘how can I adapt to this?’

This is a time like no other here on our Pacific Coast. Our redwood forests have burned before. Nature bounces back in an amazing display of creative re-generation. Throughout time and history, there are many species that adapt to extremes and survive tough times as nature wields her power. Why do you think we have such a fascination with dinosaurs? Some of the more specialized species have a harder time adapting to significant changes in...

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California Fires, Eerie Skies 9/11/2020

Uncategorized Sep 11, 2020

California fires, Eerie Skies,  9/11/2020 

Stillness. Quiet. Unusual Quiet. It’s dark outside. A pumpkin orange darkness. It shouldn't be dark at 10 am here on our California Coastline in Sonoma County. But it is. Part of me thinks I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and should go back to sleep. The other part of me thinks it must be evening and time for a glass of wine. And yet another part of me wanted to call my children and tell them I love them just in case I never get to see them again.

            While the fires are not at our feet right now, the heavy smoke and toxic air have come close to earth now after a record heat wave. Friday we had over 105 in the shade and 115 in Petaluma (unheard of). The rose blooms, flowered and dried on the stem within hours.

In spite of the heat, Saturday we were able to do our first Upick. We staggered guests for a private experience and it went off wonderfully....

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THE LAST OF AN ERA

Uncategorized Sep 11, 2020

Stella has passed on

It is hard to imagine that summer is over, fall is barreling in and schools re-open or not with looming uncertainty. The horses here began to lose their summer coats early July, so hoping for an early, wet winter here for our smoky skies and burnt landscapes. I had hoped to have some epiphany or optimistic message to share. Alas, I am sad to share that my dear mare, Stella, passed away. She was 28 years old, and was one of my first 4 foundation mares who imagined and brought forward the EGE that we know today. She worked with thousands of people and raised my children into adulthood. Fortunately, her passing was quiet and simple. She found a beautiful fir grove, laid down and fell asleep (or passed peacefully). I hadn’t expected this for she did not show any signs of discomfort or ailment. She had given her last lessons to 3 youths here just days before.

Stella was well known for her solid, quiet demeanor. A true nurturer, independent yet connected. My...

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It's a Time of Feeling & Horse Time Metaphors

It’s a time of feeling

I was talking to my husband, Casey, the other day and we both agreed that it’s been hard to feel joy that lasts more than a few minutes with the heaviness of these challenging times. We agreed that we feel the pain in the world now and feel helpless to stop it. By acknowleding it in a conversation, we were able to move onto more positive feelings for our day.

Time seems hard to grasp right now. What day is it? Is it really Thursday? What month are we in, isnt this usually a time of picnics and family gatherings as we approach Mother’s Day, graduations and weddings (now postponed or cancelled) and Father’s Day just around the corner? 

Each day is a new day. Each moment is an opportunity to make the best out of the most dramatic, unknown future we have ever experienced as a whole species. 

And right behind the reality of timelessness is the fear and anxiety of what we cannot control.We cannot make any sense of what is actually...

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The right time and place for the 'walk', its not always about running

THE WALK

The walk is a quiet smooth gait. It has a 4 beat count, just like certain musical scores, 1., 2,3,4,1,2,3,4,… It is the first gate that a young or newly trained horse finds its rhythm and balance. It is the first and last gait a horseman will use during any training session. One of the few golden rules of horsemanship is always walk your horse back to the barn. The other is, ‘if you can’t do it at a walk, you have no business trotting or cantering at all.

Any good horse trainer understands the importance of integrating the walk throughout his/her athlete’s training program. This is done specifically to produce endurance, stamina and resilience as opposed to fatigue. Another golden rule is that always walk your horse back to the barn, to go any faster will only sourer him.

My favorite retort for those who are impatient with the walk is that cowboys did not gallop their horse across the country. They walked a lot! In fact, they loved that walk. Any...

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Rep. Barr Successfully Includes Equine Therapy In Veteran Suicide Prevention Bill, by Press Release | 12.12.2019 | 6:32pm

“In a time when so many veterans are so hesitant to take another prescription or fear getting addicted to opioids, equine assisted therapy gets veterans outside and allows them the amazing opportunity to work with horses to process their experiences,” said Congressman Barr. “As the Chairman of the Congressional Horse Caucus and someone who cares very deeply for our veterans, I believe increasing grant funding opportunities for evidence-based equine-assisted therapy and innovative therapies will greatly diversify the treatment options available to our veterans.”

https://www.paulickreport.com/horse-care-category/rep-barr-successfully-includes-equine-therapy-in-veteran-suicide-prevention-bill/

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