Equine Friends

A horse gallops with his lungs, perseveres with his heart, and wins with his character.

…Frederico Tesio, considered the most successful thoroughbred breeder in the history of racing.

Like many little girls, as a child I dreamed of riding horses but didn’t start lessons until about 1990, and then only intermittently. Everything changed in 1998, however, when I started doing volunteer work at a public riding ranch in Malibu.

For nearly nine years, I spent weekends taking people on rides in the hills of Malibu, working with nearly 30 different horses and their varying breeds, gaits, personalities, skill levels, and temperaments. This experience shaped the foundation of my knowledge today. I bought my first horse in 2000 and haven’t looked back!

To me and many other equine enthusiasts, horses represent freedom, trust, healing, deep connection, intuition, and unique communication…the same qualities I bring to Innovative Purpose work. The intuitive and wise approach that horses bring to interactions with humans hooked me from the very beginning. I love horse whispering, performing “join-up” Robert Redford style, and teaching others as well.

My involvement with horses completely changed my life. I am committed to sharing this joyful metamorphosis and evolution with people who desire more personal or professional insight, growth, fulfillment, and success.

In order, I have been blessed to own:

– Sedona, a young thoroughbred, not a wise purchase but a common mistake for first-time horse buyers…acquiring a horse not the best fit for the way you use them. Sedona was okay as a trail horse but not great, I found her a better home as a jumper which she took to like a duck to water.

– Hero (photo below next to Smitten poem), an Arabian/Saddlebred cross, excellent trail horse except for one big problem. To this day the spookiest horse I ever rode, therefore not safe and I had to find him a new owner who didn’t mind being thrown off frequently.

– Beau (photos below), a quarterhorse, still the best trail horse, actually overall horse, I have ever ridden. He loved kids and I could put beginners on him and he would take care of them. With his help, I taught one of my nieces how to ride. Beau died in January 2014 from complications of extreme lameness, a result of his Western competition days before I owned him.

– Comet (photos below), a Paso Fino, Beau’s best friend, a great trail horse. In my book Twists Turns & Truths I call him my feisty little shit. I knew Comet the longest of all, from the time he was 12. He died in December 2017 at nearly 32 years old of a disease carried by possums.

– Darby (photos below), an Arabian/Appaloosa cross I rescued in late 2014 when I learned Comet’s time was limited. They became best friends, Darby was nearly as devastated as I was when Comet died. In 2020 an off-leash dog bolted at him, and he did a high-speed spin and bolted. I could not stay on and was thrown off to one side and badly hurt.

Darby could not get past the trauma of this accident. He was not hurt but knew I was, and he had to run home by himself (I was unconscious on the ground). After I healed, I (and other trainers and healers) worked with him for nearly a year, but Darby could not get past his anxiety and was unsafe to ride. I made the excruciating decision to find a good rescue facility for him, and that was one of most difficult experiences of my life…giving away my boy. He went to a good place, was there over 2 years, then adopted by someone who would love and care for him without exposing him to the trail.

– Scarlett  (photos below), After a several-month search to find another good trail horse, I finally found Scarlett, my first mare. She is a chestnut quarter horse with a blaze and looks very much like my first horse Beau, just smaller. I’ve had her over 4 years now, she and I make a great team and I ride her nearly every day!

– Many I’ve Loved and Ridden  Bo, LT, Breeze, Duke, Dusty, Lady, Shayna, Misty, Hobo, and more!

Here are some photos (wow a few of these are OLD! And are of horses I rode often at the ranch in Malibu). I’ve included a few poems (I call them my rhyming feelings) about my closest equine friends:

• Reunite
• Heart Of No Pretense
• Turning Home
• Her Whisper
• Smitten

Reunite The sledgehammer struck without warning or care Slamming my heart with shock and despair. Past half-eaten hay and a violated gate Stared a void that once cradled my chestnut soulmate.   He fearfully foretold what none of us could see That in the early haze she would take him from me. Never before had I a connection so deep Nor a loss, a fall, so severe and jaggedly steep.   Unanswered grasped my letter and frantic calls Raw and bleak stood his forlorn, empty stall. For three tortured months tears ruled, then waned As bruised living trudged on and healing I feigned.   Then in the chills of December I felt his heart Silently crying to me from dawn to dark. With fear draped in hope I reached out once more This time, miraculously, her steely grip tore.   So willingly into the trailer he strode Like a war-torn soldier, he was going home. With four prancing feet and two eyes alight He knew, in the flesh, we would soon reunite.   Tearfully trembling and soaring with vivid joy I welcomed him home, my cherished big red boy. It was over, our severed life, with its grievous toll We belong, this horse and I, together one, whole.   Jayne Sanders 1/30/05

When I started riding Beau, he was not my horse. I had an arrangement with the owner that if I paid for his shoeing and vet, I could ride him whenever I wanted. He felt like mine, and we certainly had a very deep connection. There were 5 horses at the little barn where he was boarded. One day we had an animal communicator come out, for fun, and curiosity. WOW! My mind was blown at what she said the horses were sharing with her, things that only each horse would know. Beau kept saying he was afraid he wouldn’t see me again, and no matter how I tried to quell his fears, his anxiety about that remained. A couple weeks later, on a Saturday in early September when I arrived at the barn to take him out on a ride, he was gone. Just gone. I knew his owner had taken him, she had money issues and was behind on board. She would not answer my calls. This poem is the story (short version) of that shocking betrayal, and how it ended.

Heart Of No Pretense His gentleness dwarfed by deceptive disguise He, his soul, every cell breathes grandiose size. High massive shoulders anchor head immense While cradling between them heart of no pretense.   Feathery white lashes cling aloft big brown orbs Vigilantly surveilling territory unexplored. A signature snortle confesses his fear An endearing timbre I helplessly revere.   Mammoth is his love, loyal and sublime Into enlightened reflection, he accompanied my climb. Blossoming unguarded, my spirit bestows Infinite devotion for my majestic, enchanting Bo.   Jayne Sanders 2/20/01

Jayne and Bo Bo was a Percheron, a French draft horse. I rode him a lot when I took rides out at the ranch because most people were afraid to ride such a big horse. Oh my gosh we connected, he would whinny and run to his gate when he saw me coming. Talley, the owner of the stables, told me he should be my horse. Emotionally, I agreed, but he was not the best trail horse. He was slow and always had to ride in the back, which made him nervous when he fell behind. One time he got so upset he bucked all the way up the canyon trail! I lost both stirrups but stayed on easily because he was so wide, for me it was kind of hard to fall off! Eventually Talley gave him to a children’s camp where he learned to be a vaulting horse. (Kids vaulting on and off of him) Anyway, he is the only horse I have had dreams about, we were very intuitively and spiritually connected. This photo is when I visited him 3 years after he left the ranch. He didn’t recognize me at first, but after just a couple minutes he stuck that huge muzzle in my neck and sniffed, then immediately got all excited and happy, we were together again, if only for about 30 minutes!

Turning Home Nightly copper, she flashed ruby in sunlight Whispering nickers as her wranglers came in sight. Her generous, steadfast heart and satin gaits Convinced riders’ fears and aches to disintegrate.   Endearingly cinchy, of warm arrogant perfection She preferred, when steered the long way, the other direction. At most crossroads she tried turning home, going back Calling for focus and muscle to thwart rider hijack.   We knew her as Little Lady’s cherished best friend More recently, as sweet Apache’s healing godsend. She was Natalie’s favorite mount and artistic muse She was Judy’s beloved trail partner, her pillowy refuge.   Her mission graciously fulfilled, she chose to part Swiftly leaving the ranch and deeply bruised hearts. With great resolve, at a profoundly final crossroads Jasmine turned home, and into our memories she strode.   Jayne Sanders 9/15/03

Jasmine was a chestnut Tennessee Walker, a very smooth-gaited horse popular with our guests. The only challenge she presented was being barn-sour, that’s when a horse REALLY wants to get back to the barn. And she also was cinch, meaning she didn’t like it when we had to tighten the cinch holding her saddle on. She would turn and try to bite us, I quickly leaned to keep my elbow ready to give her a poke and block her half-hearted attempt to stop us from saddling her.Jasmine would take advantage of every opportunity to turn around, especially with beginners. I had to yell to them to pull hard on the reins to get her turned back around, to me it was hilarious. She would have left the group and gone home, no problem. Jasmine was elderly, in her mid- to late 20’s, but still a contributing member of our herd, but got kicked one day and it broke her leg, so we had to put her down. It was very sad but one of those things that happens in herds, and we have no idea which horse kicked her and honestly it didn’t matter. She was certainly missed.

Her Whisper Through the viscous night her whisper came Faint but urgent, an undousable flame. Softly awakening me yet undeniably intent She asked me for freedom, she gave her consent.   As dark fell to light, her women friends gathered And brushed clear her soil, to them it mattered. Carrots and grain tantalized her throat As needled amber juice set her misery afloat.   She walked once more strong to her passage site So willing to go, to release her plight. From all corrals nigh not a sound escaped Yet equine farewells draped the landscape.   Awash in palpable love from cowgirls near Her head in my arms, damp with my tears Little Lady met bliss on Christmas Eve morn With two closing breaths her soul was reborn.   Jayne Sanders 2/25/01

Little Lady was another favorite, we could put a stone cold beginner on her and she would keep them safe. She too was aging out of the herd.One Christmas season, Talley was in Europe so I house- and horse-sat for her for that week. I loved it! But Little Lady had become ill before Talley left, she got the flu which at her age hit her very hard. From the metabolic upset she contracted laminitis, where the little bone inside her hooves rotated and started pushing down through her tissue. It is a VERY painful condition for horses. She couldn’t walk, and was standing on one spot, barely eating, barely drinking. I knew it was a dire situation. This poem is about how I knew what to do for Little Lady, and how it all went down.

Smitten Snorting to warn the lions he forges ahead Sun flashing his coat from brown to coppery red. Wilderness adventures light his eyes aglow My eager friend, my courageous explorer, my Hero.   Loving the forest, sometimes spooky yet brave He always chooses the trail, not the way home paved. His soft back pillows me as we explore new sights Pushing through brush, branches and fear, his courage ignites.   Once safely returned his endearing nickers begin Demanding treats, a neck hug, and scratches for his skin. For massages and whispered secrets he’ll move not a bit We are bonded, friends, both human and horse smitten.   Must I release him, let him go so soon, Our partnership scarcely having time to bloom? My heart weeps loudly but my mind knows yes And my soul sees that for a time, I was indeed blessed.   Jayne Sanders 11/14/02

Smitten simply tells the short story of one of the horses I got early in my riding history. Hero was a sweetie, definitely boss of our little herd of 4 horses, but the spookiest horse I have every ridden. And when he spooked, it was BIG! After falling off twice, and nearly falling off several other times, I knew it was best for both of us to find him a new home with a better rider. Otherwise I was going to get hurt badly at some point and I had only had him a few months at the time. That was an extremely hard decision, but I knew it was right. I found the perfect owner who wanted to use him for endurance riding, a great fit for Hero’s build and breed. And this woman didn’t mind falling off sometimes, she said her current horse bucked her off at the end of every race. I thought that was pretty funny but I wouldn’t have a horse that did that!

Photos

Jayne and Gang on Zuma Fireroad		Jayne and Merry in Mustard Field
Jayne and Lady on Zuma Beach		Jayne and Beau in Mustard Field
Jayne on Beau		Jayne and The Gang
Comet Glamour		Beau
Darby in the Snow		Darby in the Snow
Jayne with Comet and Darby in the Snow
Scarlett Grazing After a Ride		Scarlett and I on the Trail