At the age of five I received my first horse and so began the journey of learning from and working with horses.  Thunder, a Shetland Palomino, forced me to think like a horse if I was going to ride Thunder, a parade horse, for more than twenty minutes.  Because we did not own a saddle that fit Thunder, I learned how to become a skilled bareback rider.  I learned to feel the move before it actually occurred.  I now implement a similar approach, riding bareback, when working with people who wish to learn how to ride.  During my college and seminary years, I was without a horse but the first thing I purchased when serving an open country parish was a horse.  Chance Styles, a sorrel quarter horse, other than standing 15 hands as opposed to 12.3 hands, behavior was similar to Thunder’s.  What Chance taught me was her behavior was rooted in the lacked of consistency.  Chance had been passed from owner to owner and each lacked the knowledge of how to work with an “Alpha” mare.

 

With the purchase of Star Burner, a black and white paint stallion and several quarter and paint mares, Tammie and I began the adventure of breeding well-balanced, smart horses that had the ability to go in a variety of directions.  The purchase of “Skippy”, a golden palomino colt out of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, Skipper W, complimented the academic work I was completing for my doctorate.  Skippy affirmed that within a herd there are a select few horses that use power for the safety and well-being of other horses.  These horses, in a non-aggressive manner, employ power that causes the Alpha mare to behave in less aggressive forms while empowering the Omega to become a part of the herd.  These horses I have labeled as Deltas, “using power for the sake of others”, or among humans, to establish justice and peace.   With a career change in 2006, Skippy accompanied me to Luther College, Decorah, IA., and assisted in my work with college students.   Today, he still works with a host of individuals using power to support some and challenge others that all might experience justice.  

 

In 2000, in addition to starting horses for a host of clients, I offered summer equine camps for youth who struggled with social and emotional stability in order to empower them to become Deltas.  This same philosophy was used and continues to be the foundation of training (teaching) horses, working with individuals who desire to ride or improve riding skills, groups that wish to explore the dynamic of power, and equine therapy.  

 

Horses invade every aspect of my life.  In 2013 I published my first book and of course horses played a critical role.  In 2016, my second and third books became available and again horses are major characters.   One of the books is entitled, Horses In Heaven.

 

Striving to be a Delta is not something I do only with horses it is a way of life.  As the Equine Specialist it is my role as a Delta to establish the PACE, Patience, Acceptance, Consistency, and Empathy whether it is a therapy session, a learning environment, starting a colt, or providing riding instruction.  I can only smile when I think what Thunder started more than fifty years ago.