Did you know....

[kristina]

This is another animal type thread...sorry guys....lol
Did you know that if you approach a horse that you don't know... if you look at his shoulder closest to you and do not look him in the eye slowly raise your hand to pet the horse between the eyes lets the horse know that you are not wanting to hurt him? He knows you are a predator and if you look him straight on, he will be frightened or anxious as that's the way predators and omnivores communicate with one another (unless he knows you). By looking away tells him you are not challenging him and the shoulder gives your eye a point of reference. If you cannot pet him between his eyes, gently rub his neck where it meets his shoulder and then up to his whithers. Horses groom one another at the base of the neck and on their withers so you'll be sending a friendly message. Do not do this if you know the horse is nasty unless you have experience with nasty herbivores.
Anyone else have any interesting stories where you have approached an animal a certain way and it yielded to your presence?
I really and truly believe we are to help our 2nd density buddies to progress and it's up to us to learn their language as they cannot know ours. Even we agree our language is insufficient.
If I treat my horse fairly and I'm consistent, she takes her learning back to the herd where she treats her herd members fairly. I've witnessed it. I first had to learn her language. Now I am comfortable going up to any horse no matter how rank they may be. Not that I will ride it, but I will approach it.

[ada]

I once crouched and came close to a hedgehog, it first hid its face, but I didn't make sudden movements, then I came close to it with my hand and it peeked out so I slowly put my finger on its nose to pet it and then it bit my finger and was hanging on air lol

[Diana]

This is from the first anime I ever saw (Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; American version is Warriors of the Wind), and continues to be my favorite:

[flofrog]

Thank you Kristina, Ada and Diana....

I have a small story on bees. My daughter when she was about six years old used to run barefoot in the back yard, pretending to be a horse and jumping makeshift obstacles. She started to be stung by bees who were flying low or sitting in the grass. Then one day she came up to me as she had been stung on her ankle, we applied some vinegar after checking there was no stinger left. Then a few minutes later she came to show me whites spots on her left arm and, brainless, I was trying to remember what she had had as food which could start an allergy, then a few minutes later she came back she had immense white spot on her leg and on her left arm where all the small spots had united..

I laid her down on the grass and called 911 and they kept me on the phone asking questions, while the firemen and paramedics were coming, asking me to keep her laying down and if her breathing was easy, my daughter felt a small tightening of throat but was still breathing all right. When they arrived ( like barely 3 minutes) they immediately took her blood pressure and asked me when it had started and I figured it was about 20 minutes more or less since the sting.

They took her to the ambulance then and gave her a shot but then they explained that for a sting with enormous allergy, it will take away the life in about 20 minutes, if it doesn't, as in the case of my daughter, the blood pressure comes back up, the throat tighening disappears, and the patient is ok.

We then, had an epi-pen always with us, but never used it. Subsequently she got stung several more times, with fewer and fewer reactions, and was always the only one to be stung among us, and slowly her allergy was overcome with the subsequent stings. Somehow, it looked exactly as if the bees knew about it, and came back often to sting her...

So it's interesting to know, that you have to react fast to stay in the 20 minutes space ( not like some brainless mother that we know) if you suddenly see a major reaction. The paramedics explained that once they are on spot observing the blood pressure, they will check how fast the blood pressure lowers, if it is fast they know they have a life emergency, if it is slow they will let things take its course, they will still do an antihistamine shot in the end after the blood pressure is stable, but this way they give the body the way to fight back the allergy for the future... really interesting.

[kristina]

I once crouched and came close to a hedgehog, it first hid its face, but I didn't make sudden movements, then I came close to it with my hand and it peeked out so I slowly put my finger on its nose to pet it and then it bit my finger and was hanging on air lol

lol!

[Diana]

I have a small story on bees.  
...
We then, had an epi-pen always with us, but never used it. Subsequently she got stung several more times, with fewer and fewer reactions,  and was always the only one to be stung among us,  and slowly her allergy was overcome with the subsequent stings. Somehow, it looked exactly as if the bees knew about it,  and came back often to sting her...

Really cool story. I agree that the bees and your daughter were working together to heal her allergy.

---

Love the OP Kristina. Really good advice on how to interact with horses.

[kristina]

When I work a horse for the first time, I always release him from his lead rope in the round pen with his "butt facing the gate" and release him at what I would call 12:00 which is the 12:00 location on a clock, this tells him that he will be away from home and I start him working in the 10:00 position (this is my reference when I need to turn the horse in another direction (at 10:00) when I stop our work I stop him at 12:00 facing the gate to let him know we are finished and we are going home. When I take a horse out to pasture, I always release him facing away from the gate. It's his natural way to put his butt to his home when he is leaving and in reverse when he returns, right? It's something simple but it's their language and that just one way when we work together I can use his languange and his compass. Simplicity in body language mean a lot to our 2nd density friends.

[flofrog]

this is so cool kristina...  I realize now that I would do that, but very unconsciously when I would walk him in the pasture...  but never the rest.  That is really cool.  Not meeting the eyes of a horse who doesn't know you yet is also so cool and so wise...

[kristina]

this is so cool kristina...  I realize now that I would do that, but very unconsciously when I would walk him in the pasture...  but never the rest.  That is really cool.  Not meeting the eyes of a horse who doesn't know you yet is also so cool and so wise...

OMG that video is adorable!

[Cainite]

They're very easy to love..  I've gotten very good with them.
kristina, I like the way you respect their intelligence.

I have to fight the urge to not show off the love between me and an animal or the way they may get excited when seeing me.. I get paranoid and think they will end up hurt by someone in my absence as a result.

I loved to keep animals when I was a child. but I would follow my instinct and play with animals when I saw them, that means chasing them away. recently I saw a kid that was being very loving to a cat. his friend was being educated by him. I passed by and right after they left I returned to the cat and started petting him so he would think ''wow! it must be my birthday''.  

[kristina]

They're very easy to love..  I've gotten very good with them.
kristina, I like the way you respect their intelligence.

I have to fight the urge to not show off the love between me and an animal or the way they may get excited when seeing me.. I get paranoid and think they will end up hurt by someone in my absence as a result.

I loved to keep animals when I was a child. but I would follow my instinct and play with animals when I saw them, that means chasing them away. recently I saw a kid that was being very loving to a cat. his friend was being educated by him. I passed by and right after they left I returned to the cat and started petting him so he would think ''wow! it must be my birthday''.  

What would we do without animals? Aren't they the best? They can turn a crappy day into rainbows and unicorns.

[flofrog]

They do and definitely are of service to us which is why we need to wake up to that. No wonder we are close to heartbreak when we see them abused

[AnthroHeart]

When I was young, I learned that the whippoorwill bird stops calling when you point at it, even if you're some distance away.
It's like being able to feel when someone looks at you.

[flofrog]

When I was young, I learned that the whippoorwill bird stops calling when you point at it, even if you're some distance away.
It's like being able to feel when someone looks at you.

yes , Gem, same here, I have a feeling that many birds feel your eyes on them and one needs to not look at them directly... If I walk to the bird feeder to fill it up, I m really careful to never look at them directly and then they stick around and do not fly away, really interesting

[kristina]

When I was young, I learned that the whippoorwill bird stops calling when you point at it, even if you're some distance away.
It's like being able to feel when someone looks at you.

Really? That's so neat. I wonder why?

[AnthroHeart]

When I was young, I learned that the whippoorwill bird stops calling when you point at it, even if you're some distance away.
It's like being able to feel when someone looks at you.

Really? That's so neat. I wonder why?

Yes, I've done that about 3 or so times. Whippoorwills were common in Missouri where I was for a bit as a child.
But you'd have to point right at them. Sometimes it took a few moments to find the right position.
My dad taught me that. I guess it was common knowledge.
Just how the rate of cricket chirping relates to the temperature I think it was.

[kristina]

When I was young, I learned that the whippoorwill bird stops calling when you point at it, even if you're some distance away.
It's like being able to feel when someone looks at you.

Really? That's so neat. I wonder why?

Yes, I've done that about 3 or so times. Whippoorwills were common in Missouri where I was for a bit as a child.
But you'd have to point right at them. Sometimes it took a few moments to find the right position.
My dad taught me that. I guess it was common knowledge.
Just how the rate of cricket chirping relates to the temperature I think it was.

So what you're saying is that the rate of the chirps is dependent upon the outside temp? Interesting.

[David_1]

   Count the number of cricket chirps in 15 seconds.  Add 37.  This will be close to the outside temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
   (If it’s too cold, crickets don’t chirp!)
   [Only male crickets chirp.  They don’t care if you are trying to calculate the temperature.  They are actually looking for a date.]

[kristina]

   Count the number of cricket chirps in 15 seconds.  Add 37.  This will be close to the outside temperature in degrees Fahrenheit.
   (If it’s too cold, crickets don’t chirp!)
   [Only male crickets chirp.  They don’t care if you are trying to calculate the temperature.  They are actually looking for a date.]

LOL!
This summer I'm trying it. I had this grasshopper named Henry in my yard last year, well, he ate a lot of plant life but I loved having him. He made a lot of noise and he would sit pretty close to us when we were on the deck. I doubt I'll see him again as their lives are so short but it sure would be nice. I lots of crickets amd I plan on doing the count. Thank Gem and David.

[Glow]

Most of that stuff applies to all living beings. It is directing our energy. We do it with posture, eyes, or even consciously pulling back our energy or pushing it out(pointing, or eye contact, intention, ect)

Its the same thing boarder collies do with sheep, or momma animals do with their young to get them moving or to follow.
It even works on people.

Animals do it all the time to each other within and between species.

I have bunnies that wander in and through my yard. I was meditating out there the other evening and a bunny hopped close to me. I saw it and mentioned to my husband who was on the deck to call the dog to him so it wouldn't chase it, though she generally knows not to.

I watched her tiptoe, body lowered and head turned, energy obviously pulled away from the direction of the bunny.
She did that on her own. To not push the bunny even with her energy.

My other dog is learning to enjoy the bunnies in the yard. He will lay out in the sun and they will hop up within 10 feet and you can see him get very still, watch the bunnies but avert his eyes so he is looking slightly from peripheral. The birds even land near him and hop quite close and he knows not to look directly at them but you can tell he's watching.

Neat critters, neat too when people consciously use their energy to not disturb other life forms.