While visiting the family farm over the holidays in 100 Mile House, I was eager to go visit a good family friend and mentor Thea Fast of Human be Herd (www.humanbeherd.com). Thea and her family reside in Beaver Valley, BC about a 2 hour drive north east of my grandparents farm in Forest Grove BC. Johan, still being new to my family, hadn’t ever been further north than 108 Mile and I was excited to introduce him to an area of the cariboo that is very fond to me. We took our time and navigated the snowy roads with ease and excitement for the views around the bends. Enjoying the fun sights of the snow covered fields with frosty cows up to their knees in hay piles and round bales. I have to say there’s something special about watching those old farmsteads age over the years, so much history and many stories to be told.
Thea lives on a beautiful 40 acre ranch nestled in the valley on Beaver Lake with her husband Charlie, daughter Hazel, 2 dogs, 1 cat and their herd of horses. Upon arrival we were greeted with smiles, giggles and a hot bowl of Thea’s homemade soup. We enjoyed our soup over good convo and catch ups, and settled into into a game of Settlers of Catan.
Upon awaking the next day we were greeted with those big cariboo skies and the sun shinning down across the fields, what a perfect way to start our day. We sat down to a nice hearty breakfast, some hot tea and soon got to talking about the horse work Thea does with her herd, which I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing with her over the past 3 years on and off. It was fun sharing this beautiful and thought provoking side of Thea and all her lovely attributes that come with it. Anytime I’m asked what kind of work Thea does with horses I can never really find the right words to explain it, I find its more about experiencing it, so in turn we got to talking about the work that is. Johan was intrigued by it and Thea was happy to introduce Johan to applying it to the herd. We soon suited and booted up out into the -15 degrees it was that day. Thea showed and explained to Johan how an energetic approach was applied and then let him experience it for himself. It was fun watching someone else experience it, beautiful really, getting to share this big part of my life I adore so with a man I so adore. I find it quite interesting how we can be so caught up in our minds all the time and unaware of the subtle yet not so subtle cues horses give us, let alone even our own bodies. With the work of Thea Fast I’ve better understood what my body is saying and in turn what other people, horses, and dogs bodies are saying. I’ve felt more connected and yet more in control of my own body then ever before. My work and understanding of horses has evolved so much more since working with Thea and am ever grateful for this knowledge. Not only has it helped my work with horses, but its also helped myself ten fold. I’m now able to acknowledge I have boundaries and to assert them in a compassionate way, I’m able to listen to my body when it says no and not my mind when its telling me otherwise and I’m able to be present in the moment more than ever. This path has taken me many places and I look forward to learning and experiencing more with the horses, Thea and others.
After our sessions we brought the horses over to the hay field and went on a hike with the dogs around the neighbourhood. We finished the hike off out on the lake in front of Theas home. Our stay was lovely, amazing home cooked meals, good convo, great company, fuzzy ponies and the mix. Just another reason to love the Cariboo and its great big skies <3
