A Day With the Wolves

Many years ago, my family spent part of each summer at a cabin in Lake Arrowhead, California. This became one of my favorite places to visit. The temperature was always about 10 to 20 degrees cooler up there, the air was clear and heavily scented with pine, and being in the mountains was an entirely different world from the hustle-and-bustle of a city. It was like time stopped and the opportunity to experience the “wild” of the wilderness. Of course, wildlife in Lake Arrowhead consisted mostly of squirrels (a lot of squirrels), blue jays and crazy-big spiders. There was also a wolf.

Whitey was actually a wolf-dog hybrid. He belonged to the people who owned the cabin next door and spent most of his time outside. He was a fairly big animal, as I recall; his long white fur was coarse and his head and face seemed larger than most dogs I had ever seen. I can’t remember if Whitey’s eyes were amber like his lupine relatives, or if his teeth were larger than a typical dog’s. But the moment I found out that this canine was part wolf, I couldn’t spend enough time with him. I wasn’t afraid of him. He was always gentle and affectionate, although I probably should have been a little more cautious around him. (His daughter, Tia, was another story and I was much more wary and aware around her.) But my first experience with a wolf—or part-wolf—was definitely positive. As I write this blog I can only wonder if those interactions with Whitey created a subconscious known/subconscious mental script that formed my lifelong interest in and passion for these animals.

Last summer I had an opportunity to attend a presentation about wolves at the Placerita Canyon Nature Center. Despite the heat, at least 100 people came out to see the animals, Damu and Cael, from Project Wildsong. You could hear the collected intake of breath as the organization’s executive director, Kimmi Kraus, and one of her colleagues brought the wolves out. She explained that they were actually wolf-dog hybrids, with 90 percent wolf DNA and 10 percent domestic dog. That was initially disappointing—I expected to see true wolves—but I agreed with her explanation that it would be counterintuitive and counterproductive to remove a wolf from the wild to teach people about these endangered animals. Damu and Cael certainly looked like true wolves with their long, long legs, large feet and sharp facial features. (In fact, one of Cael’s cousins reportedly had a starring role as a Dire Wolf in Game of Thrones on HBO.) They certainly had many lupine behaviors, Kraus reassured, which Damu promptly demonstrated when he easily jumped onto a picnic table and looked back at—watched—everyone staring, awe-struck, at him.

Ms. Kraus described the history of wolves as being alternately reviled and beloved animals, explaining their role as a keystone species like bears and mountain lions that help to maintain a healthy balance between predator and prey species. She pointed out the wolves’ physical features and showed Damu’s paws. At one point, she had him open his mouth so we could look at his teeth: FYI, they are much bigger than the average domestic dog’s. 

For me, the highlight of the event happened at the very end, after the presentation had concluded and audience members were starting to leave. Damu was sitting on the picnic table again—he switched spots with Cael earlier—and I found myself in front of him waiting to ask Ms. Kraus a question. For a moment, we were face to face, and Damu leaned forward and licked me a few times. Many people were petting him or scratching his back, but until that moment I hadn’t tried to touch him. Of course, once he licked me I inferred the gesture was an invitation for contact (emotional suggestibility); I only barely restrained my urge to give him a hug and settled for stroking his left shoulder and back. 

When I finally stepped back and started to make my way back to my car, I checked over my shoulder and saw that the wolf still looking for me. It was like a blast from the past, reminding me how I used to cuddle and play with Whitey, the first wolf I ever met. All I can say about both experiences is that nothing compares to the way a wolf looks at you, through you. I still have goose-bumps.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017

Thoughts of the Day

Photo by Sara Fogan

     Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

• “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson

• “The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.” – Brian Tracy

• “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.” – Erica Jong

• “Life can seem short or life can seem long, depending on how you live it.” – Paulo Coehlo

• “To the soul there is no distinction between giving and receiving.” – Lolly Daskal

• “Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others is possible.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

• “Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be.” – Wayne Dyer

• “If it doesn’t challenge you, then it doesn’t change you.” – Marijke de Jong

• “Not every person has the same kinds of talents, so you discover what yours are and work with them.” – Frank Gehry

• “Do it, and then you will feel motivated to do it.” – Zig Ziglar

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017

The Time Carl Hester Demonstrated He Has Mastered the 5 Roles of a Master Herder, Part 2

(This blog was originally posted on August 12, 2016)

Me and Linda Kohanov, best-selling author and

founder of Eponaquest Worldwide

Photo Courtesy of Sara Fogan

Most riders know and even expect that their horse will spook at something at some point. It’s bad enough having to deal with it (and, more importantly, our own nerves after the fact, while training or on a trail ride. It certainly can and does happen during competitions, too. For some reason, you just don’t expect to see an Olympic gold medalist experiencing this most natural balking response when the horse is startled or scared. We just believe and expect that these riders are so good and the horse must be so well-trained that this mundane phenomenon simply doesn’t even happen. At this level of competitive prowess, both horse and rider are surely beyond that kind of silly drama. Right? 

But that is what happened when British Olympic dressage rider Carl Hester had to deal with his mount Nip Tuck’s spook during a transition to the extended walk during their Olympic Grand Prix competition. Some observers reported that the horse was nervous at the beginning of their ride, but a camera flash reportedly sent him over the edge. Fortunately, Hester was right there to take control of the situation and be the confident, dominant leader the gelding needed at that moment.

As I explained in my blog titled The Time Carl Hester Demonstrated He Has Mastered the 5 Roles of a Master Herder, Part 1, a true “master herder” is adept at fluidly utilizing any and all five functions whenever necessary to keep the herd or group safe and succeed in various environments and situations. Here is a brief summary of the ideal function/goals of each role, as explained by Linda Kohanov in The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership.:

• Leader: inspires group members to follow his or her example to achieve goals.

• Dominant: uses “force”—language, techniques, emotion—to get group members to go/do what he or she is asking and stop unproductive behavior

• Nurturer/Companion: promotes/monitors well-being of other group members

• Sentinel: Scans the environment so other group members can do their job; also looks for new opportunities for the herd to succeed.

• Predator: Uses dominant energy to stop/cut/cull unproductive/redundant individuals from the group. Also, offers additional protection to group members and can make tough decisions so the group can continue to survive/thrive.

When Nip Tuck balked near the “P” marker on the dressage court, Hester immediately took a more dominant position on the horse by adjusting his weight and posture in the saddle. Though this was invisible to most observers, the rider was certainly applying leg aids (pressure in the calf and thighs) to keep the horse moving forward in the direction he wanted them to continue traveling. During the extended walk, the reins are typically released (long) so the horse can have freedom in his head, neck and shoulders. If Hester shortened the reins during the spook (I didn’t notice; as I mentioned previously, this incident was over very quickly) he certainly would have let them out again right away to comply with regulations about this element of the competition. This release would immediately communicate the rider’s relaxation, comfort and control of the situation and environment to his equine partner (nurturer/companion and Leader). However, Hester probably also adopted a more enhanced sentinel role after that, looking out for any other stimuli that could similarly upset his horse that could further jeopardize their competitive score. In this context, he may have also adopted the more predatory, mien of a dominant leader, ready to re-direct his horse’s attention and correct any misbehavior before anyone noticed that Nip Tuck was even thinking about going off-script. Ultimately, the duo earned 75.529 percent for this ride; this is a very good score in a dressage competition even when your horse doesn’t spook or otherwise put a hoof wrong.

Carl Hester is my new hero. Yes, he is a fabulous dressage rider and equestrian, but the way he handled his equine partner's spook during the Grand Prix test today should be an example to us all. Today, the thing we mortal riders dread during competition (or any ride, actually) happened to an Olympic gold medalist DURING an Olympic ride. As I have commented before, if you looked away at the moment Nip Tuck balked you would have missed it altogether, that is how quickly Mr. Hester regained control of the ride and his equine partner's focus/attention. They started brilliantly and, I believe, finished the test the same way. I will definitely employ the image of how beautifully he handled this incident in future imagery for myself and equestrian clients. Well done, Mr. Hester. You are an Olympian and, more importantly, a true and good horseman!

Kohanov, Linda. The Five Roles of a Master Herder: A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership. 2016. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2017