Welcome Eclipse and Sarah

I have been following my bliss and creating a new world for horses.  To celebrate the arrival of two new herd members, we've dreamed up a

!!!CONTEST!!!

(more about that at the end)

First, some new terms that we'll be using:


wealthy relationships
Our Horses


I've decided to call the way I am being with horses and humans a wealthy relationship.


A wealthy relationship is one where the human recognizes that her needs are being met and that she wants to use what she has been given in excess to care for and improve the lives of the other humans and animals around her.  


OurHorses is a group of friends who have wealthy relationships in their lives and who will support others who would like to learn how to have wealthy relationships.  


Our Horses is also a term used to designate horses living under my care and the care of those whom I have met and verified that they also have wealthy relationships.


From this point on, I am going to be having help writing this blog from friends who are exploring equine communication through wealthy relationships.  Entries will be written in third person to preserve the continuity of voice regardless of who the author is.

Thanks for listening to the call,

Stormy May

Above is an unedited clip of nine and a half minutes filmed by Stormy May on August 18th, 2011 in North San Juan, CA, USA.  Pay attention, this has something to do with the  !!!CONTEST!!!

The actors: 

Eclipse: 8 year old dark bay Morgan x Tennessee Walking Horse gelding.  He had been turned out with the others for 24 hours at the time of filming.  He first met Stormy May a few weeks ago.  He has lived under her care for 2 days.  He has been moved from a situation where he was found neglected and starving under the ownership of someone who had "rescued" him from another bad situation a year earlier.  Sarah, a neighbor in Foresthill, CA noticed his condition and began to feed and care for him.  Her questionings about horse care led her to get in contact with Stormy 5 weeks ago.

Sofi: 8 year old Welsh Pony x Saddlebred pinto pony mare.  She has lived with Stormy in 5 different places since she was 3 years old.  Stormy started her under saddle for a client and rode her for a year before realizing that her "disobediences" were a clear communication that she did not approve of the restraints and other violations of her body and space.  She has not been ridden since 2006.

Patrik: 12 year old bright bay Hanoverian gelding.  He has lived with Stormy in 8 different places since he was 3 years old.  He has lived with Sundance since 2003.  Stormy started Patrik under saddle for a client when he was 3.  By the time he was 8 they were schooling second and third level dressage movements under saddle and jumping novice level cross country and stadium jumps.  A constantly chewing mouth when bitted and sore trapezius and longissimus dorsi muscles were signs of the damage that had been done by Stormy during the course of his training.  He has not been ridden since 2006.

Sundance: 18 year old chestnut Dutch Warmblood mare.  She first met Stormy when she was 6 months old and has lived with Stormy since she was 9 months old in 11 different places.  She also lived under the care of Stormy's colleagues and students four times for periods of up to a year.  She has lived with Patrik since 2003 and Sofi since 2006.  Stormy started Sundance under saddle when she was 3 years old.  Stormy tried for 11 years to have an enjoyable riding relationship with Sundance.  It took trying the gentlest to the harshest training techniques she could stomach to begin to unlock the secret of what Sundance was trying to communicate.  Since she was a year old, Sundance has shown the classic signs of a disease called Equine Poly Saccharidal Myopathy (EPSM) or "Shivers".  EPSM is a form of rhabdomyolysis classified as a metabolic disease that results in the accumulation of high muscle glycogen and abnormal polysaccharide in skeletal muscles.  The signs you can see are an abnormal gait in the hindquarters, especially when at a slow walk, grazing, and getting up and down.  She was examined and declared fit to ride by 3 veterinarians.  It is only recently that signs can now be seen at the trot and canter.  She has not been ridden since 2006.

Stormy May: 38 year old female Finnish x Portuguese x English American.  She has lived in 20 places since she was born not including travel.  All of the places have been in California, USA.  Travel has taken her around the world filming, sight seeing, doing service work and teaching.  She has been responsible for the care of at least one and up to 13 horses since she was 10 years old.  She also held the positions of Barn Supervisor and Eventing Equestrian Team member at University of California Davis as well as attained an "HA" rating and titles of Chief Horse Management Judge and National Examiner in the United States Pony Club organization which she is no longer a part of.  She was a professional horse trainer and riding instructor from ages 18 to 33 and has produced two videos for commercial sale, Understanding Bits (2003) and The Path of the Horse (2008) as well as various promotional and sales videos.  She is also co-author of the books Photographing and "Videoing" Horses Explained: Digital and Film (2007) and Horse as Teacher: The Path to Authenticity (2009) as well as other articles published on the internet and in various print magazines.  Stormy stopped riding in 2006 and is now exploring equine communication with Our Horses and other friends in pastures around the world and over the internet.

So, more about this contest!  

Show off your love for horses, wealthy relationships and your video editing skills by adding music, words, poetry, effects, transitions, and even other Stormy May Productions clips with the Creative Commons usage designation.  Please don't use video footage from other sources for this project.  Audio can be from any source that is allowed by YouTube.  Don't forget to add your own contact information at the end.  Animations and creative editing are encouraged!

Contest winner will win a trip to visit Stormy and Our Horses in California.  Runners-up will get a Skype brainstorming session with Stormy about creating your own dreams.

Judging will begin when there are at least 10 entries posted for public viewing.  Please include links to contest entries in the comments section of the YouTube video page.  Grand prize winner will be the one with the highest number of views on YouTube one month after judging begins.  Runners up will be the next 9 highest view ratings for a total of 10 winners.  Grand prize winner must be at least 18 years or accompanied by a parent or guardian.

More information about us at OurHorses.org

Stay tuned to this blog and Stormy's Facebook page and YouTube channel for more about Sarah, Eclipse and the rest of the herd.