What Skookum does with horses could be called “Mind over Horse”.
I have done much the same with wolves; I bred some about twenty years ago.
I even had success with cats and a couple of birds.
The wolves were easy; they are very smart and know what is going on around them. The alpha male of this pack became the best non human buddy I ever had. In all the years he was with me, I only heard him bark once.
That was one summer in Missouri when it was hot, I only had on shorts, and I was changing the belt on my rotor-tiller. I needed to hold the tiller in a tilted position for easy access. So I went to the firewood pile.
The wood was across the gravel drive and I was barefoot. I eased across the drive; got a piece of wood, but on the way back I stepped on a sharp rock.
The involuntary “Ouch” brought the alpha wolf to his feet barking and trying to get through the fence of his large pen. He thought someone was trying to hurt me.
I calmed him down; I had not even thought of him watching me or wanting to protect me.
I have had less loyalty from family and friends.
Driving home one rainy day I saw a bird flopping on the wet road.
I stopped to pick up the bird; and put it on the passenger seat under a light jacket.
When I got home I put it in a cardboard box, with a small plate of bird seed and a bowl of water, and covered the box with screen wire.
It lived in the box for several days being quiet and peaceful.
When my wife took the screen off one day to add some bird seed, it flew out of the box and went everywhere in the room. She could not catch it.
I approached the bird where it was perched on the top of the window curtains.in the living room, I held my index finger out horizontally and the bird calmly jumped to my finger and stayed there while I opened the front door and went outside. When I got off the porch it flew away.
It was a half grown Cedar Waxwing.
Had a husky once, pure bred, blue-eyed, and only half smart compared to the wolves. Like all male animals, he would “mark his territory”.
Whenever I saw him do this I would “mark my territory” in the same spots.
I got some very strange looks from that husky.
I have never had a problem with strange dogs; except Chihuahuas, they are always angry at everyone.
It seemed that the critters I used this “mind over” on knew I was not afraid of them and did not intend to harm them.
I controlled and helped a lot of animals this way.
However there were times when I could not make it work.
It did not work for me with fish. If I had to count on fishing to live, I would have starved. Just never could get the hang of it.
I could not make it work on chickens; when they saw the long stiff wire hook I used to catch them by the leg, they knew they were dinner and ran like hell.
I got real tired of fried chicken; we had it at least every Sunday, with mashed potatoes, gravy, something or other else, and Grandma’s homemade yeast rolls with real butter.
We also had real milk, from cows milked by me.
Grandma’s rolls were the best and there never were any left over. I can not say the same for the fried chicken; it was good, it was tasty, but it was not beef.
After beef I wanted fish. Catfish, perch, bass, crappie, brim, bluegill, trout, muskie, walleye, pike; it did not matter which fish as long as Grandpa did the cooking.
He used lard, corn meal, salt and his own magic touch.
Wish I could get the same results; maybe it was the fish from the farm or ranch ponds we fished in that the cows and horses had peed in with further contributions from the run-off of the fields they pooped in. All I can get now come from some sterile fish farm.
I no longer have access to those ponds; land owners no longer trust people and have closed off their land. That is a large loss to me. I really miss the sunrises, sunsets, and peacefulness I experienced in those places.
But the subject was blocking ESP.
When I was about ten, I remember doing my homework at Grandpa’s desk, when suddenly I stopped, looked up at Grandpa, and said “my dog is dead”.
How I knew I do not know.
But a few minutes latter Grandma, who had walked to the grocery store, came in and told me she had seen my dog get hit by a car on the highway.
I think she could transmit as well as receive.
Grandma always seemed to know when someone was coming, and often baked a pie or cake.
This was back when our telephone number was 18, that is all, just 18, we only answered the telephone if it was one short and two long rings. (Yeah, it hung on the wall and you had to crank it to get the operator). Any call out of town, population maybe 180, if someone had visitors, was long distance.
Long distance was expensive.
So no one had phoned to tell her.
She just somehow knew.
I used this “mind over” thing on my Grandmother once.
I was in the Air Force, stationed in South Dakota, and I had never been able to surprise her when I showed up unannounced. She always had a vinegar pie ready for me; my favorite.
On one of my drives home, I devised a plan to surprise her.
Suspecting her of ESP; I spent the long, many hours on two lane roads drive, actively thinking about anything other than going home. I even thought about going other places.
When I got there, without notice by phone, or her early warning “ESP”, she became nervous, agitated, and a little scared. I even saw tears in her eyes.
So I guess I was able to block, or at least mislead, her ESP.
I felt really bad and never did that again; and yes, once again she always knew when I was coming home.
Skookum, I can not explain what I do or how I do it.
But I know it works.
What does this have to do with today?
Have you ever been in a room with a cat that arched its back, hissed, and left the room when someone entered?
That will tell you more about that person than you can learn in the next few weeks.
Have the hairs on the back of your neck ever stood up when meeting someone?
That has meaning.
Have you ever had cold chills when entering an area or a room?
That means you are in a dangerous place.
Have you ever had the feeling that something is wrong?
May or may not be, but pay attention to that feeling.
Have you ever gone to the mailbox with the feeling that bad news awaited?
I do not believe in ghosts.
Premonition or precognition? Not really.
I have had these feelings and it often turned out they were right.
If you have a feeling that something is wrong.
Guess what. Something is wrong.
The body language of who you are with; your subconscious evaluation of what is happening, or just something the values you are made of objects to, are telling you something does not fit.
I have been concerned about going into an area, even when heavily armed, without knowing why.
I was hunting with a friend in South Dakota back in the sixties, when one of these feelings happened.
I stopped at a gate, he got out and opened the gate, I drove through, he closed the gate and got back into my 4WD Scout. He looked at me, I looked back at him, and without either of us saying a word, he got back out and opened the gate and we left the area.
We both had the feeling that we should leave but we never knew why.
We were armed; we both could hit a target at 500 plus yards.
Sometimes you just have to do what you feel is best.
I can not say I believe in ESP, yet there are things in my life that I can not explain.
Sometimes I just know that something is wrong.
When I get that feeling, I try to determine the direction it is coming from, what it means, what I should watch for.
This very rarely works.
But I do become very aware of my surroundings, and what is happening near me.
I had a very bad feeling when Obama was elected.
Actually that is very much understated; I became concerned about my country’s future.
No mystery, I knew he was out to hurt this country.
Within a month my investments lost 43% of their value.
I wanted a T-shirt that said:
My country
Betrayed
Wounded
Bleeding
I pray that she survives
I did not have any premonitions, but I knew that we were in serious trouble.
You do not need ESP to see the obvious.
Al–
I don’t have the gift, but my mother-in-law sure did. She could make things happen as well as knowing that something had happened. Several members of her family had the gift. My wife has it to a certain extent.
Only had one of those feelings once in my life. My grandmother (actually my great aunt) had adopted my father when her sister died from complications in child birth. My father was her only child and at age 5 he fell off a stump at school and broke his hip. There were complications (TB) that landed him in a body cast until he was 13. She moved to Denver so he could sleep outside in a TeePee. The cast had big water tanks to keep him warm in winter. After lot of physical therapy he was able to walk with a slight limp. In 1937 he graduated after three years at Culver Military Academy and was off to UVA. His plans for law school had to be put on hold in December 1941 when he convinced the US Army to give him a direct commission as an infantry officer. I was his only child. He landed on Omaha Beach, was wounded in the Hedgerow fighting, wounded again day one of the Ardennes Offensive and killed leading his platoon up to the Rhine.
Mother remarried and had two more boys, but I spent my summers with Granny in Memphis. We were very close. Her second husband died when I was at Culver and while I was in college in Oklahoma, she had another heart attack. I drove to Memphis and sat in her room for about a week. She was comatose the whole time. One day I asked the doctor what was going to happen. He told me she could die any time or she could last months. His suggestion was that I go back to school and have my trust officer call me if anything changed. I left her apartment at about noon and didn’t get to Norman until almost midnight.
At 2:30 AM I woke up and I knew. I got back in my car and drove to Memphis. Everyone had been trying to call me at school, but the house boy woke me up in her apartment. I asked them what time she had died. 2:30 AM.
Terrific read.
I really believe that when we ignore our ”fight or flight” instincts we internalize them and get all kinds of illnesses popping out as a result……if we live through ignoring them, that is.
Great reminder.
If it seems dangerous to walk down the street towards that guy, then cross the street, turn at the corner, do something.
My psych teacher told me that it was intuition.
I have “skookumized” many horses, never been able to recreate it on a human or a dog. Most horses like me but once in a while I find one who despises me and loves everyone else. One such horse was not a horse at all but a tiny donkey that stood as high as my knee but don’t let the size fool you; he would toss three or four tough young men around like rag dolls. His name was Juan Valdez but I called him El Diablo! Everytime I tried to hold him he would drag down a barn isle, through a ditch and back out the other side. Most would have given up on him but I’m not the type to let a horse think he has outsmarted me. Eventually after one to many times getting humiliated by that jackass i figured out that two guys could lift him right up off the ground and another hold his head so he didn’t bite us, worked like a charm(kind of), only worked once though. That’s what happens when ESP fails I guess.
Thanks Al, it’s nice to know that there are other people with the affliction. I say that because I have been considered crazy or tetched too many times to recall, of course when they needed me to deal with certain things people would become more polite. I find your experiments with the wolves fascinating. I have found it hard to trust animals that could kill me with out effort, at least the wild ones, a little intimidating. I have worked with a few horses that have killed people, but they were usually easy, they were just looking for a kindred spirit for a friend. Wolves and bears are hard to deal with, mistakes in judgements are costly.
I need time to think about this, I have always been skeptical about wolf men, but I trust you Al. I’ve seen what wolves can accomplish in seconds. A wolf that has pulled down large game every few days for years is one of the most awesome animals on the face of the earth.
This is a fascinating concept for me. I have called it capturing the mind, once you capture the mind of a human or an animal, it is yours within reason and you can guide it into doing some outstanding things.
The ESP experiences for me have happened so many times that I could write about them for weeks. I will say it is the main reason I have survived several desperate situations. The human mind is much stronger than we are willing to admit; especially, when we recapture the intuitiveness and open innocence of a child. Fascinating Al, I need to think about this for a while.
Zac, they good reasons for calling donkeys jackasses.
Several years ago I won almost $14,000 playing “Let It Ride” at a casino.
I had $10 bet. (Plus “let it ride $10 and $10) and hit a Full House. The payoff was about $450.
On my next bet “Something told me” to pony up $85, $85 and $85. (If you get a shitty hand you can pull back the last two bets in “Let it Ride”).
I got dealt a pair of 6’s and a Queen.
On “dumb luck (because it’s a stupid bet) I let the second $85 “ride.”
(You need a pair of 10’s or better to win, the dealers two cards count toward your hand).
The dealer turned over a 6. I now have three-of-a-kind, a winning hand.
Pays 3 to 1. On all three bets.
Dealer turns over his second card. It’s a 6. I now have four-of-a-kind on all three bets of $85.
Payoff is 50-1 on all three plus my $1 “bonus bet” that pays like $250.
I won over $13,000.
We left the casino. I gave my wife $6500 and I kept $6500. We decided to put it into a stock purchase.
I chose Qwest Communications. (Fiber Optics is the new wave!).
She chose USA Detergents. (Says “Everybody has to wash their clothes”).
My company went insolvent. I lost it all.
Her company’s stock quadrupled, and then she sold out.
“Intuition?”
I’m still undecided on that.
(Stupid Qwest).
AL Cooper, I just love your POST, It’s so interesting, I too had some premonitions ,
some very scary, some mild, like phone someone who is trying to phone me or think of someone and answer the phone after they phone, I wonder if it work in CYBER because I actualy turn on my computer
when a favorite person send me a message, a bit before or at the same time orsoon after,
so many times that I start to notice and marvel at it,, thank you
Love love love!!! Your story!! I dream about wolves and actually got to see one in my yard it was awesome! He was a huge grey timberwolf! In my dreams the wolves were always protecting me…weird stuff one was orange; and no I do not partake of the peyote haha
When we moved into the house (where I saw the wolf) lots of creepy stuff going when I first moved in after being married. I thought I was losing my mind and didn’t want to tell him what was going on for fear he’d think I was crazy(we were newly weds) not a good thing! It was his home before we married. I finally told him and he casually said OH yea house this was built on an Indian burial ground it’s haunted as hell but they won’t hurt you. WTH? I wanted to kill him haha not really but I really thought I was going nuts in there and that confirmed what I had felt and saw in that house! Always felt creeped out and like I was being watched. I thought I needed an MRI or something! The voices were so loud one night I woke him up scared $hitless thinking someone was in the yard and that was before I knew about the house haha!
ESP intuition..whatever I think there’s a lot we don’t understand! We should always listen!
Skookum I admire the raw strength and tough, hard headed nature of donkeys and mules. If only our countrys “leaders” could be that unwavering. Sometimes I wonder if donkeys are a step up the evolutionary scale from humans.
Kate I love your comment also, and I beleive that there is more than what our brain can figure out, because, those who find the courage to tell are brave one, and there is so far too many that we cannot reject as them being loony, I think more on the side that they are lucky to have traveled in that mysterious invisible world that had chosen to uncover for a brief moment in infinite time,
bye, thank you for the interesting story
Nan G, yes you’r absolutly right on this, and you would laugh if I equate this truth to this;
when I walk in my kennel I would more than notice that ANTS going their merry way and from far as 2 feets they would stop and turn back or an opposite direction, It always amaze me to see they know better than continiue, even that I am way back not being dangerous,
ESP, who can denye or agree, that is strange,
bye
Great post!
I too, have a way with animals, but as with anything if your talent remains unused, it’s efficiency wanes. Mine has because I have had fewer animals around me in the last few years, thereby less practice.
Skookum, I understand your concern.
Even though predators have their place in the wild, I do not think
we should augment their numbers. My wolves were dispersed and
remained in captivity.
Tourists in the Black Hills often lost, or left, their dogs. These dogs would
form packs and have been known to chase down and kill deer and not eat
them. At least the wolves and bears did it to eat, not for fun.
I raised these wolves because I had found a lot of conflicting information
and stories about wolves. So when the opportunity came along, and since
I had the time, I took it.
My study had flaws.
Only two generations.
They were not in the wild.
They were around humans daily.
They were well fed so I did not see their “hungry” side.
Under these conditions they behaved like normal dogs.
But they were more peaceful.
Al, my friend Knarley, who is a real person, has probably spent more time tracking wolves than any person alive, through wolf hunting and trapping; he maintains that the wolf is very much a sport when it comes to hunting. A single wolf will try to take down a grown bull moose by himself when the odds are only 50% on who is going to win.
The moose is not a kicker like a horse or a mule, but he is a very efficient striker or stabber with his sharp front hooves. The front hoof can split the skull or break the jaw bone or do major damage to the internal organs. Once the wolf is incapacitated, being hit by the antler rack is like being crushed by a truck.
He also maintains that the pack will attack a black bear for the sport, it is a fairly sure conclusion that the pack will win, but a few wolves can be cut up in the process from the sharp cat-like claws of a black bear. He says the bears are often killed and left to rot; especially, if the pack has killed a better meal in the recent past. He figures they make a kill every two or three days and maintain a 60 mile trot each day on a route that will only cover the same ground in a week or two to restart the cycle.
He is not a trained biologists, but the biologists come to him to learn.
I have known several guys who kept black bears from the size of a loaf of bread until they were several years old. Each one of them was eventually mauled or killed by their pet.
I don’t fear the grizzly, mountain lion, or wolf, but I damn well respect what they can do; for one fact is for certain, a human without a weapon is defenseless if the situation becomes grim.
I tell my women customers who jog, not to jog in mountain lion country during their estrus or period. If you notice, most mountain lion attacks are on women and I would be willing to bet that most of them were on their period. This can signal to a predator that the woman is a wounded animal and an easy kill.
This summer there was a rare wolf attack on a woman in Alaska. She was jogging and two wolves pulled her down and nearly devoured her in a few minutes; again, I believe she was on her period.
I don’t mean to belittle your experiment, but it does get my blood pumping when I think about the possibilities. I’ve lived this long by working on domestic animals and wild animals from a distance, I think I will stick to my areas of expertise.
I believe the wolf and coyote have a fascination with certain people. I have no idea whether it is scent or the mind or a combination, but I can guarantee you if i make a trail through the snow, in three or four days there will be at least one or more coyotes and or wolves following my trail for varying distances. The natives would maintain that those animals were my totems. I have learned not to discount such beliefs; for although, they might not be exactly based in fact, there have been reasons that are based on knowledge like my friend Knarley has gleaned from the mountains, except their knowledge is 10,000 years old.
There was a time in my life when I would climb aboard any rogue horse alive and ride it until it was broke or ridden into the ground. That was done with the wildness and recklessness of youth; now, I know that some rogues are in possession of an outlaw disposition because of neurological and physiological conditions that made the animal psychotic and there was nothing to be done for the animal except to put a bullet through its brain pan, out of compassion. ( I have a friend who does necropsies on horses in a lab in Idaho.)
Horses can show bizarre behavior patterns from being exposed to humans that are afraid of them; this often makes the horse extremely dangerous to someone who isn’t afraid of them. This is a scenario that i live through several times a week and about six times yesterday. Of course wolves who are exposed to humans that fear them could become much more dangerous.
I first noticed that wolves who were on the documentaries had collapsed feet. (flat feet that could never stand up to the constant miles of a wild wolf) Wolves that you snare or shoot have the well formed feet of the athletic canine. That was the first inconsistency that I noticed. One of the last was from overhearing cinematographers discussing how they were shooting a wolf documentary in a large enclosure.
None the less, I admire your work with the wolf and your intuitiveness with the wolf. I maintain that the animals are much better at seeking the human mind than we are at finding the animal mind. The horse has a myriad of personalities and I have seen several wolf personalities from a distance, more so than from the coyote.
When you are in a campsite or cabin and you have killed a wolf, you will often be serenaded by a soulful chorus from the mountains from multiple directions. It is a sad song and will get to you mentally if you let it overwhelm you.
Skookum
Thank you for more about Knarley Manners. I would have enjoyed talking to him.
I was not acquainted with anyone knowledgeable about wolves, and only knew a couple who
could tell me anything about coyotes.
I greatly enjoyed your post; “Watch Your Backcast, But Concentrate On Your Brackets”.
A good read until the last bit about Obama. The economy is good now…and how that fit was inappropriate and just completely like enforcing some opinion that wasn’t a good fit.