Respect for horses a path to healing at recovery ranch

<p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">Equine animals have roamed the earth for over 40 million years. Homo sapiens, a scant 300 thousand.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">The image of power, pride, and soulfulness horses represent has deep meaning. They hold a unique place in our history, stories and myths. Yet, it has only been 6 thousand years since we began domesticating them. How they think and behave is still a legendary mystery to us. Most of us.</span></p><p><a href="https://gingergaffney.com/about/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">Ginger Gaffney is a respected horse trainer, and the author of <em>Half Broke: A Memoir</em></a><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">. It’s the story of her time working with horses and residents at an alternative prison facility-- a </span><a href="http://www.delanceystreetfoundation.org/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">New Mexico ranch run by the Delancey Street Foundation</a><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">Gaffney says she is shy: “I grew up an extreme introvert, and like many introverts, I felt an early comfort and kinship with animals. As far back as I can remember the language of movement has been my native language. Whether I am in a round pen or a crowded room, I’m scanning the intimacies of bodily movement.”</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">Here, she tells the story of “the most dangerous horse situation I had ever encountered” and the chance at redemption the ranch embodies.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">The story of what the people and horses who find themselves at this ranch can achieve serves as a remarkable lesson of recovery.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">Gaffney was joined by former Delancey Street resident Ayla Jarvis.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(12, 12, 12);">Ginger Gaffney and Ayla Jarvis spoke at the Seattle Public Library Central Library on February 25. Elliott Bay Book Company