CHATHAM, ONTARIO – Andria Dyer is standing at the edge of a fire in a pretty glade of deep green trees at TJ Stables, singing a song about giving thanks to the creator.
I don’t understand the words as she’s singing in Ojibwe, but I know the word “Miigwech” means “thank you,” so I can at least pick that up. In fact, the precise words don’t seem to matter. Dyer, who is Ojibwe from Chippewa of the Thames First Nation and whose indigenous name is Running Deer, is clearly pouring her heart and soul into the song. Her voice rises and falls in a perfect pitch as her visitors sit by the fire with eyes closed in contemplation. I can hear a bullfrog croaking and a couple of small birds chirping out an accompanying tune as she slowly bangs on a drum and offers up her thanks.
It’s a spiritual and magnificent moment that’s part of the three-hour “Awaken Your Spirit” experience at TJ Stables, just a few minutes outside downtown Chatham. The program also includes a talk about Metis history, a cleansing ceremony and, naturally, a good amount of time with several dozen horses.
Spirit Horses are a little smaller than your typical North American horse, and are considered a separate breed entirely. They’re of tremendous importance to many First Nations peoples.
There used to be thousands living in the boreal forests of North America, and they were used as service animals by First Nations people. But as the age of automobiles arrived they fell out of favour, and their numbers began to dwindle. Some were killed to make dog food or glue.
John Basden, a Metis who is co-owner of TJ Stables, said there were only four Spirit Horses (sometimes called Ojibwe Horses) left in Canada in the late 1970s, and that the Canadian government wanted them destroyed because they were afraid of disease.
John Basden and Andria Dyer at the “Awaken Your Spirit” experience at TJ Stables in Chatham, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Basden’s wife, stables co-owner Terry Jenkins, told me five Anishinaabe men rescued the four remaining horses from Lac La Croix Island in Ontario and took them across a frozen lake to Minnesota, where they.began a breeding program to build their numbers.
A LONG SEARCH LEADS TO SUCCESS
Jenkins grew up in the Chatham area near three First Nations reserves where Spirit horses traditionally lived, and her father often talked about them as wonderful animals. She spent years searching for descendants of the Spirit Horses, chasing false rumours and dead ends until she saw a post on Facebook about a small group of them being available near Fort Frances, Ontario.
Dyer had become friends with Jenkins by this time, and in 2019 the two of them set out to bring them to a new home.
Dyer, a Chatham police officer who speaks with remarkable frankness, told our group she had been having emotional issues for some time before meeting Jenkins.
“Pharmacists loved me,” she said. “I tried everything.”
A few years ago, Dyer and a friend took a road trip to the western U.S. and found horses everywhere they went. Dyer said she wasn’t a ‘horse person’ at the time, but felt strangely drawn to the ones she saw on holiday. When she returned to Ontario, she told a friend how much she had enjoyed being with the animals. The friend recommended equine therapy, which many believe can help a person’s emotional balance.
Dyer heard about a group of “regular” horses at TJ Stables and thought she’d try a new type of therapy. She said she was nervous as can be about meeting strangers and explaining her situation, but mustered up the courage to walk in and introduce herself.
Petting a Spirit Horse at TJ Stables in Chatham, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
“Terry didn’t know me, but she immediately knew how I felt. I felt like I had finally found my place of peace.”
She started coming every day and she and Terry became good friends.
“She knew I liked to sing and dance and play music, so every day she would ask, ‘How’s my song bird?’”
Jenkins heard about the Spirit Horses in 2019. She didn’t know Dyer all that well at the time, but invited her to take the trip north to check them out.
GRACEFUL, HEALING HORSES
When they got to Fort Frances, Dyer felt an immediate connection with the horses.
“They have such grace and presence. They really do bring peace and have healing powers. It’s like nothing else.”
“When I walked out into that 160-acre field with wild horses that had never been handled, I stood there and they surrounded me,” Jenkins told the Chatham Daily News. “A powerful flush came over me. . . . I had this overwhelming feeling of love, as though you’re holding your first child in your arms.”
Andria Dyer with a Spirit Horse mother and baby at TJ Stables in Chatham, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
As they were getting ready to transport the animals to Chatham, Dyer went around the forest to collect cedar as an offering. She had more than she needed and decided to lay some down near the trailer. She also started a steady beat with her drum.
One by one the horses, who she said had never been in a trailer, started walking straight into their portable home.
Basden said they took to southern Ontario with amazing quickness.
“My wife is a hardened horse woman and she was floored by these horses and how they acted,” he said. “They came here and ran like a tornado and ate all plants our horses didn’t want.”
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
After Dyer’s song and a talk about Metis culture and history from John, as well as a spiritual cleansing ceremony, we walk into a large, grassy fenced area to see the horses up close.
They’re gentle, but they’re not people. John quietly advises staying in front of the horses so we don’t get inadvertently kicked.
“If you’re behind them they can’t see you.”
Newborn Spirit Horse colts at TJ Stables in Chatham, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
One of the horses is just a few hours old and is scrambling to get up on its feet. Another is several days old already, a relative veteran, but is hiding out in the tall grass with his Mama.
They’re beautiful, graceful animals. Some keep their distance, but a few nuzzle up next to us and get scratched on the head or near the ears.
Off to one side, beneath the shade of a towering maple tree, Dyer sings a plaintive tune and pats her favourite horses on the head.
A SEPARATE BREED OF HORSE
Basden shows us the lines that Spirit Horses have on their backs, and points out small bits of hair in their ears, which he said helps keep bugs out in summer and snow out in winter. We’re told they typically live 30-35 years.
Basden tells the animals are special, and are treated with tremendous respect.
“On the ladder to the creator they’re above us. We’re not their mummies and daddies, and we don’t give them apples and carrots.”
Raising Spirit Horses also is not a way to earn millions.
“They eat your money,” he says with a laugh.
John Basden at TJ Stables in Chatham, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Basden tells us that people who are rehabbing from physical and mental issues are drawn to the animals in a very special way.
“No machine can do what a horse does.”
I can’t say I felt inner peace, but it was a beautiful experience I’ll never forget.
TJ Stables now has 39 Spirit Horses, seven of which are new babies born this year.
Some will stay, but Basden says others will be sent to different parts of Canada, including Manitoulin Island, which has a strong First Nations population.
“We’re not hoarders and we’re not collectors; we’re just keepers,” Basden explains.
Andria Dyer at TJ Stables in Chatham, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Jenkins and Basden won the Southwestern Tourism Corporation Innovative Experience of the Year award for 2021. TJ Stables was also awarded the Indigenous Tourism Award for Innovation at the Tourism Association of Ontario Summit in 2021.
RATES
$125+tax per person (minimum of 4 guests)
Children ages 4 to 12: $75 + tax per child
Children ages 0-3: free
In addition to the “Awaken Your Spirits” experience, TJ Stables is a fully accessible equine facility that offers lessons, trail rides, birthday parties, summer camps and family experiences. It’s a great spot to bring the kids or grandkids.
Basden gives us a tour and shows off the tipis and cabins that guests can sleep in. They also do weddings.
AND A GREAT LAKE ERIE BEACH TOWN
Chatham-Kent has tons to offer visitors. One moving experience I had in a past visit was a tour of the Buxton National Historic Site, a fine but sobering place to learn about the area’s rich Black History. I also had a great boat ride around Rondeau Bay and drank some good craft beer from Bayside Brewing.
This time I stopped in at The Sand Bar, a super casual, locals place in Erieau. I enjoy a very good haddock and chips and a fine Sons of Kent beer from Chatham. Friends who live in the area also take us around the town to see some of the pretty homes and the waterfront playground, which would be a hit with kids.
The Eauasis Cottage at Willow Barrel Retreat in Erieau, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
We stay the night at the Willow Barrel Retreat, a series of fine cottages and suites on the shores of Rondeau Bay and mere steps from Lake Erie.
Our unit, Eauasis, was a sunny yellow affair with a very large porch. The interior was very modern and bright, and beautifully appointed. There was a full kitchen, a very nice bathroom with a large shower, wood floors and a comfortable bed.
The grounds are nicely kept up and it’s super quiet. All rentals have access to a bbq, picnic tables and a 200-foot dock on the bay. They also have a paddleboard, a single and double kayak, a canoe and bike rentals, and there’s a fire pit near the dock that all guests can use.
The Erieau beach is only a short walk down the road, and there are several shops in town.
NOTE: I was a guest of Chatham-Kent Tourism for my visit to the region. They did not see or approve of this report prior to publication.
