Over the past few months, I have become very interested n Alberta's free roaming wild horses, affectionately called
because of the recent cull of these beautiful creatures. This lead me to finding
excellent blog. She is a great animal lover and advocates for their protection.
On Heather's blog, I found out about
Melody Perez who is an Artist/ Painter/ Singer/ Songwriter. Melody is also a very blessed and fortunate woman, and has dedicated herself to horses through her art and has spent much of her time around American Wild Mustangs.
Melody has a real funky 1968 vintage RV she calls,
The Mustang Mansion where she lives, while traveling and sets up her beautiful paintings for people to come and view her art work.
Here is something I found today about the reasons horses are so loved, and why they bless and enrich our lives.
Why Horses?
To have a horse in your life is a gift.
In the matter of a few short years, a horse can teach a young girl
courage, if she chooses to grab mane and hang on for dear life. Even the
smallest of ponies is mightier than the tallest of girls. To conquer
the fear of falling off, having one's toes crushed, or being publicly
humiliated at a horse show is an admirable feat for any child. For that,
we can be grateful.
Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a
bicycle or a computer, a horse needs regular care and most of it
requires that you get dirty and smelly and up off the couch. Choosing to
leave your cozy kitchen to break the crust of ice off the water buckets
is to choose responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and drink
heartily; we know we've made the right choice.
Learning to
care for a horse is both an art and a science. Some are easy keepers,
requiring little more than regular turn-out, a flake of hay, and a
trough of clean water. Others will test you - you'll struggle to keep
them from being too fat or too thin. You'll have their feet shod
regularly only to find shoes gone missing. Some are so accident-prone
you'll swear they're intentionally finding new ways to injure
themselves.
If you weren't raised with horses, you can't know
that they have unique personalities. You'd expect this from dogs, but
horses? Indeed, there are clever horses, grumpy horses, and even horses
with a sense of humor. Those prone to humor will test you by finding new
ways to escape from the barn when you least expect it.
Horses
can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic, obstinate or willing. You will
hit it off with some horses and others will elude you altogether. There
are as many "types" of horses as there are people- which makes the
whole partnership thing all the more interesting.
If you've
never ridden a horse, you probably assume it's a simple thing you can
learn in a weekend. You can, in fact, learn the basics on a Sunday, but
to truly ride well takes a lifetime. Working with a living being is far
more complex than turning a key in the ignition and putting the car or
tractor in "drive."
In addition to listening to your
instructor, your horse will have a few things to say to you as well. On a
good day, he'll be happy to go along with the program and tolerate your
mistakes; on a bad day, you'll swear he's trying to kill you. Perhaps
he's naughty or perhaps he' fed up with how slowly you're learning his
language. Regardless, the horse will have an opinion. He may choose to
challenge you (which can ultimately make you a better rider) or he may
carefully carry you over fences - if it suits him. It all depends on the
partnership - and partnership is what it's all about.
If you
face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to work at it,
you'll learn lessons in courage, commitment, and compassion in addition
to basic survival skills. You'll discover just how hard you're willing
to work toward a goal, how little you know, and how much you have to
learn.
And, while some people think the horse "does all the
work", you'll be challenged physically as well as mentally. Your horse
may humble you completely. Or, you may find that sitting on his back is
the closest you'll get to heaven.
You can choose to intimidate
your horse, but do you really want to? The results may come more
quickly, but will your work ever be as graceful as that gained through
trust? The best partners choose to listen, as well as to tell. When it
works, we experience a sweet sense of accomplishment brought about by
smarts, hard work, and mutual understanding between horse and rider.
These are the days when you know with absolute certainty that your horse
is enjoying his work.
If we make it to adulthood with horses
still in our lives, most of us have to squeeze riding into our over
saturated schedules; balancing our need for things equine with those of
our households and employers. There is never enough time to ride, or to
ride as well as we'd like. Hours in the barn are stolen pleasures.
If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life with them.
Our horses know our secrets; we braid our tears into their manes and
whisper our hopes into their ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled
world, a sheltered place where life's true priorities are clear: a warm
place to sleep, someone who loves us, and the luxury of regular meals.
Some of us need these reminders.
When you step back, it's not
just about horses - it's about love, life, and learning. On any given
day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a foal, a blue ribbon, or
recovery from an illness. That same day, there is also loss: a broken
limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a life or end it gently. As
horse people, we share the accelerated life cycle of horses: the
hurried rush of life, love, loss, and death that caring for these
animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is more than a moment of
sorrow.
We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways
our lives have been blessed. Our memories are of joy, awe, and wonder.
Absolute union. We honor our horses for their brave hearts, courage, and
willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must
seem strange. To see us in our muddy boots, who would guess such poetry
lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise worthy of
heroes. Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors and often carry us
into and out of fields of battle.
Listen to stories of that
once-in-a-lifetime horse; of journeys made and challenges met. The best
of horses rise to the challenges we set before them, asking little in
return.
Those who know them understand how fully a horse can
hold a human heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden loss and the
lingering taste of long-term illness. We shoulder the burden of deciding
when or whether to end the life of a true companion.
In the
end, we're not certain if God entrusts us to our horses--or our horses
to us. Does it matter? We're grateful God loaned us the horse in the
first place.
Author Unknown
