What our horses teach us
Then all of them stood in the rain and ran their hands over the wet ebony coat of the horse named Thunder, who shuddered in delight. The boy would always remember the feel of muscles rippling in the shoulders of the horse, the grooves of his neck and buttocks and thighs. There were cables of tendon drawn like lines from his knees to his hocks. The horse looked at them with liquid black eyes as the rain pelted them all. Looking as if he knew that he had found his home.
~ Forever
The finest gift that a horse ever gave to me was my life. With gifts given and received, I’ve learned something from every horse I’ve known.
My young draft horse Tobias shares with me the exaltation of something bright, and shiny and new. His sheer size and kind nature remind me that powerful and gentle are not mutually exclusive attributes.
Still growing into his massive body, the three-year-old Percheron engenders in me the same tenderness and protectiveness I feel as the mom of two while leaving me open-mouthed in awe when he gallops and romps, thick neck arched and rippling, making me think I should have named him something like Bucephalus.
When I sit on his broad back, I am at once Bellephron and a happy child who throws back her head and laughs. Just because. She’s alive.
Toby teaches me about joy.
