Horses have a way of truly showing us who we are- even when we’re trying not to look. They don’t ask us how our day was, or present solutions to our problems, they respond to what we’re carrying, and provide a clarity that words and logic never could. There’s a magic to their presence, their company has no catch, there’s a sacred sense of comfort in their breath, and a calmness in their heartbeats. Nothing beats a quiet moment with a horse, when they breathe deeply in your space, and softly allow you to simply be in theirs without any expectations or overwhelming weight. Or that moment when you’re working together, communicating fluently without a single word. They lighten loads you didn’t know were weighing on your shoulders and offer a moment of relief where the outside world feels small and far away, your worries even further.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There’s struggle that comes with it. A rollercoaster journey of ups and downs, confidence being built and knocked, mistakes made and learnt from. Horses will test you down to your core, they’ll make you question even the smallest of things, and they’ll reveal everything you are inside- even the things you never knew were there. They have an ability to bring out the rawest, and most real sides of us, you can’t fake who you are with them or pretend to be something you’re not, they always get down to the truth of it. It takes a lot of dedication, time, and effort. It takes repetition, consistency, patience. Grit, determination, strength. They’ll test you over and over, then when you think you’ve surely passed and there couldn’t possibly be any more to be schooled on, they’ll slap you with another trial that uproots everything you ever thought you knew.
Now these are two undeniably conflicting things. How could something be so peaceful and calming, yet so challenging and erratic? How can something demand so much but ask so little? Well, honestly, I don’t believe there’s an answer for that. At least not one that we as humans can put into words. But I do know that there’s a beauty to the struggle they provide us, a relief of sorts. And there’s a sense of achievement, a boost of confidence, and an addiction to the hard work that they create. A single breath of peaceful companionship from a horse becomes undoubtably worth any blood, sweat, or tears it takes to get it. To the point where every labour we endure for them becomes beautiful in its own trying, messy way.
There’s nothing in this world I’d recommend more for a broken heart, a fractured mind, or a weeping soul than a horse- with all the love, hardship, and intimacy. It’s something truly special, something completely honest. A horse will tell you more about your heart than anything you could ever imagine.