First off, I must start by stating that I am no horse whisperer. I've never tamed a wild mustang or managed to break that one impossible horse that no one else could ride. I am your run-of-the-mill hobbyist trail rider who occasionally makes her horses earn their keep by checking water sources in hard to reach parts of the farm or by helping Dad move the cows from one side of the farm to the other.
When I was little, I used to think that other little girls who obsessed over horses were the dumbest things in the world. They'd come to school with their little pink pony backpacks, glittery pencils, and clothes covered in horse pictures and I would sit there and think, "That's so stupid. She doesn't even own a horse. She's probably never even ridden one. Why does she like horses? I'll never have anything with horses on it." Yes. I've eaten those words many times over.
It's funny how God works through some of the most random, unplanned events. Annie was my first horse. She came to me as a surprise: an awkwardly-proportioned, overly-opinionated two-year-old mare only a month after I'd gotten my driver's license. We were both trying out new freedoms and both thought we were the boss of the other. Needless to say, we definitely had our share of arguments in which I would ask her to do something and she, as a left-brain extrovert mare (which means she's overly-opinionated, not afraid of me, AND hormonal) would either bite at me, swing her butt toward me and threaten to kick, or rear up threateningly. Despite her bad behavior, I loved her anyway.
My first real experience with horses happened on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2000. A new family had moved into our area from California and had brought their horses with them to set up a non-profit therapeutic equestrian center. As I have a younger sister who is developmentally-delayed, they had contacted my parents with the opportunity to come visit to discuss my sister being the pilot rider for their therapeutic program. That day I rode a beautiful black horse named Lady. She was a gentle horse with a big heart but fairly rough gait. I left with some saddle-soreness in my legs, but I had been incurably bitten by the horse bug and there was little chance of recovery.
I started my first summer job at that therapeutic center in 2002--the summer after seventh grade. My job was to bathe and groom the horses (all 24 of them) as often as needed. As the summers passed--eight of them in all--I had the opportunities to learn to train and ride some of the horses. The most rewarding part, I think, came from helping with the lessons for some of the riders.
I've seen horses change lives. Some of the riders were children and adults with mental or emotional challenges who would not reach out either emotionally or physically to others before they began interacting with horses. For those, often simple interaction from grooming and providing care to the animals was therapeutic. Some were physically weak or unable to walk or balance at all. Riding, sometimes with another rider sitting behind for support or with sidewalkers and a leader, allowed the horse's natural motion to help strengthen their core muscles in a way that was much more gentle than other therapies.
There is something almost magical about a horse's God-given ability to heal and strengthen humans where we need it most--be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. My younger sister was two when she became the pilot rider at Rising Star Farms. She was developmentally-delayed, had severe mental retardation, autistic tendencies, and weak muscle tone among other things. She could not walk or even sit up on her own. After only a few months of riding, she was sitting up AND walking on her own. Now she is a vibrant little teenager who is still mostly non-verbal, but is very expressive and knows how to get her message across. She is incredibly intelligent despite her developmental issues, and knows how to raid the fridge or pantry whenever she is hungry as well as how to sit quietly in church on Sunday.
I know without a doubt that horses, especially my two, were gifts given to me by God to teach me about his love, mercy, forgiveness, and strength. Please pardon any disorganization in my writing as I write, because this is purely something that I think God has brought me to share and it comes as more of a stream-of-conscious thought rather than as an academic composition. Like I said: I am no horse whisperer; instead, I think that God gives horses the ability to whisper truths about him to us through their personalities, their actions, and their astounding ability to trust and bond with us humans.
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.
Psalm 147:10-11
There is so much more that I want to say on the subject, but it will take many, many more of these posts to ever convey what I am thinking and understanding at the time. Thanks for reading. Questions and comments are welcome and appreciated.
