Note: I wrote this awhile back and thought it was worth sharing. Consider this a little bit of soul-baring from a lazy blogger who forgot she had a horse blog. Mocha is my 8 year-old paint mare. She is a right-brained introvert (RBI) according to the Parelli Horsenality assessment, which means that this left-brained extrovert (LBE) human took a long time to figure out how best to work with her. She is an amazing horse for her beautiful heart and her quiet affection. So, without any more of my wordiness, my story:
There have been dozens of occasions over the past seven years or so in which I've found myself to be emotionally overwhelmed. With tears streaming down my face, I've fled to the one place where I could find comfort without someone trying to offer reason: the horse pasture. My girls are usually at the farthest point from the gate and waiting calmly for me to come to them (unless I have treats or some new, curious item to be checked for palatability). Annie's fireball personality and her short attention span don't really work well with the tearful "I need a good long hug and a cry" mentality. Usually, Annie is two minutes and out on the sad stuff, pulling away and turning tail for the nearest thing that appears to be edible. Mocha, however, is almost always a willing participant in a long neck hug, with tears and face being smeared into her beautiful, soft neck. She'll stand still, solid and unwavering, until I've managed to cry myself out. More than once, with my hair and face a full-out mess, this horse will put her black, velvet nose right in my face and breathe on me. Her warm, slow breathing is comforting. It's almost like she's saying, "Are you going to be okay now? I don't know why you're upset." Those deep eyes look straight into mine and I know that she can see my bare soul and she knows the answer.
People who have never experienced a true partnership with a horse just don't understand the deep emotional ties that horses and horse people share. They don't comprehend the absolute trust that the horse has for his/her person and the lack of barriers between them. Horses and their humans keep no secrets from each other. My girls have been with me through the very best days and the very worst--joys, triumphs, failures, heartbreak, embarrassment, the whole lot. To be absolutely honest, I am pretty sure that, without my girls, I probably would have struggled with depression. The thing is, horses have the God-given ability to heal the deepest wounds and comfort the most troubled heart. God put them in my life to save me from a world of pain, insecurity, irresponsibility, and destruction. Daily, my faith is reaffirmed by two beautiful horses that know me inside and out and love me anyway, just as Christ does.
I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (Jeremiah 29:11 MSG)
