Kind of long but worth it.
Even if you are not a horse lover this is so well written...
by Lauren Davis Baker
God gives us horses and compels some of us to love them. Yet why does the
horse, an animal with such a big heart, live such a short life? Perhaps
it's because if our horses lived any longer, we wouldn't be able to bear
losing them. Or, perhaps it's because God wants to jump.
Perhaps God looks down on the fine horses we raise and decides when it's
His turn to ride. He gives us a few good years to care for and learn from
them, but when the time is right; it's up to us to see them off gracefully.
OK, perhaps not gracefully. Blowing into a Kleenex is rarely graceful. But
we can be grateful.
To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short years,
a horse can teach a 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. I found one of ours on the front porch one
morning, eating the cornstalks I'd carefully arranged as Halloween
decorations.
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 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's 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 fence 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 oversaturated 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. And so we pray:
Dear God,
After You've enjoyed a bit of jumping, please give our fine
horses the best of care. And, if it's not too much, might we have at least
one more good gallop when we meet again?
Amen
Even if you are not a horse lover this is so well written...
by Lauren Davis Baker
God gives us horses and compels some of us to love them. Yet why does the
horse, an animal with such a big heart, live such a short life? Perhaps
it's because if our horses lived any longer, we wouldn't be able to bear
losing them. Or, perhaps it's because God wants to jump.
Perhaps God looks down on the fine horses we raise and decides when it's
His turn to ride. He gives us a few good years to care for and learn from
them, but when the time is right; it's up to us to see them off gracefully.
OK, perhaps not gracefully. Blowing into a Kleenex is rarely graceful. But
we can be grateful.
To have a horse in your life is a gift. In the matter of a few short years,
a horse can teach a 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. I found one of ours on the front porch one
morning, eating the cornstalks I'd carefully arranged as Halloween
decorations.
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 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's 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 fence 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 oversaturated 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. And so we pray:
Dear God,
After You've enjoyed a bit of jumping, please give our fine
horses the best of care. And, if it's not too much, might we have at least
one more good gallop when we meet again?
Amen
