Horses as healers? Yes...certainly they are. I got my first horse in 20-something years in June of this year and she has been my sanity (and my lack thereof at times, too!) since the day she arrived. My husband had a triple bypass a little over a year ago and it didn't go as 'well as expected' and hasn't and probably never will actually recover from it. This called a screeching halt to life as we knew it - husband gets up, goes to work, comes home every weekend (he was a senior computer consultant and traveled 48 weeks a year) and then takes off again on Sunday or Monday...now he's home 24/7...yep, I love him dearly but after a year of semi-forced retirement my mental status needed some serious downtime! Since Holly arrived I get those few hours a day or weekends on the trail for my time to focus on her and what we're doing, where we're going at the moment and in the future as a break from my new reality. What a blessing my little mare has been to me and to him - he likes, as much as I do, walking out the back door and hear her neighing hello...(well, ok, it's more like 'Got Treats?' or 'Don't you think it's dinnertime??' or 'Surely you don't want to do ANOTHER 15 miles??!!) or come running up from the back of her pasture to greet us. No one can ever tell me after looking into those huge brown eyes that there is no soul there...no emotion...no heart. She's one huge 1000 pound walking bay soul with more heart and more emotion than any (hu)man I've ever met. She is my sanity saver, she keeps me on my toes, she's teaching me ways to deal with my situation and other people that I never dreamed of...She is my heart. Thank you, God for each and every one of them put on earth to share such a treasure with...
Happy Holidays,
Suzi and Holly
----- Original Message -----
From: Vicki Austin
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2003 7:21 AM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [RC] My Horse Goes to Church
Howard, you are not alone in your thoughts about the horse. I feel mine is a healer for my troubled soul. Both of my army boys are over seas , neither will make it home for the holidays , and one we can not even send gifts, or know what country he is in (not in Iraq is all we know) and my horse keeps me sane about it. I KNOW God gave me the horse I have now at this time in my life. A very special creature he is. As I have said before, we will all answer for the way we take care of our horses (and other animals. They are gifts, and we are to be good stewards of all we have been given.
Thank you so much for your insight and thoughts.
Hope to see you on the trail sometime. Vicki
--- Howard Bramhall <howard9732@xxxxxxx> wrote: > I went to Church tonight. I don't go very often, > but, hey, it's the Christmas season and the wife is > in the Church Choir, and, if I didn't go, well, I > knew the price would be more than the value of > watching Notre Dame play Syracuse, which, I found > out later, turned out to be a good game. Anyway, > sitting there, alongside folks I did not know, > listening to the beautiful voices, everything kind > of got to me. Life, the fact that we may be the > only creatures on this planet who know we are going > to die, what is it all about, why are we here, those > kinds of things started creeping into my head. > (Geez, no wonder this guy sees a shrink). > > Do you know what I started thinking about? I swear, > something is seriously wrong with me. I started > thinking about horses and how much they mean to me. > I started wondering why some religions don't believe > that these creatures, or any other for that matter, > don't have a soul. That they won't go to heaven > (they're not alone, I don't expect to make that trip > either). How can anyone think that? The horse has > more soul than most humans, including myself. And, > big surprise here, I started to tear up. Damn, what > is wrong with me? > > Has to be some sort of change of life. I don't think > I've always been like this, although, I do remember, > as a kid, I used to cry very quickly when I thought > I was going to get a beating. I hate pain and > thought that would save my butt from it's company > And, yea, I was always in trouble. > > I'm getting older, things are changing. I don't even > look at young, pretty women like I used to, > although, I must admit, I still flirt when I get the > chance. I think I do it to stay in practice, in > case I ever really need to use it once again (yea, > like you ever had it to begin with), kind of "for > old time's sake." But, during the singing, quite > inspiring and enjoyable actually (with hope and > prayer thrown in), there I am, sitting in church, > one of a crowd of two or three hundred, and I bet > I'm the only one there who is thinking about the > darn horse. We're supposed to be thinking of Jesus, > man, what are you doing thinking about a silly horse > here? You can't put a horse on a cross, he's too > heavy. The horse didn't die for your sins, it was > Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. > > And then it hit me. And, most of you aren't going > to like what went through my mind, sitting there > watching my still lovely wife singing, looking at > me, probably wondering why my eyes were filled with > tears (actually she knows I'm weird in this way and > kind of loves me because of it), having no idea that > I'm sitting there on that pew thinking of horses > when I should be thinking of Christmas and the joy > that it brings. What is wrong with me? > > I'm thinking of endurance. American endurance and > some of the discussions we've been having over the > past few years concerning horses that die during > competition. And, I'm thinking, hey, maybe it > wasn't just Jesus who died for our sins, because it > sure seems to me that some horses are dying over the > sins of man. Sins like greed, sins like > coveting that first place award, sins like not > caring (enough), sins like abuse and cruelty, sins > like, well, like placing ourselves above the horse > to such an extent that we forget that they are a > living, breathing organism just like our self. The > only difference being they poop a lot more. Maybe, > this is why the horse is not full of shit as is the > human. > > We, obviously, think that we are much better than > they. We would not treat our fellow man (without > breaking the law) in this manner. We would not let > them die on our watch without taking some sort of > drastic action to change the outcome. And, I > continue watching, listening, to the Church Choir, a > beautiful, pre-Christmas scene, and, deep inside, I > continue to cry. > > > > > >
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