Hello horse!

Today is a very special day. I don’t remember being this excited for a very long time. At bed time last night, my pulse raced and monkey mind went berserk in anticipatory fantasizing. It took some serious following-the-breath to finally fall asleep.

This afternoon we met. I brushed and combed him, cleaned his hoofs, and we went for a walk in the rain. A few turns to the left and right, a couple of stops, a back-up, a hind-quarter yield, even a light trot: with me on foot and a simple rope between us. His willingness to give himself to this stranger touched me viscerally, also his apparent intelligence and handsome presence. In short, I fell for him. The decision made itself and by the time we returned to the barn, a 12-year old Lippizan[er] gelding named “Dante” had signed up as my new best friend.

The plan is for us to spend Thursdays together: initially to learn ‘natural horsemanship’ (as demonstrated in this amateur video) and by Spring, when the ground is less swampy, to develop sufficient trust and experience to offer ‘therapeutic mindfulness’ to my meditation community.

Therapeutic mindfulness is grounded the Buddhist teachings of skilful means, loving kindness, and in-the-moment awareness — along with practices from counselling, equine-facilitated wellness, and nature-based learning.

As Deborah Marshall explains, “Horses live in the present moment, highly aware of their surroundings, without the ability to ruminate about the past or worry about the future. They fully use all of their senses, including their ability to read the inner state of another. They are social and respond warmly to humans who are in touch with their emotions. Their attentiveness to the present state of a human has the capacity to heal old wounds through the bond of connection in the here and now.” More to come, I dare say.

p.s. the work ahead involves no riding, thus no saddle or fancy boots.