Attack Horses?

Meeting a horse for the first time is like meeting a friend. Though there is no handshake, there is what seasoned horse people call “the eye” of the horse. It is as though you can see into the heart of the horse. Some horses, they yield their life through their eye, sadness, hurt, hope, fear, anger, and the rare few, love.

Horses are not open and hopeful. They are closed like an oyster holding onto its pearl. They cannot trust until you are tested. They observe from a far, calculating your actions, your voice, tone, expressions, your touch. They feel intuitively whether they can trust you. Like an onion being peeled, the horse sheds its layers of distrust and hurt to reveal a faithful friend.

My very first horse was like this. He was a handful and threw his rider off too many times. To “teach” him a lesson, he refused to feed him. Reduced to skin stretched over bones, he was sold to a horse dealer. It is there that I met my horse, Raise Your Dreams. He had a nature that showed that he had been mishandled. He threw his head in the air if you moved your hands or arms near his face. Fear swept through his body if I grabbed a whip. He slowly learned to trust, but it was painstakingly slow. During that time, he would bite me or step on my foot. There were times that he would try to kick me. He was being defensive, and my special education background revealed that this horse was like my children. Fearful of being abused, they abused others before they could hurt them. I learned to be patient and it is here that I learned a valuable lesson, those that are the hardest to love are the ones that need it the most. I was determined to love this horse and win his trust.

Now twenty five years later, my horse taught me that the soul of man is revealed through the horse. The horse brings out the real man. A horse can and will mimic those that care for them. Poor treatment will reveal a nasty, distrustful horse. Great treatment, kindness, and love leads a horse into a trusted friend.

As the years passed I learned also that horses will actually sacrifice their own safety for the safety of their owners. I stupidly rode on the trail by myself when my horse was spooked by a man in the woods. Was the man planning harm to me, I think he was, and it was through my horse that I realized that his sense and timing was better than mine. Unfortunately, when he spooked, I fell with a sickening thud onto my shoulder that I had just had operated on to correct dislocation. They had put pins in to keep it stable. The fall tore the pins and my arm hung limply on the side of my body. The pain was excruciating and I writhed on the ground. As I looked up, all I saw were four hooves surrounding my body. Then I saw my horse’s face. Ears flattened and his teeth bared, I saw this look only one time when he was chasing a chicken that had dared to try to pick up grain that had fallen from his feed bin. Fortunately, the chicken escaped through the fence, but he never dared come near Raise Your Dreams again. I saw the man approaching me. I quickly realized that he was in danger and my horse would “protect” me and that could bring him serious consequences.

I warned the man and he quickly left. I walked home with the aid of my horse. If the pain got too bad and I needed to rest, he just stayed next to me, gently placing his head against my head. He was sorry for letting me fall. I was sorry that I was walking along on the buckle and not aware of my circumstances. But my horse showed me that he would protect me.

Since that time, I have heard similar stories where someone was in trouble and the horse came to the rescue. Please share any stories that you have about a horse that came to your rescue. I will post them and I know they will encourage others.

Make comments and please spread the word to have others share and comment on this blog.

Remember with GOD all things are possible!