Horses

Horses can teach us a lot more than horsemanship if we are willing to pay attention and learn. They can teach us about forgiveness and grace, friendship and loyalty, compassion and strength.

I grew up with horses. I can’t remember a time (although I think there was one?) when we didn’t have horses. They have always been a huge part of my life, I have been a horse-obsessed girl forever. Fearless.

Of course, like everything else, that was bound to change.

I have always known in an abstract kind of way that horses can hurt us. I have had bruises and bite marks and concussions to prove that there was that possibility. But when I witnessed a horse go over backwards on top of my Mama and shatter her hips and pelvis, I gained a whole new understanding. And a whole new fear.

I was terrified of horses. At the time, I owned Wrangler (but he was too young to start) and was horse shopping for one that I could start right away. That’s where Jackson came in, a wild mustang… because it makes sense for the scared girl to get a wild mustang, right? Ha!

I feel like this is where my education in horses began. Up until this point, I had been content to ride whatever horses were available to the best of my limited ability. But I now had to start from the very beginning, from the literal ground up with this wild mustang. And there were many, many days I didn’t think I could do it.

But Jackson forgave my every mistake. He helped me rebuild some of my confidence. He offered me grace and friendship. And then he taught me about strength when he was diagnosed with a neurological disease and I had to start all over with Spur.

And once again I found myself wondering if I could do this. This horse was COMPLETELY different than Jackson. He lacked confidence, he was reactive, he was athletic. This horse… he could hurt me.

So I went back to the drawing board, watching training videos, picking the brains of those more knowledgeable than myself, taking bits and pieces of these bits of knowledge and figuring out what worked for Spur and I.

And Spur, like Jackson, forgave my every mistake. He learned to trust me and, in turn, taught me to trust him. He continually proved to me that he was not only able but also willing to be my partner on this journey of horsemanship.

I used to box myself into my comfort zone. And while I can’t peg down exactly when that changed, I can tell you with 100% certainty that it was in part thanks to my camera and in part thanks to Spur. I began wanting to see things and do things and document things that couldn’t be found in my backyard. Things that I wanted to see and do and document from the back of my horse, my trusted partner.

Last year, as a four year old, I took Spur to the Grand Tetons and tested us both. We both had instances of fear on this trip but that’s not important. What’s important is that we didn’t let it cripple us. We forgave each other, trusted each other, and enjoyed the time spent in what has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I’m so grateful I get to keep learning about horsemanship and life with this beautiful, sweet soul.

A horse is the projection of people’s dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.
-Pam Green