Today as I was brushing out the second tail of the day, after soaking Capprichio’s abscessed foot, and grooming Amadeo, I suddenly looked up and wondered, why do I love this? Why do I love touching horses? I was holding the tip of Deo’s tail, and looking at his very fuzzy hamstrings with their winter wisps of long hair. Why do I love this? Why is it that the acts of touching, massaging, brushing, picking out feet, stroking the face never get old. Why is it that a day without those movements is not complete?
I honestly do not know.
My birth chart has absolutely no earth in it. I am all air, fire and water. Maybe the deep groundedness of the horses gives a balance to my energetic constitution. Or I just love them in this deep helpless way. They take my breath away. They are happy to see me. They express that in many ways. They nuzzle me, they lay their noses on my cheek and ask me to stand there and breathe. They appreciate my touching. There is something in the ritual, the connection, the meditative quality of those movements and those moments spent together that soothes me to the bone. To the soul.
As I said, though, I really don’t know.
(Asked and answered . . . )
ps. I re-enabled comments on the blog. My thought of the moment is why cut off conversation anywhere? (Thank you Nicole),
this made me smile…i’m fire, air and a dash of water — almost no earth to me either. so i *get* this very much.
for me, anyway, there’s a soul-deepness to this laying on of hands….even though i don’t really ride anymore, just being around them is usually enough.
{i’m glad the comments are back — i’m not loving all this ‘talk-about-it-over-here’ business…;)}
That’s funny Paula. What in the world did I say? I say so many things. I am sure it had something to do with the digital audience. Which I find to be hard to manage sometimes. Not from sheer numbers but just because it takes me away from why I write. One post I get 20 comments the next three and it really makes me question my own creative judgement. What is good? What is bad? Are people scratching their heads? It is a hard thing to manage sometimes. So, maybe having your comments opened will be an experiment for you.
I love that you have been able to just go with your love for horses and not question it. That you have channeled it in a creative way is inspiring. Maybe there is some past life connection. Who really knows. I know that I really enjoy your posts. Can’t afford to subscribe to your journal, but I do enjoy your posts.
Thank you NIcole. I think that it was more you just holding the thread of your own judgement, and the clarity I feel in that. As you say, it is another experiment. I feel that closing conversation is sort of an anaerobic path. Yes – the horses are such a clear point of focus for me. They ripple out into everything. Thank you for your thoughtful and ongoing presence in my writing life.
This is so beautifully and thoughtfully expressed, It’s something I’ve often wondered about.