T
Susan Miller - Sharon, VT
his question was posed to me during a clinic I attended a few years ago, the clinician asked, “What one word would you use to describe what you experience from the horse and why you continue to work with them?” There were several people in attendance and many auditors. Each shared a word or two of what they felt compelled to share as their word. Some of the words I heard were, Love, companionship, spirituality, friendship, bonded, majestic, beauty, kinship, partnership, and many other words in that vein… On my drive home, I started to ponder this question again as I was last to
44 4 Legs & a Tail
be asked and felt like I couldn’t really find the word or words to describe how I feel about horses and why I continue to work with them. Love and spirituality were the closest words to what I feel. So, were the words I repeated. However, on the ride home the word I think best describes how I feel popped into my head, and it is, Blessing. After 40 years of experience as a horse owner, many more than that as a rider, and a lifetime of loving them & wanting to learn about them. Amazingly, my passion hasn’t waned at all. It has maybe even grown stronger, much to my husband’s chagrin. I am not only drawn
Horses are a Blessing
Horses are a Blessing
My One Word
to the animal itself but any knowledge about them, their care, and training. Every time I am around horses, I realize what a blessing it is. How the horses bless me with their presence. What a blessing it is for each and every lesson that horses impart. Some of which take me quite a while to process and interpret. But it’s lovely when I feel I’ve gotten the message. It’s a blessing that they let me work with them in a therapeutic setting and share in the magic that they offer to those less able than me. It’s a blessing that I get to see the smiles that are created because of them, and often for them. Horses are a blessing. Sometimes horses have a soft and gentle way of imparting great insights into our daily interactions with people. The horses mirror our moods or react because of them in ways that can bring about behavior change. To anthropomorphize, or attribute human characteristics or behavior to animals is a way many people process their experiences with animals. I think it is often a good way to interpret animal posture, facial expressions, and body language. The better you are at reading the silent signals that animals present the safer you will be in any given situation with them. The silence in body language is often what will tell you the most. Horses communicate in a language without words. Pay close attention to their facial expressions, body posture, and head & tail shakes, the horses will tell you much if you take the time to listen. Interpret what you intuit and act accordingly for the good of the horse. See if you can read the air as they do. Soon you will learn your horses, quirks, and what triggers them. It’s often those odd quirks that endear them the most to us and help us learn and grow. Sometimes the things we think are most annoying from the horses we interact with, are the very things that teach us the most. There is no doubt that horses have an uncanny knack for helping people with introspective reflections in a gentle breath or liquid glint in their eye. Horses bring a feeling of spirituality when there are setbacks in life and in riding. Imparting equine wisdom for transformational changes for the humans that listen to them, there is always a life lesson to be learned. Susan Miller is a PATH Advanced instructor and ESMHL. Program Director at High Horses Therapeutic Riding Program and serve on the boards of the Vermont Horse Council and Vermont Horse Shows Association. Fall 2021
