It’s a kind of magic

Horses.

Horses.

They feel like they are part of my DNA.

My fabric. My deepest memories are embedded with horses.

I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember.

In cities far removed from the country I grew up in, I’ve ached for them.

My comfort, my stability. A measure of my success.

Heartbreaks. Love affairs. I’ve had them all with horses.

The last few years I’ve felt stunted. Floating aimlessly without them.

Burnt by an unsavoury experience. Not of the horse variety.

Lost my passion. Lost my connection. Shied away from them like a blowing bag in a ditch.

But a hairy cob remained faithful. Longing me to be with him. Unfailing in his belief. Nuzzling at me on my walks. Bouncing over fences to gallop recklessly to be by my side.

He watched me when I drove out. Lifted his head when I appeared at the door.

I relented. Pulled down the saddle from the rack in the tack room. Took the bridle from it’s hanger. Shoved the helmet down on my head. Clipped up the buckle under my chin.

Tacked him up. Took him out to the field. Walking at first, then trotting. Cantering. Uninhibited joy. Upping the pace. The wind in my face. Laughing with joy. Him breathing heavily. Unfit. Me too.

The next day, the magnet called again.

Out on to the main road.

50 metres from our driveway, he stopped dead.

Heart pounding. Head upright. Neck stiff.

Turned abruptly. We waiting in the driveway while cars passed by.

Tried again.

Returned to the safety of the driveway.

Finally he carried on.

“Good Boy” I said “So brave, what a clever horse”.

He carried onwards. Confidently. With purpose.

We reached the entrance to Lough Doire Bhile walk.

The passage has been modified to stop motorbikes and vehicles.

I dismounted, crossed the stirrups over the top of the saddle. And Robbie, as canny as a fox, bent himself carefully through the passage.

“Ha ha, clever boy” I laughed wrapping my arms around his solid neck and burying my face in his mud encrusted mane.

I remounted and we set off along the path.

Resolutely. With joy.

The smells. The view. It’s all different from the back of a horse.

Sights I’d not seen before on foot.

Then, with the sun still shining, it began to rain.

The light was bright and golden. Each raindrop visible as it dropped from above. The gentle pop, pop, pop as the drops landed on my jacket and the undergrowth around us.

Robbie’s gentle clip, clop, clip, clop.

And then, against a backdrop of a dramatic grey sky, the most perfect full rainbow appeared ahead of us.

Expansive - stretching from the far left of the horizon to the far right.

Taking all of the skyline and framing it in the perfect, harmonious colour palette of the spectrum.

Unbelievable. But believable, for all the natural beauty was surrounding us.

Fleeting. For a minute it was there. And then it was gone.

The sun covered once again by clouds. The rain continued and the rainbow disappeared.

A glow from within. Heat. Happiness. Leaning forward, wrapping my arms again around Robbie, my head to the side of his neck. Breathing in the earthy smell of his dirt filled hair.

He strode forward. I shut my eyes. Balanced my body by feel. Felt each hoof movement through my own seat bones. Allowed my back to soften and move as one with his.

It is a kind of magic when four hundred and fifty kilograms of horse trusts you enough to carry you on their back. To let you guide them where you want to go. To have confidence to continue when they are scared, sometimes terrified of their surrounds.

It is a blessing when your own body moves as one with theirs. To allow yourself to mould around them and take their movement as your own.

To feel their happiness in the exploration of new places. To hold the reins that lead to the bit in their mouth as if holding a tiny bird in your hands. To allow the horse to learn to develop the muscles to carry you and himself with lightness and ease.

And when you have removed his tack and allowed him the freedom of his paddock. To graze, to roll and frolick with gay abandon, that he would return to you when you call him. And place his head gently in your arms.

#horses #horseriding #trust #love #happiness #horsepartnership #AsOne #SoilSister #Nature #regenerativeagriculture