The Spirited Equestrian

Horsepower With A Heart and Soul

A horse is a horse of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse of course. But are all horses like Mr. Ed? Go right to the source and ask any horsewoman about a horse and you will get a never-ending story of visceral love, companionship, and undisputed equine connection.  If horses could talk there’s no doubt that they would feel exactly the same about women as women feel about them. It would be a love story that would last until the cows come home.

“The will of a girl and her horse can never be separated, to that, there is no debate. The spirit of the “one” can never be negated, an esteemed veneration sealed in fate”.

At a very early age, girls are drawn to horses, and they never outgrow their love for these magnificent herd animals. Around the age of three, they start playing with horse toys, going on pony rides, watching horse cartoons, playing with horse figures, and drawing pictures of them. Eventually, lessons are the beginning of their final quest to own a horse of their own.

It was never about Sir Lancelot among these idyllic dreamers, it was his provocatively built “steed” that grabbed their attention. There would always be another “knight in shining armor”, but nothing in life could replace hanging out in the confines of a mixture of hay, liniment, leather, the “shenanigans” going on in the barn at night, or those occasional hot days on trail rides or in the show ring.

Women make countless sacrifices to continue riding through careers, marriage, and parenthood. Could it be because of the unleashed power, a feeling of empowerment, riding and handling of horses, or perhaps they love their horses more than they do their spouses? Yikes, don’t let your husbands read what I just said, ladies, I’ll be in serious trouble, lets’s just keep it our secret!

These ladies of the equine extraction are known to be more empathetic and pick up more of the horse’s subtleties which allow for developing stronger and lasting relationship behaviors to be able to train a 1200 lb saddle horse.  

These tough-as-nails ladies enjoy the nurturing aspects of feeding, grooming, and tending to the “chores” of the day.

Independence and a sense of adventure, the freedom to ride through the trails or soar through jumps, gets them in touch with nature at a much deeper level.

Horses are a super stimulus for the dynamic of acquiring strength through influence; and endless hours of hard work. They are big, strong, fast, and aloof, which heightens the major challenge to train them. Women, more so than men, train horses with their brains because they intuitively think that the strength of a horse is a major challenge for them. “Gentling” is a technique for literally harnessing this powerful animal, not with personal strength or punishment, but with superior training skills. The exact same skills women use to influence their romantic partners and their children so they may recognize that toughness.

“Myths and legends aside, it seems more common for women than men to be “married” to their animals. 

These Shebiscuits understand that they have the motivation and skills to build influence, even when their minds are very different from the opposite sex.  

Horses aren’t cuddly or eager for contact, but women develop loving and even romantic feelings towards horses because the connection is how a woman’s distinctive emotional gifts enable her to gain her own beauty, grace, swiftness, and solidity. Their horses are always there for them, and not only for the physical reassurance that they may not get elsewhere.

Fascination with horses fuels women’s imaginations, while at the same time it expresses their own self-transformation.

To be in control, or out of control on a horse, is a “wild” feeling because you are one with your horse, and you feel the selfless driving power under you. That’s part of the attraction, which accounts for why their “stable chums” are always excited to see them, and that they will always be there for them.

These Mustang Sallys have always known since the first time that they were given a “leg up” that it’s much better to stay on top of things than to fall off and end up with a “Charley Horse” or a broken body.

When all is said and done, the equestrian is never alone in the world that surrounds her as long as she alone acknowledges the existence, mystery, and intoxicating connection between horse and rider.

By the way, conversations between women and their horses. are best left to them because they are conversations that begin right out of the starting gate and never end until they cross the finish line.

Over many years I have had the privilege of witnessing this astounding spiritual bond that appears to have been propagated by God into a horse lover’s DNA.