Horses have always been the thing that has kept me going. Every day, I wake up in the morning and tell myself that if I want to go see my horse – to ride and groom and love on a horse – I have to make it through the day. Every night, when I lay down and my head touches the pillow, my dreams are filled with wonderful, gleaming four-legged creatures. My nightmares, even, are filled with horses. I used to tell myself that I can learn from the horse, and adapt myself as they have. To go from wild and untamed to domesticated, gentle, understanding, and willing.
Even now, I still haven’t found out how the horse can keep its composition. While I break down and sob into my horse’s mane, horses don’t cry. Why not, though? Horses have enough to go through every day – riders cranking on their mouths and being punished for not knowing what their owner wanted. The horse, though a large, virtually untamed animal, has been my idol for my entire life. Slowly, they have helped me sculpt myself and help me become the very person I am today. They have taught me uncountable things, and now I mold myself by the qualities seen in a horse or, even, a pony.
Bravery. That is the first thing that was burned into me by horses, especially when riding. In order to venture that one extra step and try something new, you have to have bravery to accept whatever happens. To accomplish a task that no one thinks you can do, you have to be brave, suck it up, and try. With bravery comes consequences, though. If you push too hard, someone might just fight back. Eventually, you won’t be able to go further. But even then, you have to be brave and keep trying.
Perseverance. Being able to keep going, to tough it out, is a skill that I believe can only be learned from horses. If you are stepped on, you have to walk on that foot and keep going. If you are kicked, you must be able to move on and help yourself and your horse work through it. If your horse is injured, you have to help your horse push on and go on with life even if things can’t go back to normal. You have to be able to make it through the toughest situations, and the hardest decisions. And even when it’s all over, you have to keep going.
Courage. The will to stand up for what you want, and to be able to push for what you believe in, should be engrained in every human being. Even when others put you down for doing things that are scary or frightening or dangerous, one must be able to stand your ground and do what you believe is right. No matter what others say, you have to have the courage to do what, truly, is right. Not what is right by others, but what is right by your heart, mind, and spirit.
Love. Even after someone has whipped and kicked and abused a horse, the horse still somehow finds a way to love another human or another horse. Since that is so, even after someone has ripped at your heart and destroyed your will to continue, you still have to find a way to love. You have to have a soft enough heart that you can accept help and love those who help rebuild you and your heart. Love is what life is all about – so don’t ignore it.
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