Being With Horses

Yesterday my husband and I had a delightful encounter with Being With Horses at the beach. Where to go from there? Let's find out.

Two of the 9 horses we met. Picture by me, yesterday, at Buccoo Beach, Tobago.

Being With Horses: A Healing Foundation

The website for Being With Horses shares the philosophy of the organisation.

Being-with-Horses follows the principal that if a horse is given the freedom to live the life intended for a herd animal in an open setting with an abundance of fresh feed and ample space to enjoy the comfort of his herd members he will transfer this sense of wellbeing and balance to his riders.

I have ‘met’ the horses at various times in our trips home over the past years. We usually leave the beach before they arrive, but not always.

A friend of ours partnered with a woman in the States who had this kind of therapeutic ranch, so I had a slight knowledge of how it can help people, but there is something very special about Being With Horses. Probably because of the tropical setting and ocean which are so good both for the horses and the humans who encounter them, and the woman who leads the organisation, Veronika Danzer-La Fortune.

My young cousin has been one of the children on the spectrum who has benefitted from Being With Horses, as participating in the program has been a part of what his school does to help the students.

One gets the sense, watching the horses walk slowly at their ease along the beach and coming back through the water, that they are content, and that this state of being does indeed provide healing for the humans who encounter them, even casually. When they are on the beach, people are entranced by their presence, children want to go up to the little pony and pet it, and it’s a whole thing.

I don’t bring my phone into the water, so while I got some pictures of them on the beach before we all went in, the experience of being in the water when the herd walked by was something that we just enjoyed without trying to capture through images.

My husband loves all animals. Thus he naturally interrupted his swimming routine to quietly in a non-threatening way walk right up to one of the horses and pat its nose. I stayed back a bit and just observed them tasting of the saltiness and letting it go, reveling in the cool of the waves in this delightful part of their daily routine.

There are 9 horses in the herd plus the pony. It was lovely to see one of their humans take off their tack while they stood in a close group among the waves and to feel with them the relaxation of being unfettered by bit and bridle at last.

Girls and Horses

I dreamed about horses like many other girls. The year my mom, sisters, and I spent in Vancouver when I was 8 years old was my most horse-obsessed year. I rode my bicycle to and from school, imagining I was riding a beautiful horse, hearing the theme music of Black Beauty in my head. I used to play in the little backyard at home and imagine my horse was there with me, standing quietly. She was a soft reddish-brown and had a star on her forehead, and four neat white socks. I could almost see her if I really concentrated, a faint and loving shape in front of me.

One of the perks of being in Vancouver, besides learning to ski and spending time at the beach or in Stanley Park, was actually having time with real horses, learning how to ride, and to groom them.

Yesterday we watched Veronika coaching a teenaged girl with one of the horses. The girl clearly had a lot of doubts though she was both fascinated and determined to lead the horse from the water. Eventually she succeeded.

These experiences with horses can be exhilarating and at times terrifying.

I remember once being on a horse among the trees and losing control. The horse was going faster than I cared for among the branches that tore at my hair and clothes, and my heart and breath raced too. I feared I would be knocked off or something. But eventually the horse slowed and I returned to the trail walk with the other horses and children.

I never got skilled with horses, but do have many happy memories of riding them, including every summer I went to the Christian camp in the townships of Quebec.

So Much Life and Power

Perhaps if one grew up in India or an African country around elephants, one might have an enhanced sense of being so close to an animal that is enormous yet gentle. The same is true for those who form a kinship with whales.

But horses are what most of us meeting large animals actually experience, and it is something to approach them closely. Watching how their sides heave and contract with the breaths their large lungs take in and breathe out. Feeling the shudder ripple through them as you pat or curry them. Hearing all the sounds they make, the sharp huff of breath or snort, their whinnies, and of course the sound of their hooves on a trail.

They are wonderful and full of patience and kindness toward the humans they are usually very careful of.

At the same time there is a distinct sensation of an awful lot of strength and power held in reserve, seen unleashed perhaps during a horse race where they fly along at breath-taking speeds.

Being With

Presence is in itself healing. Being with horses is no exception. Learning to care for them, love them, listen to them, ride them, and simply be with them is an incredible privilege. The well-being of a healthy and happy horse rolls from it in every direction and helps humans in the vicinity better regulate, gain new perspective on life, understand balance both physically and emotionally, and simply delight in their way of being in the world with us.

Do you love horses? Perhaps you have a horse, or ride regularly. Maybe you have in the past.

What does being with horses mean for you?