Monthly Musings
	Riding Into Joy  July 2005   This is the summer that Wyatt, Wynn, and Luke learned to ride. My enduring memories of this time will be that of a mother's subtle vigil, watching her children grow in compassion, self-confidence, and joy as they learned to ride. I watched their love, respect, acceptance, and assuredness grow in horses and, through this experience, themselves. The smiles on Wyatt's face as he rode and brushed his horse shone so pure and true they made my heart ache with tenderness. These memories are joined by the vision of my friend, Dot, galloping across the prairie at dusk, the breaks of the Cheyenne River pouring into the horizon as the backdrop. The steel grey of the sky contrasted in sharp precision with the muted gold of the prairie grasses. Dot rode with an air of grace and power, her body moving in perfection synchronicity with the horse. In her right hand she held a small plastic water bottle of merlot. This she raised high above her head, gave a shout for joy, and toasted the prairie as we galloped. I offer the following quotes to try and capture the essence of what the time spent with horses meant to all of us this summer. I have found that I receive a tremendous amount of energy from my love for horses that helps me in all of the other areas of my life. -- Mary Midkiff, She Flies Without Wings Then we began to ride. My soul Smooth’d itself out, a long-cramp’s scroll Freshening and fluttering in the wind. -- Robert Browning, from The Last Ride Together As I soothe you I surprise wounds of my own this long time unbothered. As you stand, scathed and scabbed, with your head up, I swab. As you press, I lean into my own loving touch, for which no wound is too ugly. -- Linda McCarriston, Healing the Mare Freedom, Epona thought hungrily. Passionately. Freedom such as the horsemen must know, sitting on those beautiful animals as they run across the…what was it called? The Sea of Grass? Imagine a sea of grass. Not sailing ships but galloping horses, and a horizon unlimited by mountain peaks. -- Morgan Llewelyn, The Horse Goddess With horses, positive results are immediate and infinite. Courage begins to grow in our hearts, forging new independence and mettle. -- Mary Midkaff, She Flies Without Wings Animals hold us to what is present, to who we are at the time. What is obvious to an animal is not the embellishment that fattens our emotional resumes but what’s bedrock and current in us: aggression, fear, insecurity, happiness or equanimity. Because they have the ability to read our involuntary tics and scents, we’re transparent to them and thus exposed—we are finally ourselves. -- Gretel Erlich, "Friends, Foes, and Working Animals" from Intimate Nature… The horses cantered over the springy earth. There was a glory in riding. The human became part of the animal, attached by invisible wires; muscle connected to muscle and bone merged with bone. Epona felt the strength of the stallion become her strength; its speed and grace were hers, too. She sat on the powerfully thrusting haunches with her head thrown back and her eyes closed, not thinking just feeling, light and free.             Free. This is what it is to be a horseman. -- Morgan Llewelyn, The Horse Goddess On the back of a horse you will find Paradise on earth. -- Stella A. Walker