The Specialized Horse

According to Bob Marley, the king of reggae, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain” I agree, and I subjectively say the horses too. Why is a human talking on behalf of horses? And what does this have to do with capturing a rare moment? Anyone can see and touch a horse on its nose and have it receptive to them. What do I mean receptive? The inside of his ears was facing me. The ears add value to this beautiful story. I bring you to a beautiful summer day at the end of Chateauguay, the early Valley-field area, with my family. We pulled into a private lot that seemed to be deep inside a ‘please never go missing because you will not be found’ forest. A bit of an exaggerated description of the tight, tree-filled, minute trail but one you picture, right? Once the trail of tires came to an end, we entered an Oasis. The sun was shining bright, the air was smelly of horse manure but fresh, the breeze slide across my face gracefully. This Oasis was the definition of Zen. Imagine closing your eyes and only hearing the sounds of the leaf’s on the tree, the wind blowing, and the birds singing while sitting in a chair doing mindfulness breathing with your feet directly on the floor. Now actually do it. Yes! Imagine that feeling with the freshness of an outdoor Oasis.

We were introduced to all the horses. These horses are trained to work with individuals living with developmental disabilities. They specialize mainly in the autistic community. The reason these horses are therapeutic would be because of their specific unseen abilities. We all took an attraction to our particular horse. The horse I was drawn to will mimic the emotions or behaviors you are currently feeling or display. In other words, if I entered this Oasis in a rage, the horse would begin to act up the moment I approach him. Therefore, being in a Zen state of mind enabled me to capture my emotions and behavior through the mannerisms of the horse.

When I see the image, I see peace; I see comfort; I know that I am a person that will open myself up to anyone that walks into my life if they approach me with positive energy. I am sure you, as the reader, are telling yourself this writer is crazy. Let me change that thought if you are. As I was giving the horse affection, my cellphone beeped. I received a text message that upset me and left me wanting to go home. As I got ready to walk away, the horse already left and was heading towards his cabin. It could just be luck; you must be thinking. I tried getting the horse’s attention again and could not. The lady cleaning the manure said, “Somethings wrong,” as I called his name. She then made her way to the horse and began to rub its nose, saying, “What’s wrong, it’s okay,” the horse then began to eat and run around with the other horses. I firmly believed at this point in the mission they mentioned. As my belief grew with the disappointment of not getting a close-up photo, I walked away towards the group that was starting to gather. The activities then started. We were following the bangs made by the chief of the location with our Tom-tom drums.

When the chief called for a break, I made my way back to the horse; I still felt upset by my text message; therefore, I perceive this was the initial reason for ignoring my call. As I told myself this horse wouldn’t approach me anymore, the horse began to make his way towards me. I am not saying the horse could read my mind, but I believe he felt my emotions. I began to rub the horse and call him handsome. The lady informed me earlier about the horse’s ears and when to know they’re receptive to you. The inside of the horse’s ear is turned halfway towards me, meaning the horse is not entirely receptive to my presence. Although I was disappointed that the horse was not completely comfortable, I knew he was projecting how I felt. Approximately five minutes into rubbing the horse and talking to it, I felt a weight get lifted off my shoulders and felt as if I was standing in front of the one I loved most. It was at this moment the horse’s ears turned in my direction, and as I pulled my phone out to capture the moment, the sun shined onto the horse’s unique nose patch. I find this added value to the photo. I look at the picture and tell myself what a beautiful photoshop by nature.

The only requirement to capturing his moment was allowing myself to remain Zen; Yes, I believe my state of mind captured the overall beauty in this photo.