Horses are worthy teachers.
They are the reflecting pools of human action.
Equines have an expressive way of throwing our frustrations right back at us when we’re out of line. In the opposite vein, their behaviors show the best of us when we humble ourselves to them.
These reflections lead to a lot of teachable moments.
Curiosity is built up as we keep trying to figure out their behavior or understand their point of view. Trying, failing, adjusting then trying again. We learn through mistake, trial and error so — in that sense — horses are perfect teachers.
Every horse has a unique lesson to teach.
And curiosity? Well, as Churchill said,
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
That “something” is what I often think about when I write.
What is that something? It makes me curious.
I wrote a piece once about the study of history and how it fascinates me infinitely more than studying the future, simply because history speaks of times where people actually thought magic explained what we now know as scientific events — like rain.
The unknown magics of the universe — they remind me of that “something” that Churchill was talking about in regards to horses. We know it’s there but oft can’t explain it. It piques and encourages my curiosity.
Communicating without words comes with a lot of trial and error — it requires curiosity to see improvement because it’s often not explainable how horses do understand what we ask them to do so precisely. Our curiosity helps us to keep trying to breach that gap in unspoken communication.
It’s having a sense of “feel” rather than being well trained or educated. It has a certain element of mystery.
Whether that mystery be the tingly feels that horses give us when we successfully figure out what they are asking of us, or when we ask them, “What unknown force of nature caused you to simultaneously buck, snort and fart as you leap over and out of our five foot perimeter fence?!”
A curious scenario, no?
(I found out that the horse in that situation was intrigued by the neighbor’s cows and wanted to run with a bovine herd rather than my herd of horses. Mystery solved, I guess).
So, they provide us with that “something” and keep some unknown ‘magic’ alive for us to mull over. To me, that’s so important as we head into a world largely predicted, planned and known.
I tend to flock towards things that have that tingly magic feel. The way that horses inspire curiosity within me is one.
I’m pretty sure that “something” that Churchill described is also that tingly magic at play. He’d use a better word if he’d actually figured out what it is that horses make men feel, right?
Has anyone found the appropriate word for it?
It’s this curious digging, discovery and questioning that horses are so good at teaching. There really is some unspoken magic that runs alongside horses.
Keep the magic alive — Elle