Sharing Our Lives with Horses

The other day I enjoyed a lovely fall ride with my friend, Sarah. A longtime devotee of Blackberry, Sarah and her family rarely miss a concert or food and wine event on the Farm. She recently purchased a lovely spot on Farmside where she will someday build a home. She shops here, relishes her massages here, and regularly entertains her friends at Blackberry. An equestrian since childhood, last season she embraced mounted foxhunting and rides with me often.

On one of our rides about the property this week, we were discussing our enjoyment of the horses in such a beautiful setting, and attempting to pinpoint the essence of the experience for each of us. As we were ambling along the pathway to the Boathouse, Sarah captured the feeling with a few simple words, “I just love riding here. This is my mindspa.”

Mindspa. That word rolled around in my head for a few days. Why is riding a horse so cathartic to us? What is it that compels us to bind our lives and souls to horses? Why does a good gallop clear the cobwebs and refresh the mind so completely?

Could it be that the willingness on the part of the horse to share his power, his affability, even his footsteps with his human companions transports us not just physically, but mentally as well?
By allowing us to climb aboard, to become partners, the horse shares his insight, instinct, and intuition. For a short time, we are part of something a little bit wild. We experience the world from the equine perspective and through his senses. Our bodies and our minds entwine.

This is living deeply and openly in nature with another being, whose form pleases us, and whose psyche intrigues us.
The sounds and scents of nature become more intense from the back of a good horse. The feel of the air is magnified. Our hearts sing a little bit and worries of life evaporate into the clouds.

On some level, each person who rides connects to this magnificent sentient being. For eons our ancestors and theirs have embraced the partnership, shared travels and tragedies, trudged the earth and soared the plains together. How many human tears have flowed into the mane of the horse? How many horses have offered gentle nuzzles, soft nickers, and strong backs and been repaid with clean hay, deep bedding and gentle grooming? How many men and women have thrilled to the thunder of hooves and flight without wings?

How often, over the centuries, have we gazed out at the world together, breathed in the same air, and found it to be good?

Mindspa? Yes. Our minds and souls need this. Thank you, horses, and Sarah.

Join us at the Stables. Carla Hawkinson, Master of Foxhounds, Equestrian Program Manager
865-273-8545, chawkinson@blackberryfarm.com