A Special Bond

This past week I was out in our paddock, removing manure. I had just fed everyone their morning hay, and things were quiet. I happen to look-up from my chore and noticed that Eva was laying down. She was flat down on her side, including her head. All the other horses were busy eating, and there she lay. Immediately I got a knot in my stomach, and my mind started racing. I couldn't tell from the distance, if she was breathing.Was she dead? Why isn't she eating? Did she eat something that made her sick? I stood frozen for what seemed like several minutes. Finally I saw her tail move, and I relaxed a bit. I moved closer, and saw that she was OK. I breathed a sigh of relief. This got me thinking about what our horses mean to us, and how much we care about them. It also brought to mind the terrible tragedy in Florida, when all the polo horses were "dropping dead" at the polo match. I can't imagine the horror, fear, and helplessness everyone was feeling, especially the owners and riders. Quoting from an article written by Peter Rizzo in POLO magazine "For people who do understand the relationship between a human and a horse, this loss can't be measured in cost of purchase or the expense of replacement or can it be calculated as an inconvenience that all these great horses are no longer available to play. THESE HORSES BELONGED TO PEOPLE WHO LOVED AND RESPECTED THEM, INTIMATELY. Those players relied on and trusted those horses to keep them safe from harm as they played. The horses relied on their owners to provide them care, welfare and to keep them from harm. The unfortunate owners were there with their horses as they became sick and were dying, and their grief and desolation was stark and real as they realized nothing would save their horses." In sharing your life with horses there is a special bond. We recognize each individual whinny, eating habits, where they like to be brushed or scratched, what frightens them, and all the other little idiosyncrasies. The special bond between horse and human has always been a fascinating topic. Why horses? Why not cows, or goats, or sheep? Yes, there are people that seem to bond with these other animals, but it doesn't seem to be the same type of bond as with a horse. What is it about horses? We will probably never have an answer to this question, but one thing is certain, there will always be horses, and people who will devote themselves to these wonderful animals. I know that without horses in my life, I would feel that I had lost contact with the earth, like a Buddist monk having lost contact with Nirvana.