What Horses Are To Me

Some people like to put horses on the same level as humans.  Some like to think of horses as stupid animals, fit for nothing more than the slaughter house.  Still other only own horses in order to profit from them, constantly throwing away one for a "better" one. 
There are many, many different mindsets when it comes to horses.  But I cannot claim to any of the above.

To me - a horse is the image of perfection.  God made everything perfect when he created the world and all its inhabitants, but for some reason I believe he put something extra special into a horse, something that would create an awe and a fear for them in every human being.

 

I have the following passage highlighted in my Bible - it stands out to me...

"Have you given the horse strength?
Have you clothed his neck with thunder?
Can you frighten him like a locust?
His majestic snorting strikes terror.
He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He gallops into the clash of arms.
He mocks at fear, and is not frightened;
Nor does he turn back from the sword.
The quiver rattles against him,
The glittering spear and javelin.
He devours the distance with fierceness and rage;
Nor does he come to a halt because the trumpet has sounded.
At the blast of the trumpet he says, 'Aha!'
He smells the battle from afar,
The thunder of captains and shouting."
-Job 39:19-25

The horse is powerful.  Man has domesticated many animals - dogs, cats, cattle, etc.  And people claim that the horse is also domesticated - that we can do with him whatever we will.  Lions and bears, those are the wild things, they cannot be tamed and thus people are afraid of them, they avoid any close contact with them because even in zoos these animals will often turn on their handlers and attack them with a vengeance.

 

The horse is the same way - they can turn on their rider and attack them with a vengeance, and they often do!  Yet, to most people, this is just part of being around horses.  Everyone who has been around horses for a long time will tell you, "you're bound to get hurt sometime or other"... I have heard this many, many times.  Horses have that wild instinct, just like any other animal and "domestication" has never succeeded in drowning that completely.

Horses are beautiful.  I have never yet had someone deny this to my face  (perhaps there are some, maybe you want to let me in on this secret?)  so I will continue to claim it with absolute certainty.  Throughout history, in writings and art and song, the horse has lived on as a beautiful creature.

 



*sigh*

Heaven is high and earth wide. If you ride three feet higher above the ground than other men, you will know what that means. ~Rudolf C. Binding

I can't go on - its a bit too emotional for me... may have to continue this post some other time... but for now, I'll leave you with a few links... :)  Enjoy :)

http://suzannesphoto.com/?load=flash - Equine Photography by Suzanne Inc.

http://www.shelleypaulson.com/eq_galleries.htm - Shelley Paulson Photography

Savvy On!

-Kit Marie