Thankful for the horses

Today, June 8, I am thankful for Mack, Ben & Cole...aka, "the horses."

I didn't grow up around horses, although I did have the opportunity to be around them from time to time. But it wasn't until a few years ago that I began to get up close and personal on a regular basis with horses. This up close and personal opportunity allowed me to discover something: I have a natural aptitude with horses. I never knew this was the case until I began taking care of Mack, Ben & Cole.

My sister-in-law owns Mack, Ben & Cole. A few years ago she had an accident that for a few weeks rendered her unable to take care of her horses. I stepped in and told her I'd handle it. Turns out I not only was good at it, I really enjoyed it. It has now become a once-a-week opportunity for me, one of those things that I do to enhance my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Mack is a big, beautiful Draft. Ben & Cole are both Quarters, not as big as Mack, but equally beautiful. They each exhibit very distinct personalities, and of course, there is a pecking order between them (Ben is the alpha). They are calm and gentle and perfectly at ease around me and I am perfectly at ease around them. During some very difficult times in the last few years, they have been a source of respite and relief for me.

I love everything involved in taking care of them, not just the things that allow me to be right next to them, but also those things necessary for their care, such as getting their hay down from the loft, preparing their feed, mucking their stalls, refilling their water trough in the pasture. All of it is work, but it is work that feels like a gift, because that's exactly what it is.

I also love being able to walk them from their stalls back out to their pasture, as this is the time I get to do my weekly check-in with them. I check out how they look, make sure their gait is ok, but mainly I just talk to them. On that short walk from barn to pasture, they are reminded that I am someone who loves them and that they can count on. They are also reminded how much I count on them.

I spend the majority of my week in meetings, speaking to groups, or in front of a computer answering the never-ending tide of emails and working on projects. I am blessed to do work that is fulfilling and to which I feel called. But, my time each Saturday with Mack, Ben & Cole every Saturday is some of the best and most precious time of my week. It is time that reminds me that there is more to me than my job. It is time that reminds me how necessary it is to be in nature as often as is possible. It is time that reminds me I am both a human being and a human becoming. It is sacred time.

Mack, Ben & Cole, 3 of my mental health and soul-care therapists. I am deeply thankful for them and to them for helping me stay sane and hopeful.