Horses

As I child, I never thought much about horses. Horses, ponies, and other four-legged animals humans choose to ride for sport or leisure were always "girl" animals. My one riding attempt, pushed by my mother, was about as horrible as one could imagine, Sharing a saddle looks good in movies, but it's a fallacy. In my older years, gambling was the closest I had ever come to loving these animals. This too passed with my embracing veganism. Still, horse appreciation remained a bit of a mystery to me. The other morning, with storms approaching and the grey tones hovering above, mirroring my internal life, I stood in the dew-soaked grass and watched. One horse, then two, chewing on whatever nourishment was below them, stomped, snarled, snorted, and grunted, their legs often tapping, while tails swung, like some hyper-speed metronome, pulling me in. This trance lasted five, maybe six minutes. They, oblivious to my existence and me, completely enthralled by theirs. I had worries about the weather, my job, my relationships, my financial situation, my life, and personal safety, and these regal creatures cared about nothing, other than that next chew. While I am sure, these sentient beings had much more going on than my simple human brain could imagine, at that moment, they seemed to hold a feeling of content, I can only dream about. I wondered if they were receiving as much joy from their actions as I was from my gaze. I felt calm after, and it carried me throughout the day. I fell asleep thinking of them and what they had unknowingly given me. This morning, I awoke, scampered downstairs with my cat, he went one way, I went to the other. He was content. They, and the calm they instilled, were not there.