Take the Reins and Throw Your Heart Over

Those of you who have seen my Facebook page know that I have been doing lot of horsin' around lately. Passionately so.

I have always been a horse girl...horses and art were my life and love from the time I could hold a crayon.

As this renewed, and more powerful horse thing has been coursing through my bloodstream of late, I've been wondering at it. Today I made a connection that hit home.

When I was diagnosed with cancer nearly a year ago, my life became like a ride on a runaway horse. Careening across frightening obstacles at breakneck speed with no choice but to hang on tight and ride it out.

What I found at the end of a wild ride like that is a newfound love for wild ride that is life and a desire to take the reins back and go where I want to go for a while!

As a kid I read everything I could get my hands on that had a horse woven into the story. "My Friend Flicka" was a fave. It probably was the root of my deep connection to the landscape of the west. Set in Wyoming, it was a tale about the power of love between horse and human.

Another book I read, about jumping horses, included a line that went something like this "Throw your heart over and the rest will follow." It wasn't until a few years ago that I realized, for better or worse, I have lived my life by that line.

Another lesson carved deep into my soul by the life with horses: "when you fall off...get right back on". These two go hand in had...trust me....if you're always throwing your heart over...you're going to be falling a lot!

In the end, despite some spectacular crashes and embarrassing tumbles, I have learned that there is no other way to live. If you throw your heart over, sure, sometimes you'll crash...but sometimes you fly.

Horses have always been a part of my life...getting back into the jumping is a new run at an old dream...and all of it is a chance to push the envelope a little further on a number of levels.

A life with horses is healthy for mind, body and soul.

It is about partnership...working with horses is about building mutual trust and communication between oneself and another species. There is something beautiful about finding that connection with a horse....it can be spiritually nourishing and emotionally healing for both horse and human.

It is about courage. Pointing 1200 pounds of cantering horse at a jump is thrilling and amazing...but it can be scary, too. There are times when you have to be willing to drive a horse into a jump and just trust that they'll go. There also times after a hard refusal...or, worse, a wreck...that you have to suck it up, get back on and point yourself at the next jump.

It is about athleticism. Jumping a course is a workout for both horse and rider! I feel it in parts of my body I'd forgotten existed, lol. Jumping is a workout for mind and muscle...keeping the horse on course, paying attention to stride, speed, approach, posture, position, timing...

Working with horses is about lessons in life...how to live with courage, humility, passion, humor, trust, determination, love and a sense of play.

For me...reconnecting with my horsie side has allowed me to remember to take the reins...

...kick up my heels...

...and always throw my heart over!