From the beginning, horses are considered prey in the circle of life and have a built-in fight-or-flight instinct. Even though humankind has eliminated many of the predators that threaten horses, they still have this instinct in their DNA. Horses avoid danger at all costs, something humans should learn from their hoofed friends.
“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.” ~ William Shakespeare
Given the high tension in America and the threat of violence over politics, people’s emotions are highly volatile and on the brink of bursting. Americans should adopt the horse philosophy and avoid all danger that could cause Americans to become more divided than they already are and flee from any temptation to cause bodily injury or property damage.
Horses instinctively want to be in a herd and readily form herds if maintained on pasture. The horse philosophy is focused on the “we” and not the individual horse. When we encounter a horse, we encounter this sense of we, even if no other horses are around. They invite us into their world because of their “we” philosophy, especially if treated with love and respect.
It would be something if Americans could unify and focus their efforts on the “we” instead of the individualism that dominates American culture. God created humans for relationship. Relationship with the Creator of the universe, with each other, and all of creation. The circle of life includes all creation, with over a trillion different animals, reptiles, insects, and organisms.
Job 12:7-8 (NRSV), 7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air and they will tell you; 8 ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Creation has a lot to teach us about what it means to be more concerned with the “we” than just our individual selves. We need each other more than we know. Horse philosophy is a philosophy we need to all strive for now and forever.
“Look back at our struggle for freedom,
Trace our present day’s strength to its source;
And you’ll find that man’s pathway to glory
Is strewn with the bones of the horse.”
– Author Unknown
The Horse’s Prayer Author Unknown
“To thee, my master, I offer my prayer. Feed me, water, and care for me, and when the day’s work is done, provide me with shelter, a clean, dry bed and stall wide enough for me to lie down in comfort. Always be kind to me. Talk to me. Your voice often means as much to me as the reins. Pet me sometimes that I may serve you the more gladly and learn to love you. Do not jerk the reins, and do not whip me when going uphill. Never strike, beat, or kick me when I do not understand what you want, but give me a chance to understand you.
Watch me, and if I fail to do your bidding, see if something is not wrong with my harness or feet. Do not check me so that I cannot have the free use of my head. If you insist that I wear blinders so that I cannot see behind me as it was intended I should, I pray you to be careful that the blinders stand well out from my eyes. Do not overload me or hitch me where water will drip on me.
Keep me well, shod. Examine my teeth when I do not eat; I may have an ulcerated tooth and that, you know, is very painful. Do not tie my head in an unnatural position or take away my best defense against flies and mosquitoes by cutting off my tail. I cannot tell you when I am thirsty, so give me clean, cool water often. Save me, by all means in your power, from that fatal disease — the glanders. I cannot tell you in words when I am sick, so watch me, that by signs you may know my condition.
Give me all possible shelter from the hot sun, and put a blanket on me, not when I am working but when I am standing in the cold. Never put a frosty bit in my mouth, but warm it by holding it a moment in your hands. I try to carry you and your burdens without a murmur and wait patiently for you long hours of the day and night. Without the power to choose my shoes or path, I sometimes fall on the hard pavements that I have often prayed might not be of cement but of such a nature to give me a safe and sure footing. Remember that I must be ready at any moment to lose my life in your service. And finally,
O my master, when my useful strength is gone, do not turn me out to starve or freeze, or sell me to some cruel owner, to be slowly tortured and starved to death; but do thou, my master, take my life most kindly, and your God will reward you here and hereafter. You will not consider me irreverent if I ask this in the name of Him who was born in a stable. Amen.”
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