Spirit

While I've been here, I've been trying to understand what sparked my interest in horses. I actually don't know the point it began, but I can name a few influences. I grew up in a town, and had little interaction with horses, but when I was around thirteen years old my family got a computer. On this computer was a film called "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron". This was one of the few films we had at home, so consequently I watched it a lot. I loved the film, and at one point I knew almost all the spoken words. It is a film about a wild mustang stallion who is captured by different humans (the cavalry and a Native American), and his struggle to be free. He is named 'Spirit Who Could Not Be Broken' by the Native American.

Around that same time I read Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Thus the first few influential experiences with horses, even though they were fictional, were from the horse's point of view, and treated the horse as a thinking and valuable being. The combination of a free spirit and being bound in a herd is what has fascinated me when it comes to the horse. Also, I have always thought horses are beautiful animals, and as I enjoy art, I have seen them a lot in paintings. They are majestic animals, and there is power in a horse that attracts people.

From those early fictional experiences with horses, slowly my interest in horses grew. I sought out books and comics about horses (which were readily available and targeted at my age group and younger). I found books about horses in their wild state and became interested in natural horsemanship as introduced by Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli. I read books about this and became really interested in trying some of these methods out on a horse, but I didn't have access to a horse.

When I was 19, I decided to go to what in Norwegian is called folkehøgskole to learn natural horsemanship. This is a type of gap year school where you can go to learn something or spend time doing something you like. You could do anything from drama to skiing, natural horsemanship or gardening. I was lucky and found a school with a very good horse programme with few people and many horses. I learnt a lot about horses, and I was introduced to Stina and the Carolyn Resnick method by one of my fellow students.

That has led me to where I am today. Here, in this herd, there is a mare called Spirit. She is very sensitive and afraid of humans, and while I am here, she is one of my 'project' horses. That means I am spending time with her and getting lessons from Stina with her. I love it, but it is also a challenge for me, because when I am around horses that are afraid of me, I easily get afraid too. But she is a really sweet horse, and it is good to see that  she functions very well in the herd. She is second in command, and is well respected by the younger mares. Jack, the only male in the herd, and Spirit have a close relationship. Whenever Darling, the leader, is not around, I often see Jack and Spirit hanging out together.

It is so nice to be able to see some of the friendly gestures of the horses, not only notice the bigger pecking order squabbles. I feel like I understand much more of how the herd functions and the language of the horses, just since I came here. This has come from a lot of observation when spending time with the horses in the first Waterhole Ritual, sharing territory. The horses give me more than I had ever expected. I understand the concept of real leadership - a leader who leads by example that you want to follow - much better now. The concept of teamwork has also become clearer to me, and I am constantly learning. I am very thankful for the journey I have had since those early introductions to horses. To think that a book and a film can have that big an impact on the direction my life has taken!

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