Horses Opening People’s Eyes is one way of spelling “hope”. How do horses open people’s eyes? I honestly don’t know. I simply know that they can and they do!
In the days when we were raising German Shepherd puppies, one of the pups the children called “Beautiful,” was bitten by an older dog while at the food dish. Her eyelid was torn through by a tooth, but fortunately the pup’s eyeball was unscathed. The next day that little puppy could not see out of her eye because it was swollen shut. I was reminded that one act of compassion that Jesus did when he walked this earth, Son of God; Son of man, was to bring about recovery of sight to those who were blind. Key word “recover”. Wounds, like that of the puppy, can close our eyes and bring about blindness.
Doing the work here at Corral Connections, I have observed time and time again the healing power of horses in opening blinded eyes. Some eyes have been opened to leadership skills within, eyes have been opened to a sense of belonging; eyes have opened to dignity, value and worth that run much deeper within than the scars. There are eyes that are more focused and deliberate because of connecting with a horse.
Is it possible that we people experience a measurement of hope when we connect with a horse? This hope brings to us a confident expectation of something good, a measurement of trust, of a wish, and optimism that anoint our eyes to see. What an act of compassion to have our blinded eyes opened, to have eyes to see the beauty within and all around us, eyes to behold the wonder of simplicity, and eyes that are softened to the hardness and harshness of people’s choices that have wounded us deeply.
“With a spark of hope, faith is ignited and love is illuminated.” Deborah Ann
I received a card from a woman who came out to Corral Connections with a group for a horse session. There was a moment, (sometimes that’s all it takes,) when she observed the connection between me and the mare I was with. In that moment, God reached in, touching her heart and opening her eyes to reconciliation. After years of therapy, hope came riding into the arena of a mother/daughter relationship, and two amazing women were restored and reconciled!
One person with great intelligence and a scientific engineering mind shared openly and honestly about his Corral Connections experience. He said he was quite skeptical when he came out with his group for a horse session. He was amazed at the connections between a human and a 4-legged animal! He experienced such heart.
A young person experiencing horrific nightmares due to intense abuse connects with a horse for a week. Now when the nightmares come, this horse enters her dream; she swings upon the back of this horse, and the horse carries her away from the “mean people.”
Hope. Hope. Hope. May you hear the sounds of horse’s hooves coming to you to bring you hope in any situation, whether it’s unbearable or simply uncomfortable.
Your NEIGHbor
Deb Kitchenmaster
Corral Connections:
Connecting with LIFE through a horse
Animal B.E.S.T. practitioner
dkitchenmaster@mchsi.com
