Not Alone: The Bond That Heals
There she is
Horses have always been the one creature that could make me feel calm and relaxed. Be able to enjoy some silence in the loudness of a mind that is constantly, always ripping through time searching for meaning, searching for answers.
So, I lay here with her, Silently. She stands with her feet near me and I can lay my hand on her feet. The wind gently tickles my nose and pushes her mane in such a beautiful way. The stars are so bright and beautiful too, and with each of her breaths I become entranced by the existence of us together, here and now.
The Struggle
When I was a child, I was bullied, tormented, shoved into the darkness that swallows so many young people. I would come home and find nothing from family, and my own mental health kept sinking lower. You know what it was like? Like every day at school I’d get a on my knee. The nurse would say it’s nothing, just a scrape, nothing to worry about. Then I’d go home, hoping my mother would care for me, the way mothers are supposed to. Right? But no — I was given nothing from her as well. My father was an old school rancher, so I best not say anything to him either. So I was stuck, alone with my that never healed. Only it festered, and that infection — I had no way to even begin healing it on my own.
The Equine Difference
There is a beautiful thing that horses can do that only they can do. At least, to an Equine lover like me. They can ground you in a way that will change your core meaning. Their souls offer nothing but the patience, trust, and sensitive care that everyone desires. So I love them, and you should too.
They are the best at knowing how you feel so easily just by looking at you, and seeing how you move towards them. I don't mean in a "burly man" way or anything. I mean those subtle queues that you and everyone else gives off as you walk, as you breathe. So they offer some security and safety ven if you don't even know yourself hey know, and they will tell you who you are. So no matter how you are struggling in life. Be it suffering in school, or having bad week at work - you know that going and seeing them will put you right.
Healing in Practic
When it comes to healing yourself, and maybe even your horse (they need healing too!) there are a few things we should try. Horses love just being. As far as I have learned in my many years with them, just existing together is so much more meaningful than you can ever imagine. And that's just it... Be with them, lay in the field, sit under the tree they frequent. Over time you and them will learn to trust one another and create something special. Feel what they have to offer, absorb it and learn from it.
Broader Point
It feels like dogs always get the spotlight when people talk about bonds and healing. And sure, they may deserve it, but it means horses are too often left out of the story. It’s like the world forgets that equines can give just as much, maybe even more, in their own quiet way.
Horses aren’t loud about it. They don’t push for your attention the same way a dog might. Instead, they stand there, waiting, letting you come to them when you’re ready. That patience is its own kind of medicine. It teaches you to slow down, to breathe, to let go of the noise for just a while.
So yes, canine bonds are beautiful, but horses heal too. They heal in ways that are different, maybe deeper, and they deserve to be remembered in these conversations. When we talk about zooey pride, or even just about love and companionship, equines should have their place. They’ve been at our side through history, and they’re still here now, offering us something no one else can.
Closing
So here I am again, lying in the field with her. The night is still, the wind is soft, and the stars don’t seem quite as far away when she’s next to me. I can feel her warmth, her quiet strength, and in that moment the noise inside me fades.
All the hurt, the loneliness, the memories that weigh me down — they don’t disappear, but they don’t crush me either. Not while she’s here. She doesn’t fix me, and she doesn’t have to. What she gives is something more simple, more real: a reminder that I am not alone.
In her stillness, I find space to breathe. In her presence, I remember who I am. And that is enough.
