Walking On Volume 2, Issue 9, September 2015 | Page 8

TEN

By Rick Lance

Over the past twenty years I’ve shared my life
with horses, yet, I’ve always wondered what took
me so long to discover them. Oh, I grew up with
childhood fantasies of horses brought on by TV
shows like “My Friend Flicka”, “Fury”, “The Lone
Ranger” and “Mr Ed,” as well as movies like, “Black
Beauty”, “The Black Stallion”, “Lonely Are the Brave”
and “National Velvet.” I’m still a sucker today for
the contemporary stories of “The Horse Whisperer,” “Secretariat” and the new “War Horse.” Mostly,
these are all stories of true heart, guts, soul and love.
They pretty much illustrate the fact that man has
learned much about life through the wisdom of his
horses.
Of course, these days it’s easy to forget the impact
horses have had on our lives. Before the invention
of the automobile, horses throughout much of
the world were our only means of transportation.
Not only used as ATVs and farm workers (before
tractors) but as companions too. And we’ve always
learned from the lives of our horses.
We’ve learned from their spirit, their sweetness,
lust for freedom and their trust in humanity. Yes,
today horses are simply obsolete, for all practical
purposes. Completely low-tech, high energy and
high maintenance, still, every horse owner recognizes their sheer magnificence.
Here are ten lessons my ho