25/07/2024
Emily Dickinson wrote:-
"A horse is like a poem:
He is free, he wanders around,
His mane is like a cloud of smoke,
His hooves make the sound of thunder,
He gallops, leaps, flies."
I have long believed that horses should not be used to satisfy some humans desire to win competitions. There surely cannot be anything further away from the true desires of a horse, which I suspect are to live peaceful lives and not get eaten doing it, period. Otherwise we would see them setting up races and competitions in their fields for themselves!
Charlotte is not the first to be outed and probably not the last, but by far and away this incident will have the most effect of any. I feel like I’m on a seesaw of optimism and depression about the effect this may have in the equine world. There should hopefully be a change for the better, for the horse. We are in a time of improved understanding of horses and know better what they need at a basic level to thrive, but are also beginning to listen and communicate with them in ways that were not talked about much 50 years ago. This should lead to an even greater understanding and empathy between us and then who knows what we shall be capable of achieving together. The cross-species partnership could be totally amazing, given a chance, but we have to learn to listen harder and learn from mistakes, not just repeat ad infinitum. It's not easy but we must try.
