Horses All Around Us

I was travelling recently to the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys semi-annual Collegium in San Antonio, Texas. Like most busy people who don’t have enough time to catch up on their reading (even the required stuff), I brought a stack of periodicals with me. Among these was the August/September 2009 copy of In and Around Horse Country. If you know me, you know horses are my passion. This particular publication focuses on the comings and goings of horse people in Virginia horse country. Virginia is big horse country and I love reading about the varied way horse people spend their time, whether it’s fox hunting (as long as they don’t get any foxes) or polo or endurance riding.

In this particular issue I came across two interesting articles. One featured John Walsh from America’s Most Wanted. I never knew John Walsh and his wife, Reve were horse enthusiasts. They are in a big way. She likes fox hunting and John is an avid polo player with more than 20 “ponies” in his string.

The other article was about a new book and movie called The Horse Boy. The book is written by Rupert Isaacson, father of Rowan, a young boy with autism. Rupert had always been a horse enthusiast but when his son was diagnosed with autism he believed he may have to give up horses forever. Then he made an amazing discovery. One day while walking in the woods with his son, they come across a pasture of horses and Rowan had an amazing and life-changing encounter with a mare named Betsy. The horse/boy connection led the family to a pilgrimage to Mongolia! They planned to trek across the country on horseback. They had several encounters with various shaman and upon their return home Rowan was changed forever, for the better. The family now operates a therapeutic riding program in Central Texas. For more information see horseboymovie.com and horseboyfoundation.org.

The horse/autism connection is not a new discovery but for this family contained a miracle. Horses are one of the most amazing animals alive. I’m always awed by their willingness and ability to interact with man in a predator/prey relationship. My Mustangs, Reno and Tahoe, were born wild but have adapted to life as barn yard pets. Horses have an innate ability to know what we are thinking and to reflect our emotions back to us—that’s one of the things that make them so incredible.