Read an Excerpt

The Spiritual Nature of Horse Explained by Horse

Balboa Press

Chapter One

What words do you have for me as we begin?

This will be really easy. Just follow my lead.

Tell me about being born.

It is a unique experience - a feeling of rushing forward into vast greatness, limitless expansion and accomplishment.

Mother is key to fulfilling intention and prophecy.

Not all of us get great mothers, but most of us get good mothers.

Mares know their key place in Horsekind and are revered in eternity for being mares.

Tell me about departing.

That's a different story now.

We choose when we have had enough of earth play.

We go in a variety of ways, and are quite indifferent to it in fact.

There comes a time when the physical magnificence pales, and the glory awaiting our transformation back to pure spirit is such a draw that we can no longer wait for the freedom we are remembering.

We meld seamlessly into pure spirit, ignoring the bodily agonies and last breaths, already galloping through Heaven's plains in glory unimagined by Mankind.

Nothing equals the experience of re-emerging with the fullness of God.

Tell me about age.

Age is a relative term, as spirit is ageless.

Only the body and mind reflect perceivable age.

We do not consider age at all really, once we have matured to adult physical horse.

Time simply goes on and on, year after year, as we work to our purpose.

If we thought of time as a boundary we could not think as clearly in our work with you.

Pressure to achieve would make us hurry, and our work cannot be hurried.

Old horses know so much and are a benefit to every horse herd, large and small.

Inherent knowledge is passed to younger horses and always powerfully aids their journey.

What's it feel like to gallop?

Imagine unrivaled power and speed, sight for miles and excitement of spirit directed by an all-seeing mind and limitless heart.

Imagine being one with the wind, sky and earth, and feeling their excitement compounding yours with every hoof strike.

Imagine every hoof strike delivering the energy of creation back to the earth, and every blade of grass celebrating the gift.

There is your beginning feeling.

Tell me about horse joy.

You have all seen it as we kick up our heels in appreciation for such exquisite physical make-up, combined with nature's gift of Day and all that brings in perception by our senses.

We see in such detail, hear from distant pastures, smell from winds that came twenty miles or more to give us their offering, and feel the combined Being of earth and sky, and all God melded together to create that moment.

Exploding bliss; nothing better.

Tell me about sadness and horse.

Yes, we know about sadness.

But it does not interfere with our ability to see the bigger picture.

We can be so practical for you about sadness, because it is but a blip in the story we know of you.

It may seem we are not sympathetic, but we love you too much to make a big thing about it at the time.

Trust we hear, sense, see and feel it from you - so there is no doubt.

But we are takers of difficult emotions and you can't make us cry in the taking.

We are above that to do what we do for you.

As for us, weep not for us in what appears to be difficult for us, for we come with a capacity to endure the physical, emotional, and mental aspects with a spirit strength surpassing your mind's ability to reason it.

This is horse at its fullest, seeing it but not being it, and transmuting it for the purpose of changing it back to good somewhere, sometime.

Yes, you've been sad, but that was then.

Tell me about mischief.

Such sheer delight exists in the mischievous horse.

We are, after all, so brilliant at it, and perceive every appreciation of our being from you, be it for entertainment value, beauty, or powerful achievement in our workplace.

Mischief has its own rewards because the energetic power in the thing we call smile rings in our very ears for hours afterwards.

It is such a simple thing, a smile, but the power it holds is not in imagination, for it really moves energy forward and into its space, touching everything in that precious deliverance.

Horse does not smile as you know it, but we are inducers of smile, which is our greatest glee.

Tell me about green grass.

We live for it and wait for it all winter here.

There is nothing like it for succulent feel and taste in our mouths.

God was sure thinking when he invented our synergy with grass.

Think about its position with the earth, how it grows without you making it grow, and think of its glory in its colour and symbology.

It represents eternal renewal of earth resource for all creatures, and we, horse, are able to sustain ourselves on this one innocent, only positive aspect of nature, when other creatures mostly eat other creatures.

Surely you see it could only be this way, existing without harm to the earth, for horse.

Tell me about fresh hay.

Ah - the anticipation we feel when the smell of hay is in the air.

A guarantee of good food always assures us.

We are like a child in a candy store about good food and enjoy it as much as you do.

Extras are so appreciated, always.

It is a gift to us, the food you bring, and we always send our appreciation whether you notice or not.

Do you know what plants are best not eaten?

We have a general idea depending on our upbringing and time with Mother.

Not all of us get sufficiently educated about food.

See how your children eat in spite of your knowledge about nutrition.

Ours are the same.

Favorite colour of salt?

Yes, it's white.

Favorite colour?

Green, of course!

Tell me about water.

Cool, clear water is lifeblood to horse.

Many areas lack sufficient cleanliness.

We don't do well on murky water and its negative energy.

Water holds much symbolism for Mankind, representing life itself, and the cleansing action of water is active on many levels.

It is a carrier of stories, literally, in Nature, and benefits in the purposeful use to remove the energy in the dirt of the day, so to speak.

Should one encounter what they deem negative energy in their day, see the act of using water for its true use, carrying what is not beneficial back to positive energy.

It is read as a story to us as we see it in our environments, and felt as a purging and renewal as raindrops.

It is the same for Mankind really, but often it is not known all that water is to man.

Trust that the mere washing of hands removes energies that are stuck a bit in and on the physical man.

And yes, we enjoy for the most part the baths you give us, but temper the spray for us, knowing our sensitivity to touch outrivals all other creatures.

Tickle to horse is unperceivable to man.

Like a back slap to a bug, expect profound differences in perception here.

I love that example! Comment on bugs?

My personal detest.

There is nothing a bug is good for in my opinion.

Help us with this with every thought you can find.

The sprays are tolerable once we know your intention.

Banish them by all means possible.

And the horsefly?

See this as the Panzer tank of insects.

How did it get so resistant to spray and gentle thought?

It is deaf to pleas for co-operative dance with us, and the plague of Horsekind everywhere.

Shade is our only saving grace here, so make sure we have it to deal with this monster biter.

Tell me about grain.

This is one thing we appreciate more than most.

A regular feeding of grain says many things to us.

One, that you care enough to attend daily, and two, that our bodies are appreciated by you and you are striving to keep us fit and healthy.

Many horses require more grain than they are allotted.

Man doesn't always know our true requirements and energy expenditures.

We do appreciate all efforts to supplement our energy.

Tell me about treats.

Man can do no wrong with treats.

Horse looks forward to treats so much so that it is all we can think about in some situations.

Make us be polite and you have a perfect dance.

Tell me about sugar.

I love sugar as you know.

What could be better than sugar?

Does it rot your teeth?

Never.

Insufficient amount to affect our teeth.

Tell me about sleeping on your side.

Our moment when we submit to quiet of mind and body.

Soaking up the sun flat out is equal to spa time for human.

Nature is our masseuse, the earth is our welcoming bed, the wind is the caresse that rubs the sunshine oil into our coats, and the heartbeat of earth is clearly felt as ours touches it in that time of refreshing gift to horse from Earth.

Often many horses will sleep at the same time.

Yes, we know a good story is best shared.

So we sleep together, and know together the replenishment of side sleep.

Then we talk about the goodness of it in mutual benefit.

How does horse feel about living alone?

Not our ideal.

But we are adaptable and often accept the most un-horse-like situations for our relationship with you.

All things are endured with and for the right person.

There are no worries here; we can speak across the ages if we need too.

Why do horses pee in a freshly made up stall?

We are claiming our space.

It's a ritual of sacred proportions.

Just accept it as such and honour the behavior as powerful in spirit too.

What about marking territory with manure?

Yes, we all do that, but the stallion is the prominent marker.

And he insists on the honouring of his marksmanship.

Horses know about the honouring, but some people are ignorant of placement of manure significance.

Do not mess with a stallion's placement that delineates his ownership.

It could, and has, been deadly in history.

Can horses be asked to eliminate in certain places to keep main areas clean?

Yes, but we don't think that's important, so we keep forgetting you asked.

We don't mind manure in general places.

Tell me about eating manure.

There's a story in every manure pile, of course.

We read the story, and sometimes it is so good we take a nibble or two for greater participation in it.

Why do you chew trees?

They have something precious to give horse in bark and story.

All we eat has a story for us, and we love a good story.

So see us eating the magnificent tree and taking in a piece of its magnificence, and weep not for tree as it is generous of nature and heart to all beasts and birds.

It would not come as tree if this were not so, it would come as rock.

Why is it so fun to break out of your field?

We seek adventure in the distant places where wind comes from and the stories live.

Don't you strive to know of new experiences paired with Dream and Promise?

So is the nature of horse driven to bust through the fence and run toward Promise.

And once we taste of Promise in the nearby field or down the road, we always want to see more.

So your breachy horses, as you call them, are just the most adventurous in spirit.

Tell me why you stand in the rain when the barn door is open.

There is nothing like the washing-of-tears-away feeling in rain.

We don't cry, but such a cleansing occurs in the pelting of raindrops, grounding us to earth and replenishing our spirit journey with you.

You feel it too, those of you who run in the rain barefoot, mindless in your delight.

All is new and fresh after standing in the rain.

And thunderstorms?

Different story.

We prefer not to be pelted to bits, and we will use the barn door as a rule if it is available.

Still cleansed and grounded, as rain is rain.

Tell me about the sun, the moon and the stars and horse.

We are all dance partners with you.

All things are part of these.

It is so pure a connection that mourning occurs deprived of sun, moon and stars.

Self from self, as one talented man called it.

See horse as the star itself, and you will more clearly understand the distance when horse rarely sees the stars at night.

Horses left inside miss stars in the way people miss people they love.

Distant relatives always are appreciated – and yes, we get the joke!

Tell me about scratching your friends with your teeth.

It is an acknowledging of acceptance of full horse before us.

We will not do this with everyone, as you know.

But the horses we share this behavior with are bonded for life in all aspects, as long as they may be physically kept together.

It represents a deep association between horses.

Not for just any old horse.

And swishing tails for each other?

Co-operation and energy efficiency.

Why not share my precision aim with my tail?

If I get the end of horse tail in my face, what was that about?

You were graced more than anything.

We just shared as if you were horse.

What's that about when horses bite other horses?

You trespassed into my space to deserve a bite correction.

I warned you first.

Never think you weren't warned most graciously.

What about a kick?

Nervy little rip to have to raise up to a kick.

I had to up the ante here.

And a strike?

The horse who offers strike is struggling with the emotion-mental-biology thing in horse, and was rushed into comprehension which was not available to him.

He had to say, wait don't trespass here, I have not made sense of it, not deemed it worthy, not deemed you worthy to present this thing that I can't yet think about.

Do not come any closer!

Tell me about the speed of deliverance.

You won't see it if you blink.

We strike with speed of spirit because it is a spirit striven struggle to come to grips with the thing before us.

Not all horses strike, but those of us who feel extreme protection is required to preserve sanity in the situation will strike with pre-eminent precision and skill unmatched in Mankind's boxing derivative.

What are the warning signs of these three?

For a bite, I already looked at you with daggers, then I moved my head and ears, then I moved my neck and shoulders, and then I moved my teeth.

Lots of time there to change your mind and behave yourself.

I speak as if you are the colt I have been enlisted to teach.

If I go to kick, I have done all of this and added a tail flick gesture which is your last warning.

If I strike, you won't have much time to see it coming.

I will choose strike only if the situation is so extreme that warning is as pointless as co-operation is in the moment.

Is there such a thing as a love bite?

You tell me.

Not in my thinking.

I might nip but it was intentional if I just brushed you with my teeth.

Nips are how we say it louder than posture, and like a whisper it is used only on loved ones.

Tell me about licking and chewing.

Best said as, "Whew. Got through that, thankfully. Now what?"

What about licking our hands?

You taste of good things if you have handled food for us.

We seek the molecules left there.

What kind of affection do you appreciate from us?

We like food-attention-affection and we like stroking if it is not on our faces.

If you must rub faces do it on our big old foreheads and not on our noses.

Many of us tolerate hugs as we understand the meaning of it for you, but we need a relationship with you to begin to tolerate the squeezing pressure of a hug.

Saddles hug, but many of us lack full appreciation of it.

So see it for temporary squeeze value and restraint, before see it as affection.

But we get it for you and accept it for what it is in its deepest offering as love for us.

We tolerate thumps by hand as it means something to you, but it is a clamouring of sensation to us in its pat-pat-pat.

We do not dwell on the presentation of affection, endure all forms that disguise as affection, and know it comes from the deepest best place no matter how it feels to us.

This affection can be expressed in quiet standing together with us as easily, or sitting in solitude with us, as we read heart, thought and feeling from you regardless of touch from you.

Affection is in a look, a care duty to us, a thought to do something for us, care for our environment, suitable comfortable tack, how you use the reins, how you sit on us, and how you ask us to do anything with you.

It is in all of our interactions, and we read every moment's gift with constant recognition and appreciation.

Not so touchy feely then.

Not at all.

It is the energy behind the doing that you know as affection that we read.

Lots of us kiss you.

Yes.

And some of us kiss you back.

If you have a kissing horse he has come with an affection contract of special degree.

Tell me about me hugging you.

I got used to it frankly.

Now I actually enjoy it for the most part, now that our hearts are so similarly healed.

I love you Dante.

And you know I love you back, beyond language.

Chapter Two

Tell me about your personalities.

That's a big topic.

We are not one alike.

There are silly horses, practical horses, reverent horses, teacher horses, follower horses, pregnant horses, thoughtful horses, violent horses, war horses, peace horses, seeker (lost) horses, find and keeper horses, stick-to-it horses, sickly horses, tough horses, soft horses, puppy dog horses, work-a-holic horses, long suffering horses, game playing horses, serious horses, and spirit guide horses.

Not all of us laugh.

Do you talk differently?

Oh yes.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Spiritual Nature of Horse Explained by Horse by Dante Seabrook Cathy Seabrook Copyright © 2012 by Cathy Seabrook D.V.M.. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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