Dancer – The Horse that Saved My Life

During the first year back in Colorado after being on the east coast for 15 years, one lay off in the books already, I decided to stay a while longer. I made the decision not to sit idle while job hunting and enrolled in classes at a local university to become certified in animal assisted activities. As a dog owner my entire life, it was apparent to me that animals heal our souls. My precious Grace, a salt-of-the-earth mutt we had for 14 years, had left us the previous spring and I missed her presence and unconditional love. That empty spot she once filled motivated me to learn more about our connection with our pets and how they affect us in so many positive ways. I had also broken up with my boyfriend and was sad to know he had chosen vodka, his mistress as I so affectionately called it, over me.

Sitting in the leasing office signing another year lease, the office manager, an animal lover herself, listened as I told her about the classes and a requirement to observe animal therapy sessions. As an avid animal lover, she mentioned that there was a horse rescue about five miles from our complex that offered equine therapy. Strange, I thought, in the middle of suburbia there was a horse rescue?

A week later as I pulled into that same horse rescue, I found it amazing that this maybe 10-acre lot housed so many rescue horses. I exited my car and made my way along the muddy path where I passed several run-ins with shelters, horses, owners and more mud. The conditions were questionable but the horses found me. I walked by Houston and Betty Boop and Viggo and Betsy and Mustang Sally and Snow and on and on. The property was laid out in a square, with some owner run-ins on the outside perimeter, together with the separate gelding and mare rescue pens, and the arenas and barns on the inner portion of the property. As I made my way around, I came upon a mare rescue pen. The horses were standing in about a foot of their own poop and I found it a bit unsettling. They all looked up and began to walk over to me at the fence. As I strolled closer, I realized they all wanted treats or affection or both. One tri-colored paint was especially attentive and looked directly at me with eyes that seemed to inquire about my entire being. I was intrigued and knew I’d be back to check on them.

The next day I returned to observe equine therapy for my class and brought with me with a very large bag of carrots. During the session, I observed young boy with autism who, according to the therapist, never spoke a word until he sat on that horse. As soon as he was situated up in the saddle, he would start talking to his horse. I stood next to his mother, both of us astounded. Tears welled up in her eyes. Having never been around horses except for a few trail rides when we were young and my sister took lessons, this was a new fascinating adventure.

As the days passed, I found myself spending a lot of time at the mare pen where the beautiful paint exhibited herself as the alpha. While her attention toward me, I thought, had to do with the carrots, it became very evident that she was deliberately choosing my company. Over the course of the first few months of finding this new hobby I was told numerous times that horses choose their humans, and she chose me.

Dancer became the light in my day, the exceptional beauty and reminder of connection to nature during a difficult layoff and break up. Little did I know that she would become the shoulder I needed to lean on for years to come. She became new eyes, ears and a teacher of patience. It was an overwhelming blessing. The horses in the rescue pens had been on the way to slaughter when the owner of the rescue had saved them and perhaps having already been through a horrific trailer ride to the auction sites, they were intuitively aware that they had been spared. It is an amazing fact that she chose me to come into her life, as if there was something about our connection that made her feel safe and made me feel a profound connection to her life. Devastating as it might have been for the previous owners that surrendered these beauties, horses are uniquely individual just like us and the most amazingly intuitive animals I’ve ever encountered. I had no experience with horses, but she knew. She knew where I was in my life, as she was in hers; completely confused and at a point of absolute isolation, rejection and sadness. Yet at the same time, her personality began to enhance my days as an apparent learning process; I began to see through her that our past conditions do not need to define our present possibilities. We were lucky to find each other.

I was afraid at first when I adopted her a few months later, I’m not going to lie, but Dancer and I are so much alike. We’re brave because we’ve had to be; strong but want to be less so. We just needed someone to show us some sort of consideration for our goodness and to provide us some comfort and kindness. She knew though. She was patient and slow and looked at me as if to say, “It’s ok, I will wait for you.” She knew I had no agenda, only time and consideration and the motivation to do my best. Not only is she short, stout and sassy, just like her mom, she is a true testament to the universe moving in mysterious ways.

One of the basic aspects of my learning has been the concept of intention. I learned that my partnership with Dancer would allow for us to work as one; meaning her legs will be my legs and that my intention guides her direction. I learned a basic concept of looking where I wanted to go; literally, where my eyes are directed will become, through cues and understanding, the direction we will go. Similar to all life situations, where we spend energy, our minds will go.

Now, at 55, I ride almost every day. After graduation, I created a small equine assisted activities program and mentor youngsters. Horses are amazing teachers, this I’ve learned firsthand.

Dancer and I work through things and sometimes ride the trail alone. I sing to her and she listens. She trusts me and that is a beautiful thing. My sister giggled when I recounted how this amazing connection with Dancer came to be over the past few years. A few hours later she sent me the picture below and said, “What do you mean, this was always meant to be.”