All horses are therapy horses. I can understand that you may be raising a quizzical eyebrow at that statement and that some of you may feel that your horse is offering a therapy that you had not exactly signed up for. But horses are all therapy horses; some do it full time and others are multi tasking with other jobs.
My horse Biasini is a competition horse but for those of you who follow this blog you will know he is also a trail horse. He is a multi-purpose,multi tasking horse. He is also my therapy horse. This past week my husband was diagnosed with a detached retina. He was referred to St.Mike’s Hospital in Toronto. We live outside the city of Toronto and this hospital is about an hour away from us. So there has been a lot of driving back and forth but it is worth it as the hospital is known for having the best eye clinic and opthamologists .
But my stress level has been high . What has saved my sanity? My therapy horse. I can go to the barn and ride. I can go out on a hack with a friend in the forest trails. Biasini and the other horse, Feng de Lys, can discuss who will be the leader.
This week Biasini told Feng he could go ahead and be the leader because he had to take care of me and be a therapist. He knew I was having a tough week. I’m serious. He knew I was stressed about something even if he did not know exactly what it was. Horses just know. They can read us like a book.
When I am riding I do not think about the hospital or what my husband is going through with his eye or what might happen if the treatment is not successful. I just ride. Riding is not a ‘virtual‘ experience it is a live ‘in the moment’ one. That is my therapy.
Please excuse me if I am not posting as often as usual during the next week while I am chief cook (not my usual job ) and chauffeur so my husband can keep his eye positioned as the doctor has instructed. I am hoping for a good outcome and I will be back soon.
Leave a Reply