Equine Reflections

Spending time with my horses, just being with them, trying to be as they are so often, still, quiet.  Just being.  I like to muse and take in, try to imagine what is going through their thoughts.  Here are some photos captured during these reflective times.  The first one is my favorite, and was also featured in a photography show at the Overture Center in Madison, WI.  The image taken is of our own gelding, My Ransomed Heart (Houdini).  The day I took this image I was out in the pastures checking on horses, taking time away from being 'mom', while peering over Houdini's varnished roan back, I began to see that the clouds were seemingly touching him.  It stirred up grateful emotion in me.  I titled this image, "Heaven Touches Earth", for I thought that when I am there, I am free. How appropriately that he is called Houdini, for he so often has helped me escape from daily life.  I had helped this horse in his time of need, and he has so returned the favor.  There is a big story behind Houdini, and if you ask me someday, I will be happy to share our story with you.  What a gift God gave us in horses.   The second image is of my other gelding's eye, I've never known a kinder horse in my life.  He is all about connection, has a deep, rumbling nicker, from the moment he was born, he went straight to my husband for scratches, he loves people (and still loves scratches too)  and gives warm hugs, just like Olaf.  The third image is of a mare I met during a photo session, her 'watermark, intrigued me, as did her kind soul and her 'job' in life.  She is a surrogate mare.  Take a look around, and reflect,  in these images you will find an Appaloosa, Georgian Grande, Quarter Horse, Percheron, Andalusian, Unknown, Arabian, Mustang and another Georgian Grande.