Yesterday I went by myself to see the new documentary, "Buck", about the guy on whom the movie "The Horse Whisperer" was based. His is an extraordinary story, and I feel like there is no human being on earth who would not benefit from seeing this film. I laughed, I cried, I entirely engaged with this man and his life. It was an honor to get to "know" him. Go see it. It is amazing.
Coincidentally, I was reading a mystery about horses, and though I never ride, from earliest childhood my favorite books were about horses. I read the Black Stallion books again and again, Black Beauty, and any and every other book that came my way. I love horses. But not to ride. I love their natures. We had a pony for our kids, and then a horse for seven years. I wanted my kids to have horses in their lives, and I bought them every horse book that came out. The bond between horses and humans has been as strong as between humans and dogs, and yet horses have not been rewarded for their empathy and cooperation often enough. And now, except for a few pockets in the world, they can never run free or be free. Humans have overrun the earth.
I love Deborah Butterfield's sculptures of horses because she often expresses the betrayal of horses by humans, their sadness and longing, and their fierce need to run, and be animals. Dogs are domesticated, but still have some freedom and run in packs, but it's like humans have rounded up all the horses of the world, dominated them, and have no respect for their nature and needs. We let cattle run and have space more than we ever do for horses. And a horse's heart is the most wonderous gift given to us.
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