Tractate on a School Mount by Alexander Nevzorov is ostensibly about the correct posture and position, and purpose of a human who decides to sit astride a horse. We are directed to the science of physiology and myology of the horse to clarify the horse’s physical experience under a rider. It dictates that it is the responsibility of the Nevzorov School student to master this science thoroughly, as well as to know why, if at all, one might seat oneself on the back of a horse. (It should be noted that NHE abolished any mounted work as part of the School in 2010)
A student of the School embarks on understanding the horse precisely, as an exact science, in order not to interfere with the horse’s birthright of freedom and collected fitness merely for one’s egoic desires on horseback.
“Getting on a horse’s back you must sit in order to SERVE the horse, not to have fun on it or devour its power.”
The harm of riding by typical equestrian attitudes and goals is explained in forensic detail leaving no earnest aspirant of Nevzorov’s Haute École any rationale to act on mere desires of the senses at the expense of the horse’s health and well-being. Science is important in the investigation of the human-horse relationship because it provides impersonal objective data that supersedes beliefs, intentions or emotions.
The other factor of the School outlined in this book, and the one in which I am most interested, is the significance of spiritual practice for relating to the horse. Nevzorov shares select parts of the secret manuscript called Praeceptio Preceptoribus which connects a spiritual element to the School.
While on par with the scientific aspect, the spiritual aspect of NHE is never fully taught in my opinion. My aim is to examine and analyze the spiritual components that Nevzorov has referenced so that they may be a practical element for relating to the horse in freedom. Where The Horse Crucified and Risen (Horse Encyclopedia) suggests the value of the principles of Taoism and Zen Buddhism as akin to the attitudes of the School, Nevzorov here adds connections to Kabbalah, among others, including “many mysterious and wise doctrines” that are not named and leave us curious.
Though he doesn’t describe Kabbalah to any extent, I will say briefly it is a means to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal, infinite existence and the perceived/experienced mortal, changing and finite universe. This relationship between these two orders of reality is central to my inquiry so I will come back to this in future posts.
Regardless of the combination of spiritual traditions called upon in the NHE School, the inclusion of spiritual practice is clearly a necessary provision in the framework for relating to the horse.
“Even to understand where the School ends as a spiritual practice and where it begins as a mastership of the education of a horse is very difficult at times. One is very strongly dependent on the other. None of this is surprising really. There are plebian ways to be entertained, like equestrian sport, that are based on stupidity, cruelty and desire to have fun, to excite one’s reflexes and instincts.
And there are spiritual practices based on science, mastership, intelligence and a large amount of knowledge.”
Nevzorov spends a fair amount of energy denouncing Christianity generally in his teaching. In this book it is derided as being problematic for the work of the School and because some verses in the Bible convey “spiteful rudeness toward horses”. He asserts that “mystical and biological connections between human and horse” were destroyed by the religion.
“One has to remember the Templar origins of the School, the hidden spiritual allegiance of the School masters to Kabbalah and to many mysterious and wise doctrines, which has always been in conflict with Christianity.”
According to my research, the Templars or Templar Knights were in fact a Christian order, and participants in the crusades, though they eventually suffered as a political sacrifice by King Phillip IV of France and Pope Clement V in the 14th century, being falsely accused of heresy, arrested, tortured and stripped of their extensive financial holdings and community position. This would perhaps explain a rejection of Christianity by the Templars, though I found no proof of it. Apparently, this event did open the door for “speculation and legend” of secret continuations of the order after it was disbanded, which may be how they play a part in the origin story of Nevzorov’s School of Haute École. If anyone has some good information on this, I’d love to hear it.
It hasn’t been possible for me to verify these origins of the School. Nevzorov’s bibliography isn’t easily available. It is vague in some publications and non-existent for this book. Even looking online for books or documents mentioned has yielded little to nothing. This may be by design and keeps the secrecy angle alive.
Honestly, I am not out to prove Nevzorov wrong, or expose him in some act of duplicity, but I am trying to find a reliable thread that holds the importance of a spiritual knowledge and framework that is integral to human-horse relationships according to him. To tell the truth, I don’t need NHE to accept this, but since Nevorov brought it up, I am making the effort to understand his links.
It is common for people of all walks of life, whether or not they have a connection to horses, to feel let down, in conflict with or confused by religious doctrine, and not only Christian ones, though since Christianity in all its denominations has the most followers worldwide, so presumably does it have more who would blame it for dissatisfaction. I count my tussle with Catholicism among them.
Yet, when religion is rejected, fascination with the mystery of the natural world and how to understand it, and our human place in it, remains. This was certanly the case for me. The so-called Scientific Revolution of the 16th to 18th century largely shifted the thinking of how to understand reality outside of religious frameworks. Coincidentally, within this period is the beginning of the School of Haute École too, and the influence of Antione de Pluvinel. Science has continued to hold sway. though it’s under significant fire by some in recent years.
The students of this School, as I understand it from my time with NHE, are embarking on an education of higher learning that requires far more than the rote execution of physical and psychological techniques that elicit equine obedience for human pleasure, material gain or power. It requires a highly mature mind prepared and eager to hear the knowledge of the ages that reveals the truth of the essence of the noble and intelligent horse. And ultimately of the reasonable and compassionate human being.
Religious or spiritual traditions are an effect of human self-reflection that impel us to wonder about who or what we are, what governs existence and experience, how does it work, and how are we supposed to act in life toward ourselves and others, including animals and plants? Is there purpose, meaning? What happens after death? What about suffering? Happiness?
Science seeks to answer these questions also.
There is a whole topic of discussion on the relationship between science and religion and whether they are compatible. If we recall Nevorov’s quote , “And there are spiritual practices based on science[…]” , there is a call to look deeper to see what they are and how they guide human-horse relationships.
Since the School points toward a spiritual foundation for relating to the horse, yet does not fully articulate it, the question naturally arises:
What kind of knowledge or understanding would make a truly non-coercive relationship possible?
In the next post, I will begin to examine the significance of traditions such as Zen Buddhism and Taoism that were referenced by Nevzorov, and what they reveal about the role of mind and perception in relating with the horse.