knowledge – A Horse Leads Me to Water

More NHE Links to the Human-Horse Relationship as Spiritual Practice

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 […]

Discovering the Gateway to Liberation

Without the voice of the trainers and clinicians in my ear my riding on Jim faltered as I couldn’t ignore his signals of discomfort with the bit, the spurs, the crop and ultimately the saddle too. Was I simply inept as a rider? Perhaps. But do horses not also resist or evade competent riders who may be better adept at overruling them? They do (and it often does not go unnoticed) . Not living up to the standards of my original equestrian dreams was disappointing, as well as confusing. Trying to avoid feeling as though it wasn’t a good idea in the first place actually kept hope alive while self-doubt rose and self-esteem fell. Could I turn things around? Besides […]

In Search of the Horse

Not long after my immersion into the world of Seabiscuit I announced to my dear husband that I was thinking about “getting back into horses”. He mentioned rekindling his own interest in sailing, wondering if that would be of interest to me too. It wouldn’t, my sights were firmly set on horses. He did not try to stop me. Our urban San Francisco location did not immediately facilitate my goal, even though there was a riding stable in the city’s famous Golden Gate Park. I researched horseback riding lessons there and on the peninsula, the suburban, if not bucolic area south of the city known well as Silicon Valley. Each interview with a prospective facility began with the question of […]