40"H x 30"W

Oil on canvas

Recently, I have been working on my fears and, being the type of person that I am, I like to tackle them head on. Interestingly, this approach doesn’t work well with horses, I’ve discovered. Trying to force my agenda on a 1000-pound creature leads to tension, aggression, and anger on both sides. While I could with whips and ropes accomplish some kind of reluctant outer submission, it would in no way deal with my fear. It would, in fact, turn fear into anger—not a win. Instead my dear horse friend Maddie taught me to breathe, to observe, to cultivate trust. This is a longer, less direct route, but in the end what we have is an equal friendship with no fear on either side. I had to let go of what was in my mind and listen to what was being said to me.