Along with my passion for horses, I love capturing all the best moments with them on camera. I keep the original photo, but I also like to edit and adapt them to really enhance the idea or message of the photo.
Today's post is going to be a little different: Instead of covering a concept or practice of horsemanship, I'm going to share with you some of my favorite horse photos and give a little background to the personal value of each one.
I took this photo off line and added the text. For those of you who didn't notice, the horse is Justify, ridden by jockey Mike Smith, the thirteenth winner of America's triple crown of horse racing. The text is actually a verse from Job 39, in context of God reproving Job, asking him where he was when God laid the foundation of the earth. This verse is a constant reminder of how working with horses can bring glory to God by obeying his command to rule wisely over all the creatures He created. But more than that, it reminds us that, behind the magnificent beauty of the Horse, there is so much more.
I'm going to make my biggest political statement here and now: I HATE POLITICS. I designed this photo as l listened to my parent's 14th political conversation of the day.
The message of this photo is that, no matter what's going on around us, how crazy the world might be getting, and (my opinion) how obnoxiously obsessive politics become, horses are always there. They don't care about world problems. They don't care about political division. They're always there for you, always loving, always listening.
This is my sister, and her regular mount and a border at my Uncle's ranch, Atticus. She's a softball player, and never showed a huge interest in horses, until up about maybe a year ago, when she began riding Jimmy as I rode my new mount, Muffin. This picture always reminds me of how horses can impact any person, even someone who thought they had a completely different path aside from them. Some are horse people, but a horse doesn't know that. They have the ability to impact anyone and everyone.
I took this pic off the Mahindra as we were driving through my grandpa's pasture on his ranch. He has a small herd of pasture mares, who basically run wild with his cattle and native deer. This is Freck, Muffin's granddam and Streak's dam. I love this photo because it almost captures the wild wonder of the Horse, their natural, untamed beauty. Like the pictures above, it goes to show that you don't need to be a horse person to understand and wonder at their beauty and essence.
This photo always reminds me just how fun being around horses is, especially when sharing it with someone else. Horses bring us together, and bring joy to our lives. I remember walking into the barn one day to see that Atticus's owner, Pamala, was visiting. As I was brushing Muffin, she asked "Isn't this the greatest thing in the world?" I certainly agreed.
I always go back to this photo after a hard day with my horse. Sometimes we just have those days when everything seems to go wrong, or maybe just not right. When I have those days, this photo always brings me back to who my horse and I are together, despite the bad days, despite the limited time we get. There's nothing better than the feeling of riding together across an open field, no stress, no training, no expectations to get in the way.
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