In the breeze of the early morning air,
I walked to a place where I knew
something majestic would be
waiting for me there –
and as I got closer to them
I could almost feel the power of their stare,
and before I knew it I was looking
into the dark eyes of a horse
the colour of midnight Black,
who seemed to recognise me,
as I recognised them
as if they were a ghost from my past.

As I stood and stared at the physical
embodiment of “Black Beauty”,
from Anna Sewell’s novel,
a feeling of peace overcame me
and I felt an instant sense of calm –
as if I were a child, as if the horse
before me looked at me
as if I were a young foal.

To some people horses are approached
cautiously because their behaviour
can sometimes be temperamental;
however, to me a horse is one of
the most beautiful and intelligent
animals on Earth who has a heart
and a soul that is as complex
as they are magical.

From Stallions to Thoroughbreds,
from Arabians to Shires –
horses have a way about them
that is uniquely individual to them,
and in many ways horses are like people
because they feel, they think, they dream,
and they love to show and to be shown
affection;
and horses, like most complicated
creatures who people share a connection with,
also have a phenomenonal memory
and they may not actually require
being whipped while racing on a racecourse –
and that is one of the reasons why
I never feel any trepidation,
and why I did not feel nervous at all,
when I caught my first glimpse
of the statuesque presence of
the dark horse.