I walk up to the horses’ field in the twilight, no torch needed. I make sure I make some noise, I sing a little, to let all creatures know I’m here. Especially the wild boar, who I don’t want to surprise. It’s a bit eery, this night world that horses spend so much of their time in and I know nothing about.

The moon is still round, the eclipse hasn’t started yet. Between the dark shapes of the trees I see the white horses moving and grazing. I walk towards them. They lift their heads, recognize me and continue grazing. I find a comfortable place to sit. This field is on a hilltop and I see the distant lights of the villages on the other side of the Pagasitic Gulf. The dog of the house below the hill is barking, other dogs in the village respond. And then there is silence. Complete silence.

Jenna stands in my view, she looks over the sea. Missirlou joins her, a short distance from me, in a resting position. Tolmi is to the right. She lies down, her white coat is almost luminescent in the moonlight. Jenna lies too. Prodromos stands close by under a tree, he’s vigilant now others are resting. Marouli and Melanouri are a little more distant. And then once more the silence. Complete vast endless silence. I take a few deep breaths and watch while the turmoil in my head slowly calms down and the stress begins to leave my body.

Missirlou suddenly moves, she now stands facing me, her attention directly towards me. This brings an enormous shift. I feel sadness welling up and let the tears flow. The pain is from always having so much to do for the horses that there’s so little time to be with them like now. There must have been so many moments that they were communicating something and I was too busy to hear. Now she just engulfs me. It is heartwarming and humbling at the same time. I stand up, reach out to her wanting to hug her but she turns her head away – that was not her intention. So I just stand in the glow of her heart energy.

The energy changes and I turn and look up at the moon. It now has a small part missing. I take out my Iphone to take a picture. Missirlou touches my head, my Iphone, my hand and my shoulder – yes now we can touch. I stand with her and stroke her head and neck. She starts yawning, one after the other, and again. Her turn to release.

The others have slowly moved away and I stay with Missirlou till she decides to join them. She turns around, yawns a few more times and then slowly walks away leaving with me an immense feeling of awe and gratitude. All I have to do is just be there, but really being there in openness and receptivity. Then everything flows.

8 July 2023

When we paint an object, be it a landscape or building, an animal or a human being, we of course look at shapes and colors, and at structures and textures. When it is a living being, we also look at the character, the ‘feel’ of the animal or person: who is this? And then we try to express that in our art work.

In our painting course in September, we will take the time to really feel into the horses. What is the atmosphere in the herd at this specific moment? Can we connect to that atmosphere? How do we do that? And how do we express this connection and atmosphere on paper?

During our course I will take you into the connection with the horses, and Anna will guide you each day with her demos and techniques whilst offering one on one guidance and help to harnessing your own style. As the week progresses you will emerge with a series of drawings and paintings in watercolor or acrylic describing the essence of these free-spirited horses whilst developing your own style and confidence in the progress.

The connection and confidence that we develop during the course can lead to beautiful results on paper. The horse then is not only an inspiration, but also a partner in creativity.

https://livingwithhorsesingreece.earth/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Brochure-Schildersweek.eng_.af_.pdf

14 June 2023

Where do you begin making a fence when you can’t see the borders or any marks due to the abundance and height of the grasses and plants?

22 september 2022

Join us in our lovely walk with the horses on one of the last hot days of the summer.

In these confusing times where all the old seemingly safe structures seem to be collapsing we need to find our own safety. In our local communities, in technologies that combine new possibilities with care for our beautiful earth, in new and respectful relationships with non human life forms. Spending time with horses in nature, listening to the sound of silence, breathing in and feeling the freshness of the far-traveling wind, being grounded in our body one step at the time, all this brings connectedness to nature, to the herd of horses and humans, to our heart. We feel how we are part of the bigger picture, how every one of our actions count, how each one of us is here to contribute our love and talents.

It is in the joy and power of connectedness that the seeds of change lie.

Enjoy our walk with the horses

18 June 2022

A horse that I approach with my hand outstretched turns her head away. I’m standing next to the gelding and he lays his head on my shoulder. I’m trying to take a tick from the skin and an impatient tail hits my hand. All three clear examples of communication that I register and understand.

Horses communicate with their bodies, with sound, with their ears and tails. On a more subtle level their eyes and lips show how they are feeling. These are all forms of communication that I have learned to see and to a large extent understand.

And then there is the intuitive communication. Walking with a horse in the direction of her field to bring her back in, and suddenly hearing the words “we could also continue walking”. Or the moment when there is a sudden very clear knowing. Or one evening I tell the horses I will take them out for a walk from the lower exit of the field the next day, and in the morning they’re all waiting for me at that exit. Or I walk with a horse and suddenly feel her tensing beside me. Her head is high and she looks intently at a spot in front of us. At the same time I see an image of a beach ball. And then I realize we’re approaching the spot where earlier I had brought a beach ball for the horses to investigate. They all found it very spooky. She now remembered the ball and I received an image of it. This is the kind of communication that fascinates me. Because of the communication itself, but also because it requires an openness, curiosity and quietness of mind that is such a lovely state to be in.

I followed a few courses and read books on animal communication. And I find it incredibly difficult. Very often I feel nothing, know nothing and only hear my mind chattering. Sometimes I receive information, but then I doubt whether it is from the animal or that my mind made it up. I have been told I try too hard, that I want so much to hear something that my focus is standing in the way of being able to receive. Yes, that sounds like me. Working so hard to make something happen that it cannot enter my experience by itself. So much control.

There is constant communication going on in nature, as in the human world. All living creatures sensing and sending out energies in the infinite field of awareness. We as humans are born with the capacity to hear and understand all this, but while growing up we loose this capacity. Sometimes a horse stands looking at me intently, even coming closer as if to emphasize she has something to say. I feel so helpless when I can’t understand what’s going on.

But there are encouraging small steps. I am getting more sensitive to the small signs, allowing openness and not-knowing to be there, feeling the joy of connection. And I see the animals responding. Relaxing and softening in my presence, coming to be with me. Trusting me.

While I was writing Jenna our lead mare came to stand behind me, at rest. As if to back me up, support me while I was writing. I occasionally heard her sigh, and snort. When I had written the words ‘Trusting me’ I heard a deep sigh and she slowly moved away to graze. So I guess I’m done

12 May 2022

Short impression of Tuesday’s walk with the horses. The beauty of olive groves covered with knee high flowers, the exuberant joy of horses running and playing, the peaceful quiet once they settle down to graze.

Come and join us for a walk. You can do so for a day, for three days or for a whole week.

28 March 2022

No two walks with the horses are the same. What changed the apparent routine when we brought them to their field yesterday was Jenna staying very far behind in the beginning. During the cold and humid days her arthrosis bothered her a lot more, and it hasn’t really improved with the higher temperatures. She was now so far behind we wondered if she would be able at all to come the distance to the day field.

My first default reaction is always to look for a solution: What can I do? How can I solve this? But I very much prefer my second reaction which has become: let’s see how the horses respond and take it from there. Will Jenna catch up? Will the others continue to the field without her? This way the original plan is let go of, all kinds of new scenario’s open up and in the end we might also turn around and go back. So we did nothing and stayed with the other five horses where they were.

For the next quarter of an hour the five stayed put, grazing, and we did not see Jenna approaching. Now what? We could not stay there all morning. I walked back to Jenna where she was grazing on her own and led her slowly in the direction of the others, giving her time to find her step. I told her: “I will unclip your lead rope once we’re with the others, and then we’ll see from there. We won’t do anything that makes any of you uncomfortable.” Jenna touched my hand with her nose and I heard “you can also unclip my rope here”. So that’s what I did and I continued alone towards the others. We proceeded slowly, keeping all the options open. We went through a narrow passage into the next grove, and watched the horses graze while slowly walking further. They all seemed at ease. Did they know where Jenna was and if she was coming? They have their own ways of communicating, of knowing where the others are. A kind of shared energy field in which information is spread. And I’m also sure they continuously communicate with us, with body language, with their eyes, and through this energy field. To me this is the most fascinating part of living with horses, learning to tune in to the energy field where communication takes place. Nature’s own world wide wireless. I very rarely hear words, like what Jenna said earlier. Mostly I get an inspiration, I feel something happening, or I just suddenly know something.

After a while we heard Jenna whinny. She was close by. Some of the others responded and there she appeared. Her step looked much more easy and light as she joined the rest of the herd. Often it is this way, that she needs some time to warm up. We watched her as she grazed with the others and slowly she took the lead, walking in front further towards the day field. We crossed the olive groves on the hill, where the younger horses love to run and play, kicking and jumping. I was so pleased we had made it so far, it is such a joy to see them having such a happy time. Down on the beach Jenna walked almost normally again, she was eager to continue to the fresh greens at the end. From there it is only a short distance to the day field, where we left the horses grazing contently.

Another thing I have learned during these walks is being open to things not going as planned. Not just accepting them because they will happen anyway, but really welcoming them. When we’re stressed and in a hurry, it can be very frustrating if something doesn’t go the way I planned and I have to take care not to just push forward into what I want to happen. Doing that may accomplish what I had in mind, but also leaves me with a sad and lonely feeling. I have not only pushed myself, but others as well. Allowing things to be as they are, a walk taking much more time or not being completed at all – it means I have been in connection with the horse-human herd as it is and what it needs at that moment. That is far more fulfilling.

5 december 2021 – Let me take you to the most relaxing place I know: an olive grove with grazing horses. Through the seasons, amidst the world wide fear and growing polarisation and repression – here with our horses in the beautiful nature of Pilion I have found my calmness, joy and peace time and time again. Away from the endless streams of conflicting information and confusion I sit quietly under the trees, breathe the fresh air, listen to the birds and the munching horses, and slowly feel the return of clarity in my mind and calmness in my heart. It is in connection with nature and with our own nature that we unveil the wisdom in our hearts. Sit with me for a while and let your heart and mind come to rest

https://youtu.be/Izka03cN_eQ

29 july 2021

When we take the horses out for a walk, only two of them are on a lead rope. The young ones are free and it’s a great joy to see them gallop and play through the fields. A sort of routine has developed, in that we let them all free once we are at the beach, where they enjoy their roll and then move on to the fields behind the beach to graze. We then follow them there and sit with them.

Not so today. The horses left the beach quite soon and when we followed them a little later we just saw the last one turning into an earth road we don’t usually take. We did the same, expecting to find them soon in some grazy field. A little up the road a man told us he had seen them passing by, so we continued up.

It took us two hours to find them. We followed the hoof prints in the dust of the earth road. At a crossroads they went down a cement road where no tracks can be seen, and after a while we saw tracks disappearing into a ploughed field. We found poo and followed the tracks further into the field and through a rougher area along a narrow wild pig path. In the next field we had to rely on small irregularities in the surface: an unclear indentation, a slip track, a half hoof print. We quite enjoyed tracking them like this – we were not worried as there is hardly any traffic around and they cannot do much damage. Eventually we reached an earth road where the prints led up to a field where we found them grazing.

So what happened here? Did they just fancy a walk? Why not graze in all the abundant fields they had passed? Were they going anywhere further and taking a break in the field where we found them, or did they decide to stop where they did and wait for us?

Somehow I feel they would eventually have found their way back to their current field where their water barrels are – they were not far from it and only needed to follow the earth road down. They had been on this earth road twice before – did they remember? The total walk they made is a beautiful one and also very suitable for rides. What were they trying to show us, if anything?

Compared to a lot of other horses, these horses live a very free life. They are out in different fields for 9 months of the year, we take them out for long walks where they partly decide where we go, they are always together in their coherent family herd. I enjoy an adventure like this, where they somehow feel free enough to do what they want to do and eventually wait for us to catch up.

Only maybe next time not during a heat wave