A Humbler Equine

In all this talk about horses, let's not forget that this blog is named for Equus -- that is, all kinds of equines. One friend that wrote me back about it mentioned that where she lives in Africa, hardly anyone owns horses. Instead, most people there use donkeys. Also, instead of riding them, they use them for carrying things. For example, she said they have two donkeys at their university that are used for carrying milk from the farm to the cafeteria or marketplace.

Donkeys are very smart and apparently have excellent memories. My friend said these donkeys don't even have to have a person with them; they will still get where they are supposed to go. She even said that if a car comes along on the road they are traveling on, they can get off the side of the road without spilling the milk! Cool critters!

I would like to include some of my favorite quotes in these posts and when my friend wrote me about this, I immediately thought of a poem I once read called The Donkey. I hope you like it too.

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody

On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,

Of ancient crooked will;

Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,

I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;

One far fierce hour and sweet:

There was a shout about my ears,

And palms before my feet.

Thoughts...

I mentioned another, more dramatic quote in my last post and thought I'd include it here. This one is anonymous; I found it in a calendar.

Look back at our struggle for freedom,

Trace our present day's strength to its source;

And you'll find that man's pathway to glory

Is strewn with the bones of a horse.

A solemn thought indeed, but a very true one. One need only think of terrible moments in the history of the cavalry in order to justify it -- look at The Charge of the Light Brigade. Horses have always served men and women courageously and unquestioningly. May we endeavor to be as good to them as they deserve.

I would like to add something that a friend of mine drew to my attention. There are many horses in the world right now that don't have a home or need a new one. She recommended that people who are interested in getting a horse consider adopting a mustang or a PMU horse. I'm sure there are many sites out there with more info; a quick search on my part brought up this one: http://www.pmurescue.org/. Even in hard times, let's not forget our friends the horses.

A Note of Explanation

Of course, anyone who knows me knew this was coming. If one is supposed to blog about things that one is interested in or knows something about, then I must blog on horses. :-) I don't claim to be an expert on them, but I love them. Ergo--therefore--I write about them.

I don't yet know what I will write about them, but as in my other blog I'm sure that will come. In the meantime, suggestions are welcome. I hope that 1) if you love horses as much as I do, you will enjoy this blog, and 2) if you don't, that you will at least find it interesting!

I cannot, in this introduction, exclude one of my all-time favorite quotes about horses, by John Trotwood Moore: "Wherever man has left his footprint in the long ascent from barbarism to civilization,we will find the hoofprint of a horse beside it." There is another, possibly more powerful, quote but whatever your political or "creation/evolutionary" opinions, I'm sure you can agree with this one. May we continue to find the hoofprints of horses alongside the prints of "their" people.