I was on my way home the other day and stopped by these horses that were very busy frolicking in the mud. I tried to get them to come close enough for a photo but they ignored me.
Then I remembered how I used to get my dog’s attention by asking her if she wanted to go for a ride in the car. So I stood by the fence and said: Wanna go for a ride? Nothing. Then I said: Wanna go for a ride in the car?
The white horse slowly walked over and looked at me like I was crazy. Then he turned to his friend and said: This guy ain’t from around here is he Bo? And Bo said: No Jack, he’s probably a New Yorker.
I figured it must have been my accent. Fuhgeddaboudit.
Yesterday I sent my friend Alena a photo of a horse modeling his new coat and she thought it was the same horse as in several of my other shots. But in fact I had never met that one before.
I saw this guy at Walmart this morning and had to take a few pictures. I told him how some people think all horses look alike and he seemed shocked, but we both know that the real difference is the horse’s nose.
This one has a traditional Amish nose, probably because he’s an Amish horse. If you look closely you can also see a bump which may indicate that he was a boxer at one time before he took this job.
There is even something called Physiognomy which is a practice of assessing a person’s character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face. While this may not be used much with horses the principle is the same.
After meeting with several horses today and assessing their character by the shape of their nose I can tell you one thing for sure. The ones with this type of nose do not like to be photographed.
They shake their head, stomp their feet and make strange faces, especially the former boxers. But with a little patience and no sudden movements they will eventually calm down enough to let you get a good shot.
Note: Most horses like to hear a good “horse walks into a bar” joke as long as the punch line isn’t “why the long face?”
“Throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness you had thought could never be yours.” Dale Carnegie
Note: the phrase throw yourself into some work does not have to be taken literally.
“The courage it took to get out of bed each morning to face the same things over and over was enormous.” Charles Bukowski, You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense
After watching a very small goat fight a very large pig I got bored and walked over to this horse. He was all alone and as calm as a virgin who never told a lie. I started taking pictures but had trouble finding the right composition.
I was getting more and more frustrated and I guess he could see it in my eyes. Then he looked right at me and said: “Listen, slow the **** down, equanimity arises when we accept the way things are.”
It turns out he was right, not everything has to be the way I want it to be, even a photo of a horse that quotes Jack Kornfield. I did end up cutting off his nose a bit but definitely not to spite his face.
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but thought about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral. It is as it is.” Eckhart Tolle
“To accept, really to accept a situation, is to think and feel with the whole of one’s being that, even if one had the faculty of modifying it, one would not do it, and would have no reason to do it.” The Supreme Doctrine, Hubert Benoit
