In our last post, we talked about the importance of saying thank you to the horses in our lives and looked at some ways that these beautiful animals affect our lives on a day-to-day basis, including with equine therapy, which is helping people of all backgrounds and ages. However, horses also affect us in different ways, in ways you cannot measure with medical tests or psychiatric evaluations. Horses are able to transport us to a simpler, more beautiful time.
When you think of horses, you might think of them roaming the plains somewhere or grazing in green fields that look like they were plucked straight from Eden. Others might think of brave racehorses and them running circles around dusty tracks. These are all exciting images you can conjure up.
You might not think of a slower, more relaxing tradition associated with horses that many still uphold to this day. When was the last time you rode in a horse-drawn carriage? Maybe you have never ridden in one. Well then, you are missing out, according to this CBC article.
They reported, “Horse-drawn carriages aren’t just a thing of the past, they’re part of a growing pastime in Nova Scotia. The basics are the same but instead of riding the horse and signaling to them through leg, seat and hand movements, the driver gives hand and voice commands from a carriage. Unlike harness racing, the goal is presentation, not speed.”
It is almost tough not to think of horses and their blazing speed; how that prairie sun drips light beams everywhere their hooves go, but there is an almost artful gracefulness to horse-drawn carriage riding. It is like a snapshot from the past; something you might see on the wall at some art gallery, a reminder of a simpler and perhaps more beautiful time. In a way, it is like Thanksgiving.
These days more and more people are waxing poetic about the past and horse-drawn carriage riding seems to be the latest trend. The numbers back it up, as membership of the Nova Scotia Driving Society has doubled over the last few years. It seems that all of us could use a little simplicity and beauty now and again, right? That is something we can get behind at Deer Creek Structures!