I have.

My understanding of it has evolved over the years since I was that petite, seven-year-old horse-crazy girl taking her first riding lessons. I loved the drive to the country, to the farm where a large, old tobacco-turned-horse barn was where I met my first teacher, a bay gelding named Sham. I felt on top of the world when riding him. He was also my first fall. I have an old reflection about that posted here.

Riding required balance from the core. Physical exertion, muscle building. Learning the right position, showing off the perfect position. Finding that perfect takeoff spot before a jump. That feeling of melding into the horse as one movement. It was all electrifying.

It was also about more than riding.

It was solace, connection, and friendship. Lessons in leadership, discipline, cooperation, responsibilities, animal care. It was confidence-building and soothing to a sometimes scared and lonely heart.

It was physiological. That feeling of excitement. A flutter in the heart, where every nerve in my body trembled in excitement in their presence. The sight of them, the smell of them, the feel of being on their backs, the hold of the reins. The movement, the speed. Horses were - and still are - a true thrill.

But that’s only part of the story.

Because I have seen…

At-risk youth brush a horse for the first time and soften. I’ve watched young people laugh with their peers while leading a thousand-pound animal, learning communication and teamwork. Experiential learning becomes real and exciting when it’s a large, warm, breathing body beside them.

I have seen a young teen who suffered abuse begin to feel in control again. To gain confidence and self-worth. To feel, without guilt, moments of happiness.

I have seen a female military Veteran carry trauma in her mind and body. The horse there as a soft, steady companion to work it through.

I have seen a man severely depressed, checked out, merely going through the motions of moving a brush across the animal. The horse mirrored his “checked out” behavior.

I have stood quietly while a young woman in recovery combed her fingers through the horse’s mane, repeatedly, in a rhythm as her words spilled out and tears fell down her cheeks. The horse’s head lowered, a lick of the lips. Breathing together. The horse was not doing anything, yet was entirely with her.

I have watched a quadrapalegic lead the horse from the wheelchair. The horse keeping pace, nose at their level. The horse standing quietly as the child is lifted onto the horse, and the child is given moments of freedom like any other child.

Horses know vulnerability. There’s no judging. Just time, presence, and truth.

The horses were there for me, too.

Through young adulthood. Through the death of one parent. Then the other. When my heart was guarded, and words felt inadequate, the horses remained. The one who would be my heart horse for seventeen years. She was strong and steady. Supported me in ways I couldn’t even understand fully until after she was gone.

With horses also comes the comfort of the barn, fresh air, heavenly sunsets at the end of the green pasture. Medicine for the day’s chaos.

Relationships with people can be complicated. We carry expectations, stories, and difficult equations. Horses don’t operate like that.

When we allow a horse to simply be a horse, something remarkable happens. The horse responds to what is real. The horse has agency. And, that alone still produces a lesson.

Our minds may chase career, business, productivity. But the heart remembers what changes. It remembers standing beside a living being whose quiet presence shifts heart rate, breathing, even brain chemistry. What words might fail to explain, physiology reveals.

The horse offers a simple, embodied message.

Be here. Be real. Feel what is true. Whether hands-on with the horse or simply observing. Observing, in fact, can be just as powerful.

Anyone can experience this. Woman, man, child, soldier, nurse, CEO, wife, husband, father, mother. Someone in grief. Someone lost. Someone in pain. Someone in need of calm, inspiration, healing.

The list goes on.

Why the horses?

Maybe it’s a calling. Maybe it’s simply paying attention. I know it’s a passion. I know it’s a deeper answer for humanity. I know that with conviction.

And, we must understand the horses’ needs as well.

We are affected just by the sight of them. They are beautiful and honest. No discrimination, no judgement. They offer more than recreation or sport. They can change us. They deserve to be honored and cherished.

Why the horses?

Because perhaps they have answers, and they are here to carry us into the future.

No saddle required.

You can learn more and maybe find your “why” at TheSageHorse.com.

***************

Pictured: Me and my horse Poco / Photography: Anthony Scarlati

The Year of the Fire Horse begins today. It reminds me of a painting I bought years ago at a gallery in Nashville. I know little about the artist other than his name is Orlando Garcia-Camacho. I typically don’t buy abstract art, but this one spoke to me. I’ve always loved the “fiery” feel of the painting. I tried selling it at one point, but had no takers. Just as well. It has kept a quiet place on the wall, and today I feel it has finally found its shining moment. I have a renewed sense of appreciation for the painting as I feel the message of the Fire Horse leaping from the canvas.

What does the Fire Horse tell us?

Fire brings vitality, courage, and creative spark. The Horse carries freedom, passion, and forward motion. Together, they invite us to move boldly toward what feels alive.

The horse also reminds us to stay true and grounded. So before jumping into burning desires with reckless abandon, imagine the horse standing solid before you on all four feet, blowing soft, clear breaths of wisdom and intent. Feel the breath on your heart. And, together, you and the horse go forward.

At The Sage Horse, we see this as a year of momentum — a year to follow the pull of the heart, to awaken creativity, to gather in community, and to let the wisdom of the horse remind us who we are. And, express it. Put it on paper where it’s in permanent ink and a visible symbol of your own fire horse.

A journaling prompt for you:

What do you see when you look at this painting? What feelings ignite inside you?

Equiaesthetics is the idea that HORSES offer us THE ULTIMATE AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE – multisensory aesthetic experiences that influence the human nervous system in much the same way as the arts, nature, and other awe-inducing environments.

We know that art heals (neuroaesthetics)
We know nature heals.
We know horses heal.

Science reveals parallels. Aesthetics engage our senses, calm our nervous system, awaken creativity, and reconnect us to ourselves.

Equiaesthetics integrates these findings and proposes that horses may represent the ultimate aesthetic encounter — activating the same neural pathways as art, but with additional layers of touch, movement, relational presence, and emotional resonance.

This was the reason behind the new equine-assisted creative learning program “Creative Connections with Horses” that we created at Colby’s Army, Inc, and as part of The Sage Horse.

Equiaesthetics and creative expression are parallel processes that both rely on an embodied, regulated nervous system. Horses prepare humans for creativity by inducing the state in which creativity thrives. Creative expression completes the experience with visible meaning.

This concept expands on current equine-assisted models for more opportunities for:

- Greater community wellbeing
-Experiential learning partnered with creative expression and processing
- Ethical, choice-based horse–human partnership
- More roles for more horses and more opportunities to connect people and horses

It’s a new way of understanding the horse’s role in human wellbeing — beauty as medicine, presence as regulation, and creativity as transformation.

Equiaesthetics reframes the horse not simply as a therapeutic partner, but as a living aesthetic being whose presence alone transforms us.

More to come on this project as my research continues and I develop the framework for our Creative Connections with Horses.

Join me on this journey!

Because I work alongside horses in a learning and experiential environment, I know horses present their own powerful AI, one that dates back centuries, long before we had machines and systems thinking for us – AUTHENTIC Intelligence. It could be our most powerful intelligence. One that keeps us human anyway.

So why are horses considered Authentic Intelligence?

Presence as Preparation

Horses read the present moment through the body. They respond not to what we say, but to how we are. It is presence, not performance, that matters. There is no agenda—only honest feedback from the horse. They invite us naturally into a state of presence and keep us centered. They don’t ask us to explain ourselves or improve ourselves. They ask us to be real and emotionally congruent.

The old saying that horses can sense our fear—even when we try to hide it—is true. When fear is acknowledged rather than masked, trust grows. In this way, horses strengthen our ability to be honest with ourselves, and to focus, adapt, and perform with intention.

Presence doesn’t replace performance—it prepares us for it. As I like to say, horses are natural facilitators at putting us right where we need to be.

Authentic Intelligence Improves Performance

Understanding Authentic Intelligence isn’t about slowing down for the sake of slowing down. It’s about learning how to be centered and regulated—so that when action is required, we respond with clarity rather than reactivity. When we learn to access Authentic Intelligence, we don’t lose our ability to perform. We improve it. Presence becomes the foundation that performance stands on.

Returning to What Is Most Human

In a world that rewards constant output, the horse offers something quieter—and more powerful. An invitation to slow down. To feel. To remember that our most meaningful intelligence isn’t artificial at all.

It is embodied, relational, and deeply human.

Meeting Ourselves at the Core

This is not just about presence. It is about returning to the core of who we are. And horses are uniquely capable of meeting us there. The horse embodies Authentic Intelligence—returning us to the core of who we are, before anything else is required.

Gut Reaction

People tend to embrace gut reactions in different ways, but we all have them. It’s the body speaking before the mind intervenes, information rooted in sensation, awareness and lived experience.

Horses respond at this same level. They meet us at the gut—where authenticity lives—long before we have time to explain ourselves. Differences in the makeup of the human and horse brain offer a simple explanation in that humans have a prefrontal cortex (executive functioning), while a horse does not.

In the presence of a horse, we are reminded that trusting the body is not irrational; it is intelligent.

Ethics, Choice, and Responsibility

Conversations about AI inevitably lead us to ethics. While machines may generate output, there are still humans standing behind the systems—holding the reins, making choices about how AI is used.

The horse offers a powerful contrast. Horses don’t debate ethics; they live authentically. And in doing so, they tend to mirror or reflect our own selves. If we stay aware and listen, we can see this. And, when it comes to ethics, it comes back to us. It’s our responsibility.

Every time I choose to bring a horse into partnership, I am reminded that the horse has a choice, too. That responsibility is mine. It is up to humans to determine what is ethical, fair, and humane—not only in our relationships with horses, but in how we design, deploy, and depend on intelligent systems of all kinds.

The horse does not absolve us of ethical responsibility. It clarifies it.

The Authentic Intelligence Framework

How embodied knowing becomes ethical action—guided by the

horse

Gut reaction = early, embodied information

Authentic Intelligence = listening to that information

Presence = staying with it

Ethics = choosing how we respond to it

The horse = the mirror and teacher at every step

Action = moving forward in alignment with what we know to be true

An Invitation

So what might the horse offer us as a true partner? What becomes possible when we listen—not just with our minds, but with our whole selves?

When we allow the horse to meet us at the core, we are guided back to our own Authentic Intelligence.

What does Authentic Intelligence mean to you?

Pictured: Quincy - Photo by Rebecca Bauer

Welcome to The Sage Horse on Substack!

Wishing you a joyful and prosperous new year — the Year of the Fire Horse. The timing feels just right as we continue building a welcoming community centered around connection with the horse and each other. We’re excited to share confirmed spring workshop dates featuring Creative Connections with Horses through writing and journaling, art, and music — alongside our wonderful herd and guest facilitators. And exciting news: Colby’s Army is covering the arena, so our workshops won’t be limited by weather. Join our email list at TheSageHorse.com to be notified when registration opens.

These workshops are gentle, ground-based experiences blending creativity, nature, and meaningful time beside horses. No riding, art, or writing experience needed — just curiosity and an open heart.

A place to find self-care, peace, connection, joy.

Spring Dates for Creative Connections with Horses

Mar 21 & Mar 28 — Journaling

Apr 18 — Write Beside the Horses (with The Porch)

Apr 25 — Art May 9 — For Women Without Mothers

May 16 & May 30 — Art June (TBA) — Music & Song

Save the dates — registration and more information coming soon

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