Lughnassadh 2007

FIONA ©
by Lady Raven Ariana

Horses have been a passion since I was a young girl. My paternal grandmother told me that at the tender age of two I was drawing figures of horses and unicorns. I’m sure these were crude. I always wanted a horse and spent my teenage allowances and babysitting wages paying to rent horses to ride by the hour. I would spend hours and hours drawing pictures of horses and reading stories and books about them, too.

I have yet to have my very own equine companion. During my university years I did have the pleasure of coming close.

I met Fiona, a very sturdy Welsh pony mix, during a university class I was taking for general elective credit held at a local stable. She was chestnut brown with a flowing black mane and tail. She, like myself, was of mixed Celtic blood and larger than a standard pony due to her mixed ancestry. The owner of the stable considered Fiona recalcitrant, but I enjoyed her fire and spirit.

When the class finished out its term, I learned that I could lease Fiona for the summer. The stables were in the foothills and there were plenty of trails and canyons to spend the days exploring. I leased Fiona for the summer and began the adventure of connecting to the Spirits of the Land with an equine friend.

I’d drive out to the stables first thing in the morning and take Fiona out of the corral. I’d bridle her then check her feet before brushing her down. I enjoy riding bareback, so I didn’t have to take the time to put on any tack besides a bridle. I’d then mount from a stump and find myself sitting on her plumpness. I’d take a few moments to collect my attention and focus on the feeling of myself in relationship to Fiona, and then we’d start out.

Sometimes we would head east towards the mountains and sometimes north, south or west to foothills. The hills were covered with scrub oak and other deciduous bushes and trees. Higher up we’d encounter aspen and pine. There were wild sunflowers, mullein, and many other herbs, grasses and plants. There were streams and little waterfalls, boulders and rocks. Many birds and animal life would meet us on our journeys. Fox, deer, rabbits, and even badgers might be some of the mammals that we’d encounter.

Fiona was an excellent guide and companion. Since I rode without a saddle, I was able to get right in and hang out with the deer herds. There were elk and moose, too, though we never met any on our travels. We did meet up with the occasional coyote or bobcat though. Lucky for us we were never stalked by our local cougars.

There is a special connection that a person can experience when riding a horse alone through the mountains. I never felt lonely and liked it best when I didn’t encounter other humans. There is a deep calm still space, much like meditation, that I would find in the company of Fiona and the Spirits of the Land. When I remember those times I wonder if this is part of why our ancestors so valued horses and even had deities, like Epona and Rhiannon, that made sacred our equine friends and our relationship to them.

After two or three hours I’d return to the stable, brush Fiona down, check her feet, unbridle her, give her the apple or carrot I had brought, and return her to her corral with my heartfelt “thank you”. Then I’d drive back to my home in the city and look forward to my next summer adventure.

That was some years ago and sadly urban sprawl has halted any more summertime equine adventures. The city I live in is emulating southern California and is developing every inch of space including farming land and hills. Expensive McMansions sit where the stable used to be. The land was rezoned and the stable and owner forced out.

There will no longer be opportunity for people to have the magical opportunity to meet the Spirits of the Land with a horse friend here. Nor will folks that can’t afford the very expensive luxury of owning their own horse in the city get to feel the incredible bond of horse and rider. I find this heart breaking and tragic. Studies have shown that the human/equine bond helps ease depression and has very real healing effects on many health problems.

My sincere desire is that people can get back to healthy and respectful relationship to the land and the creatures that share it with us. My belief is that we cannot be spiritually whole without it. For those who love, value, and honor horses and other animals similar to how our ancestors did, those individuals will find power, strength, and infinite lessons in the human/animal bond.