Stroke of Luck
‘Symbol of Hope part II: A stroke of luck’
My previous article on hope was written just at the end of January. You might not even believe in luck, but most of the time - before you know it - the word has flopped out of your mouth. When someone tells you something incredible has happened to them, or when we escape an accident big or small. We seem to brush it off as if it is something that only happens to certain people or at certain times where our reflexes were just correctly timed. I believe the moments of luck happen to us everyday, and it just doesn’t seem to catch our attention every time.
Something that seems to incite hope is luck. I think I struck both hope and luck
How? You ask? I didn’t notice until much later when the epiphany struck.
Luck struck in April and a whole being came into my love and care. Meanwhile, I didn’t even have time to throw a baby shower, nor a gender reveal.
Her name is Speranza
Eyes: dark brown
Color: brown
Height: 1m5 8
Weight: 535 kg
No, that last one wasn’t a typo. Speranza is a 7 year old pure-bred Lipizzaner.
Perhaps you have heard of The Spanish Riding School in Vienna or the 1963 movie The Miracle of the White Stallions. That is where this breed gets their popularity from. They are known for their ability to go to extreme lengths when it comes to performing the purest form of dressage, but also excel in Jumping, driving and hacking eventing. This is also a Spanish breed that comes from the Habsburg empire around the year 1760’s and onward, One of the oldest cultural horse breeds in Europe and recognised by UNESCO as a national intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Which also means that this is a breed that has quite the temperament of their own. Their Characters are highly sensitive, good memory, spirited, full of stamina, people-oriented, sociable, quick to learn and willing to perform. At the Vienna Riding School it takes the trainers up to 6 years for them to master the skills along with the horses. They mature later, but also have an above average longevity for a horse.
With this information in mind, I still took on the challenge to welcome Speranza into my life. Knowing that this would be a game, a dance if you will, asking and giving. It would require more patience and creativity from my part to deal and work with this horse.
Speranza is a lovely mare.
It didn’t take much time before she got accustomed to me. She makes little sounds when I step into the stalls, as to acknowledge my presence. When she is out in the field. From a far distance, I can see that she has stopped grazing while the other horses continue to mind their business. Her eyes are fixed on me, until I get closer. When I bring her out in the field, even after I have taken her off the leash, she doesn’t leave my side. Other horses would have turned around and made a run for it to the nearest friend or grazing area.
It wasn’t long before I encountered the side of her that I was warned about. The temperament, the strong will to go her own way. More than other horses I have encountered. But we always manage to find a middle ground. In our communication towards each other. I ask, she gives. She gives, I reward. It almost seems sometimes that we are in a concentrated tango, diametrically opposed from each other.
That has made me much more aware of my verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Horses respond to what we are asking. Whether we are aware of what we are asking or not. Also tested was; my patience. Oh my patience. I thought I was a very patient individual. It’s just that my patience hasn’t been tested yet. But there is always a reason for the madness. Perhaps it’s a trauma she is holding onto from a previous experience that I didn’t know about until later. Or a purely horse trait that us humans can’t wrap our heads around. Along with my leadership skills. I am asking of you to come with me, but have I already determined that with me as a leader, you are also safe in my environment? Am I even clear in what I am asking?
After all is said and done - I got her to come along with me to give up the sweet grass and the comfort of her herd, put her in the pen for lounging, she followed all my instructions and it was just a great day - And I am just tacking off and brushing off. I realize there’s a moment of silence. Both of us. Decompressing. I ask myself. What was all that noise for? I could have been deaf and mute and still she could have done all I asked. She is telling me so much, through her body language. I am the only one speaking and making a sound. The same goes for humans, we communicate so much with our body language. Without noticing. Because, we are used to the fact that people say what they mean with their words. But even a blank stare could express so many emotions, that our conditioned brains stop picking up these cues.
That moment of epiphany I spoke about earlier, Well…
Speranza is the Spanish term for hope. And if you know anything about Lipizzaner, they are for the most part inherently grey/white horses. Especially the ones at The Spanish Riding school in Vienna. However, it is tradition at the Riding school to always have one brown Lipizzaner, It is believed to bring good luck
There you have it:
My symbol of Hope and Luck <3
Yours faithfully,
CJ Felicia.
© Lois Smit