Today, I really wished I had a camera.
I volunteered at a horse therapy center for disabled children and words won’t do my experience justice. There is a beauty of a huge draft horse with broad, thick shoulders and muscular hindquarters that can pull stage coaches and plow rocky fields cradling a small, underdeveloped child who can’t walk on their own, and giving them the power to walk with not just two legs, but four very powerful legs.
Today I saw a kid with a heart pump who probably isn’t allowed to run or jump on his own, stand on the back of a horse, spread his arms out like wings, tilt his head back, close his eyes and tell me, “see this is so easy.”
I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t easy. I would be scared. I hate heights and the thought of balancing on the back of a living animal who could easily crush me is terrifying. But you can’t tell that to a little boy who is transformed into superman once he is given the strength of an animal with a thousand muscles. I wish I could have taken a picture, but all the film in the world wouldn’t be able to capture how his bravery affected me. Instead, I just stood there, held my breath, and hoped he wouldn’t fall. But he didn’t and he got up and stood on that horse a couple times before the lesson was over.
Today I got to met superman. And his horse. Why didn’t I have a camera??
