The Horse Whisperer

I recently attended my 40th-grade school reunion. It was a 3-day extravaganza. One of the activities took place at Arlington Race Track. I hadn’t been there since they replaced most tellers with automatic betting machines. I’m not much of a gambler and it was an unpleasantly hot day, but despite this, I decided to meet-up with my old school buddies. I’m so glad I did because it was fun to see everyone.

I know that a lot of people are against the racetrack for many reasons and hopefully, I will not offend the animal anti-cruelty or addiction support groups with this post. I admit that participating caused a bit of conflict within myself. On one shoulder my conscience was having fun, and on the other shoulder, my conscience thought about the horses.

Race Number 7

After several races, my friend Kevin convinced me to visit the horses while they got ready for the race, so we ventured down to the staging area. It was Race 7 and because I am a Leo, the horse named Roar of the Lion resonated with me.

I received messages as I tried to connect with the horses. Number 8 (dressed in pink) said, “This could be an interesting experience”. The message took on a surfer-chick attitude. Several other horses muttered that they had a hard time seeing, which I suspected was their eye gear.

Kevin mentioned that Number 9 in the turquoise kept looking at me. I like the color turquoise and when I noticed the horse’s name was Roar of the Lion. This information solidified my initial gut feeling. Just as Roar passed by, I heard the words, “I’m going to win this one.” Before we left the horses, I tried to comfort them all by silently telling them that after the race, they will go home will be treated very nicely.

After I placed my bet, my friends Kevin and Kelley accompanied me outside to watch the race in person. The race took place on the inside grass track. I didn’t know this until the horses lined-up. That’s how much I pay attention to the details.

Out of the gate Roar had a slow start, and halfway through the race, he took a middle position. It was at this point I silently sent a feeling to Roar and encouraged him to do what he does best. Sure enough, he pulled ahead and won the race!

Kelley, Kevin, and I waited for Roar to come to the Winners Circle, and as he trotted towards us he looked our way. I told Roar, “Great job! Now you can relax.”

Under Pressure

After this horse whispering experience was exposed to my grade school buddies, another friend John wanted to visit the horses. Unfortunately, there were a lot of horses that didn’t feel like talking. John pulled my leg about putting a huge bet down based on what I said, and this made me nervous. I was unaware of the power of his play.

John had a good feeling about Number 2 but I was a bit foggy in my head. Maybe I should have listened to that message as a sign not to bet. What can you do?

Final Race

Before the 9th and final race, I tried to connect one more time with the horses. This time Tom and John accompanied me.

Number 7 was a large horse and looked like it could win, but his gait was awkward. In my mind’s eye, I saw a healing symbol that suggested there was a lingering injury.  One horse was wondering why he had to walk in circles. Number 11 spoke to me, “I’m good with long races!” and Number 3 said, “I’m going to try really hard.”

Tom had a really good feeling about Number 3 because he noticed that the designated jockey was winning most races. It illustrated that winning is not always about strength and endurance. It’s also about connection.

I had a good feeling about Number 11 (Golden Gift). John asked me what horse Jesus would bet on, and I told him that Number 11 was an angelic number and the name Golden Gift seemed appropriate. Of course, I was too busy to recognize John’s subtle humor. Jesus and gambling don’t belong in the same sentence without the word protest.

It was a difficult choice because both Number 3 and 11 gave me positive feedback. It was Tom’s observation about the jockey that swayed me to bet on number 3.

Upon my return, Tom said, “This is a long race.” With that information, I went to place a bet on Number 11. I realized that I was betting against myself when I placed both bets to win, but I couldn’t abandon Number 11 given this new information.

The Winning Horses

Number 11 (Golden Gift) came in first and Number 3 (Surf Shack) came in second.

Simple Wisdom

After this experience, I realized that Kevin’s observation, Tom’s logic, John’s facilitation, and my communications were all needed to understand how to take action. All of us had different experiences and gifts to share.

While I wasn’t a big winner at the track ($1 ahead), I had fun with my grade school buddies and I did come home with simple wisdom.

Not only do our gifts show up in many ways, but this experience showed me how much animals want to communicate with humans. They don’t want to connect for the purpose of performing. Animals want to communicate and express their feelings. When you try to see, understand, hear, and feel with them, they will connect with you.

 

Namaste,
Lesley Wexler, heartabove.net

#TheAnimalWhisperer