Poems & Proverbs
"A horse if worth more than riches."
Spanish Proverb
"Gypsy gold does not chink and glitter.
It gleams in the sun and neighs in the dark."
Saying of the Claddagh Gipsies of Galway
"Thou shalt be for Man a source of happiness
and wealth; thy back shall be a seat of honour,
and they belly of riches; every grain of barley
given thee shall purchase indulgence for the sinner."
The Koran
War Horse
There was no greater companion, than the horse of war
Through the many plains and fields of battle did he soar!
Not by sky, but by land
he charged forth to take a stand
When the great knights of old mounted the saddle
The war horses knew it was time for battle!
Through the wind, rain, moon, and sun
The war horse galloped on; until the battle was won
Glaedr the poet
"A Letter From Your Horse" (original version):
When you are tense, let me teach you to relax.
When you are short tempered, let me teach you to be patient.
When you are short sighted, let me teach you to see.
When you are quick to react, let me teach you to be thoughtful.
When you are angry, let me teach you to be serene.
When you feel superior, let me teach you to be respectful.
When you are self absorbed, let me teach you to think of greater
things.
When you are arrogant, let me teach you humility.
When you are lonely, let me be your companion.
When you are tired, let me carry the load.
When you need to learn, let me teach you.
After all, I am your horse.
The Grandest Horse
If I were a rider with desert to cross,
I would seek the Grandest Horse,
To carry me through the roughest terrain--
The heat in the south, the freeze and the rain --
Through drifts of white ice in treacherous passes,
Perilous cliffs and valley grasses --
Through rattlesnake canyons and flooded gorge,
Gouged out mesa and tables of stone--
To a land beyond the blues of heaven --
To highest peaks of eternal existence --
To the place of my Friend, my Savior and Lord --
I'd ride up to heaven on the Grandest Horse --
No bridle, no saddle --
His Spirit , of course !
Stanley Watson
Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is served with muscle
And strength by gentleness confined
He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent.
There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.
~Ronald Duncan, "The Horse," 1954
I am your equal. I am a wild creature that can never be like you. I have heart, courage, and the game spirit that is my heritage, and I will be respected. I will be taught, and I will please, and maybe in time I will be your intimate.
But I will never be your possession.
Mine is a fierce love, which knows no mercy for failure. No sympathy for weakness. I have come from the desert with its closeness to the spirit of nature which you do not understand. I was born of the Wind, mine is a warrior spirit. I cannot be humiliated in punishment or defeated even in death. For my spirit lives on in my children's children."
“...and he whispered to the horse, trust no man in whose eyes you do not see yourself reflected as an equal.”
“A good horse is never a bad color.”
“The Horse. Man's noblest companion.”
“Horses lend us the wings we lack.”
A horse is worth more than riches.”
“A kingdom without horses was not a kingdom, and a king without horses was not a king.”
"The Horse: Here is nobility without conceit, friendship without envy, beauty without vanity, a willing servant, yet no slave."
"There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse."
"It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall."
"Do not spur a free horse."
"The horse, the horse! The symbol of surging potency and power of movement, of action, in man."
"I have spent most of my life riding horses - the rest I've just wasted."
"Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self-esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls - they give us hope!"
"Don't be the rider who gallops at night and never sees the horse that is beneath him!"
"Lived in the saddle, loved the chase, the course, and always, 'ere he mounted, kissed his horse."
"The horse - the noblest, bravest, proudest, most courageous, and certainly the most perverse and infuriating animal that humans ever domesticated."
"Horse, thou art truly a creature without equal, for thou flies without wings and conquers without sword."
"Care, and not fine stables, makes a good horse."
"Learning dressage takes two lifetimes -- yours ... and your horse's."
"A horse doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care."
"Yet when all the books have been read and reread, it boils down to the horse, his human companion, and what goes on between them."
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
"A horse is such a thing of beauty; None will tire of looking at him as long as he displays himself in his splendor."
"The horse is God's gift to man."
"Good horses make short miles."
"To ride a horse well, you have to know it as well as you know your best friend."
"It is the difficult horses that have the most to give you."
"Of all creature God made at the Creation, there is none more excellent, or so much to be respected as a horse."
"There are only two emotions that belong in the saddle; One is a sense of humor, and the other is patience."
"If your horse says no, you either asked the wrong question, or asked the question wrong."
"A man on a horse is spiritually as well as physically bigger than a man on foot."
"Riding is a complicated joy. You learn something each time. It is never quite the same, and you never know it all."
"Four things greater than all things are: Women and Horses & Power and War."
"Sir, I would horsewhip you if I had a horse."
“Horse sense is what keeps horses from betting on what people will do."
“He who said he made a small fortune in the horse business, probably started out with a large fortune!”
“Life is good; a horse makes it better!”
“Nothing does as much for the insides of a man than the outsides of a horse.”
"Speak your mind, but ride a fast horse."
“There is something about riding down the street on a prancing horse that makes you feel like something, even when you ain't a thing."
"We have almost forgotten how strange a thing it is that so huge and powerful and intelligent an animal as a horse should allow another, and far more feeble animal, to ride upon its back."
"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears."
"His neigh is like the bidding of a monarch, and his countenance enforces homage. He is indeed, a horse."
“Of all Creatures God made at the Creation, there is none except man more excellent, or so much to be respected as a Horse.”
"Honor lies in the mane of a horse."
"Horses leave hoof prints on your heart."
“No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle.”
“In riding a horse, we borrow freedom.”
“I think that if I become a horseman, I shall be a man on wings.”
“Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.”
“If wishes were horses - dreamers would ride.”
“He doth nothing but talk of his horse.”
“It's better to want the horse you don't have than to have the horse you don't want.”
“A Horseman should know neither fear, nor anger.”
“Horses - if God made anything more beautiful, he kept it for himself.”
“If you want a stable friendship, get a horse.”
“The horse is God's gift to mankind.”
“A horse can lend its rider the speed and strength he or she lacks, but the rider who is wise remembers it is no more than a loan.”
“Feeling down? Saddle up.”
“A horse is worth more than riches.”
“All I pay my psychiatrist is the cost of feed and hay, and he'll listen to me any day.”
“To ride a horse is to ride the sky.”
“The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.”
“Riding: The art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.“
“It is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall.”
“The wagon rests in winter, the sleigh in summer, the horse never.”
“Where ever man has left his footprint in his long ascent from barbarism to civilization, we will find the hoof print of a horse beside it.”
"Show me your horse and I will tell you what you are."