Imagine a little girl approaching a horse. A big, solid 1,000-pound animal. Horses have a huge, elongated head with twitching ears that never stop moving. Their bodies are thick, and their legs are long and slender. Their muscles bulge and their tails flick. But there is something gentle in those almond shaped eyes. Something kind. And when they bow their head down to kid level, a girl is captured by that gentleness within strength.
In today’s world, girls feel judged by appearance and their ability to fit in. Many girls are stressed, face bullying or abuse and feel lost. A horse offers a chance to get away from that. Horses look through us, to our soul, and understand our intention and our essence. Little girls feel it.
This is the essence of dreaming about horses or being a cowgirl. This is not the rough and tough cowboy or cliched cowgirl with lots of bling. No, this is the cowgirl inside, her inner cowgirl, who finds joy in nature and wants to connect to her own natural rhythms.
This cowgirl rides with grace and elegance and dances with her horse across green fields. She is not interested in dominating her horse, she partners with horses and stands tall next to them. And while cowgirls seem fearless, little girls are not fooled; they know it takes courage to ride a horse. They know they need to dig deep and step up, in order to partner with this magnificent animal.
And it may be, that being with a horse represents a girl’s first adventure into discovering who she truly is.
This is not a small thing. Horses offer girls a pathway to their authentic self.
But as a young girl embraces this feeling, when she grows up, that authentic self often fades away. Peer pressure, the lure of career, money or men, or the busy-ness of life often kill those horse dreams. I meet many women who tell me about the horse they had as a child, or the rides they took when they were young, and I hear the yearning in their voice and see it in their eyes. And while I know it is their desire and the beauty of the horse that moves them, I also know it touches something deep inside. Another time, another chance, and another self. One which feels complete, and at one with nature. One which doesn’t ask “Am I enough?”, but knows the horse believes in them and so they believe in themselves.
Little girls and grown women yearn for the spirit of the cowgirl so they can connect with nature and be in sync with a powerful animal. They want to feel the freedom of being vulnerable and strong at the same time. It’s a bold move. To allow themselves to feel vulnerable while at the same time find strength within that vulnerability. This is a trail to their true self.
That’s why I believe in horses and in cowgirl dreams – not just for the cowgirls of the West, but for all of us!
Is this true for you?
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