The Majesty of Horses

There is something about a horse that makes you stop and look.

Perhaps it is the sheer size of the animal, the way its muscles move beneath its coat with every step, or the unmistakable sound of hooves against the ground. 

Perhaps it is the strange combination of power and gentleness that horses seem to possess.

Whatever it is, horses have commanded human fascination for thousands of years.

Across civilisations, they have carried kings and warriors, 

farmers and travellers. 

They have appeared in mythology, paintings, literature and traditions, often representing strength, freedom, courage, loyalty and nobility.

Yet standing beside one, all those grand ideas suddenly become much simpler.

You realise that what makes a horse majestic is not merely its strength. 

It is the fact that something so powerful can also be remarkably gentle.

I was reminded of this recently during several walks to Al Forsan Equestrian Centre in Abu Dhabi.

On our first visit, Rafael was understandably shy when we met Monella, whose owner kindly stopped to let us say hello and get to know her.

Rafael reached out to touch her, but amusingly looked in the opposite direction while doing so, as though acknowledging the enormous animal beside him might be a little too much.

The second encounter was much the same, except this time he was sitting in his stroller holding his ball. 

He reached out and offered the ball to Monella while, once again, looking away.

Apparently, he was still too shy to properly face her, but not too shy to offer her one of his favourite things.

By our third visit, however, something had changed.

We went into the stable and let him roam. 

He ran around happily, yapping away to himself in his incomprehensible toddler language before confidently approaching the horses in their stalls and reaching out to touch them.

What surprised me almost as much as his lack of fear was the response of the horses.

These enormous animals remained remarkably calm around this tiny and rather noisy visitor. 

Some lowered themselves towards him, allowing him to reach and touch them.

There was something incredibly tender about it.

Their majesty, I realised, comes not simply from power but from the gentleness that can exist alongside it.

Perhaps that is also why horses have carried so much symbolism throughout human history.

Before engines, railways and aeroplanes changed how we travelled, horses represented movement and possibility. 

They carried people and messages across great distances, worked farms, pulled carriages and accompanied human beings through some of the most significant chapters of civilisation.

The horse transformed our world long before horsepower became a measurement we associated more readily with engines than animals.

For centuries, horses were also associated with prestige, nobility and leadership. 

Even today, the image of a horse running freely across an open landscape evokes freedom and independence in a way few other animals can.

We admire them for that wildness, yet some of the most beautiful expressions of the human-horse relationship are found in equestrianism, where horse and rider move together with extraordinary precision.

Riding requires far more than sitting on an animal and telling it where to go.

A rider must understand movement, balance and behaviour while developing trust with an animal far stronger than the person on its back.

Watch an experienced rider and horse moving together and there is an almost effortless quality to it. 

Behind that apparent ease, however, are countless hours of discipline, training and communication.

The rider learns the horse, and the horse learns the rider – there is partnership involved.

During our visits, we also saw young children undergoing equestrian lessons, confidently riding their horses while instructors guided them around the grounds.

What struck me was that these were not simply children turning up for the occasional riding lesson; the horses belonged to them.

And I must admit, that was one of those moments when it really sank in just how wealthy some families in the UAE are.

There is rich, and then there is growing up with your own horse.

Owning a horse is not simply about being able to buy one. 

There is housing, feed, veterinary care, grooming, equipment, training and the constant responsibility of caring for another living creature.

Yet here were children growing up with horses as part of their lives and being introduced to equestrian sport from a remarkably young age.

In the UAE, however, there is another layer to this relationship beyond wealth.

Horses are deeply woven into the history and heritage of the Arabian Peninsula. 

The Arabian horse, in particular, became renowned for endurance, intelligence and its close relationship with humans.

Equestrianism here therefore feels like more than an expensive pastime. 

It is also the continuation of a much older relationship between people, horses and the land.

Perhaps that was what made seeing those young riders so interesting.

The surroundings may have changed dramatically, but another generation is still learning to ride, care for and communicate with these animals.

And perhaps that is why horses remain so captivating in a world that no longer depends upon them for everyday transportation.

We have invented machines that travel faster, carry heavier loads and cross distances horses never could, yet there is something about standing beside a horse that technology cannot reproduce.

A horse is alive. It has temperament. It can be curious, nervous, playful, stubborn or affectionate. It responds to the person approaching it, and that interaction demands respect.

There is also something humbling about standing next to an animal capable of tremendous physical power and realising that the encounter depends upon both sides remaining calm.

It made me think about courage too. Courage is often portrayed as fearlessness, when sometimes it is simply becoming comfortable with something unfamiliar.

Over three visits, I had watched that progression happen in miniature.

First came hesitation, then curiosity and finally confidence.

There is something universally human about that.

Most of us eventually encounter our own version of the enormous horse standing before us: something unfamiliar, intimidating or simply bigger than what we are accustomed to.

Our first instinct may be to look away, but curiosity has a way of bringing us closer.

Perhaps horses remind us of something else modern life occasionally makes us forget.

Power does not always have to announce itself, strength does not have to intimidate, and gentleness does not make something weak.

Sometimes the most commanding presence is the one that has nothing to prove.

That was what stayed with me after those visits.

Not simply the sight of a small child discovering horses or the young riders learning to communicate with them, but the horses themselves — magnificent, immensely powerful creatures quietly lowering their heads and allowing themselves to be touched.

Perhaps that is where their majesty truly lies.

Not only in how fast they can run, how much they can carry or the extraordinary role they have played throughout human history, but in the remarkable combination of strength, trust and gentleness that has allowed horses and human beings to walk alongside one another for thousands of years.

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DISCLAIMER:

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at [email protected].