Photo & Poem: Spine to Spine

His back is not solid, nerves run between banks of
muscle, each vertebra linked to the next, from the
base of his skull to the end of his tail. A horse’s strength
is rhythm, each hoof initiating a wave when it takes to

the air, a surge of energy rolling up through his hind,
my human hip to answer. Allowing passage, his stride
rolls through my vertebra, then the next hoof takes
the air, rocking my pelvis to ripple my spine up the

fragile links to my skull. Our nervous systems in a
waltz, a slow dance covering hard ground, pulsing grace
into my pedestrian body, the bottom of his tail flips
softly to the left, then right, as my toes float in midair.

Anna Blake at Infinity Farm

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Anna Blake

18 thoughts on “Photo & Poem: Spine to Spine”

  1. Excellent. I can feel the gentle motion of a kind walk together, in sync. Thank you for creating that today- it is way too muddy to actually ride.

    Reply
  2. A unique perspective you’ve created here, Anna; something to be mindful of every time one is on a horse!
    “Horse and rider back to back” are the words it brings to my mind.
    This has such great application to dressage (and all riding forms, of course.)

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  3. I haven’t been on my horse’s back for many years. He has been retired due to complications of ringbone (so frustrating when his insulin resistance and Cushing’s disease is in control).

    But I love your reference to “…a waltz”. And I think of my times with Andy and realize, yes, we still slow dance. The pulses go through my arm to the curry to his muscles. And the lead rope sends messages through my hand to his gentle head as I lead him out of his stall each morning.

    Thank you for reminding me of this.

    Reply
  4. Beautiful, Anna. Your words elicit a deep longing in me to be on a horse again and captures the magic of that “dance.” I am so in love with walking horses ( not just the famous gait) but the feel of a walking horse at just a regular ole walk is like no other from my point of view. . Smooth and fluid. Bear and I may be close to ready to sashay around the pasture a bit.

    “Toes afloat in mid-air” -what a great phrase !

    Reply

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