14 Comments

Kimberly Carter: You are courageous and I love your empathy for the horse, one of the noblest of beings placed here by Mother Nature.

You came from a tradition and habit and looked deep inside yourself and to this noblest of nature's beings, the horse.

I love your empathy and ethic.

Maybe we can still have shows and races with humane treatment of the horse and with expectations adjusted to eliminate abuse.

But whether yea or naye, I think we must be humane with a fellow, intelligent and feeling being.

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The horse really is the noblest of creatures placed on this earth. I'm so glad that I discovered your writings. I know that whenever you arrive in my inbox you're going to challenge me to sink into my ethics and truly work things out in my small way in my little place in the world. Like you, I don't want to see our partnership with the horse go away in the public eye. I think the world needs horses more than the horse has ever needed us.

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Kimberly Carter: We need horses more than they need us.

I heartily agree.

My well-loved sister-in-law, Eunice, rescues equines, not least, donkeys. I do love donkeys!

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I would absolutely love to hear Eunice story.

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Aug 1Liked by Kimberly Carter

Fear is a powerful motivator to humans and has been used throughout our evolution in our attempts to force those We fear to fear Us.

I too believe we can be better than that. Thank you yet again, for your powerful honesty.

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We're at this interesting juncture where we're seeing that bashing and canceling doesn't work to change things as much as we wished that powerful voices could. It's almost as if we've been employing the same energy in reverse. I'm obsessed with how change happens more from the bottom up and how, like the Julie Taylor quote in the piece, we have to reverse the question. Thank you, always, for reading my words and telling me what you think. I'm so thankful for you.

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Aug 1Liked by Kimberly Carter

I’ve been questioning what will horse training look like years down the road- and it feels a little unsettling to ask questions I don’t know the answer to- but I know I’ve got the right people by my side as we figure it out thanks to you and so many others around Bramblewood ❤️

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I'm afraid to look into that spy glass. I'd rather just look down at my feet as we all, collectively, work together to figure out a better way. I love your mind, seriously. And it is an absolute honor to have the gift of brainstorming with you every day. Plus, you're incredibly funny and when we're at a loss I know you'll make me laugh. Love you!

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Worst case scenario we can still sit on the porch and scream into the void together and that may honestly be enough for me

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Preach. This is where the true alchemy happens.

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Aug 8Liked by Kimberly Carter

This was unbelievably difficult to read. Your honesty is commendable.

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I have faith that the tide is turning. Thank you, Elaine, for reading and sharing your thoughts.

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Aug 1Liked by Kimberly Carter

“When we’re dazzled by the promise of greatness, it’s difficult to see that anything is wrong.” This. This reminds me of the dance world and the no pain, no gain mentality. We are often so blinded by the potential outcome that we forget about ourselves and others (including horses). I am guilty as a dancer and dance teacher… how much are we willing to sacrifice for greatness? But how do we define greatness? Thank you for this awesome read!

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I feel like I could ask you to give the dance perspective with every big topic we discuss. That push from the human ego to stretch and stretch outside our limits is massive and in the act we fail to see how many of our species and others that we're taking down with us as we strive. I'm so thankful for you. Love you!

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