In the summer the horses are out 24/7 in the big pastures and are able to graze and spend some great time just being in their natural state.  Some will come in throughout the day to work, train, or be part of a FEEL exercise.  I go out daily and check on them all, putting sunscreen on the 2 that have pink noses and fly spray everyone on the days that they need it. 

Yesterday morning I spent some time with my young gelding working on his groundwork giving him some exercise, grooming and attention.  I checked the rest of the herd then went on with my day.  The thought in the evening to visit them again was not unusual but I still decided not to go out as they were far out in the fields.

At 2am I awoke from sleep with a strong knowing that the horses needed water.  I started to think in my mind; when did I fill the trough last, did I check it in the morning, etc.  I rationalized that there must be water and I could wait till the morning.  I couldn’t fall back asleep and the thought kept haunting me for another hour.  I considered going out to check it and then decided not to as there are coyotes and other animals out there in the night. Daylight would only be a couple hours away. 

At 6am I awoke and went straight out to the horses and what did I find; the water trough turned over and empty.  Sometimes the horses will play with it and turn it over but they didn’t do that this year so that didn’t cross my mind.  As they all got their fill of water I felt badly that I didn’t pay attention to my intuition last evening.  The thought was strong that I should go out and visit them but I thought it was more for my sake not theirs. 

I cherish the time I go out in the fields spending time with their loving energy.  They calm me, and I feel all the stress of the day leave my body; I become one with the herd.  I had assumed that was the need I was l craving so dismissed it. 

I wanted to write about this experience today as I am sure many of you have had similar experiences where subtle yet strong messages and thoughts come to you and it is often hard to know where they come from.  Do they come from our logical minds or from our innate knowing, our intuition?  Our Western culture has trained us to be in our logical minds and we rationalize our feelings and thoughts to fit into a convenient box.  Sometimes the thoughts are abstract and indirect so we have to figure out what they mean.  If the message in the evening was “go check the horse’s water trough” well, I would have listened. 

I learned a valuable lesson through this experience and luckily the horses were perfectly fine through the night with no water.  I learned I need to listen to my knowing mind more and stop my logical mind from rationalizing the messages, feelings, urges, and thoughts that come to me.   Again, I have to thank the horses who teach me daily to live in the moment and cherish the natural gifts we all have.