A3 Elegant horse with against a bright background (2015) Drawing by Mmy Rising Sun

A striking discovery that the majority of horse riders were surprisingly insensitive came to me when I tried horse riding. We were encouraged to use whips and even spurs, albeit the teachers explained to us how horses were delicate creatures with sensitive lips. Many beginners ignored it and still kept pulling the reins too abruptly or harshly. I was a kid, and kids only wanted to play with big living toys, they wanted to show off in front of each other how well they handled a horse when it “misbehaved” (after they themselves provoked it thoroughly). They didn’t really mean to harm, it was all part of the game or socialising, however it left scars, both visible and invisible, on horses. Even though I don’t do horse-riding anymore, nor do I own a horse, I’ve learnt a lot since then. Now I know we weren’t really taught how to handle horses, how to deal with them, how to read their faces or understand what could cause their bad mood. Well, I guess we could at least help clean them and their stalls.

When I look back at it now, I think we just had different goals in mind. For them, it was mostly about competing and sport, while for me it was about connecting on a spiritual level and becoming buddies, it didn’t even have to be riding let alone competing. Although I felt bitter for a long time and inwardly complained about insensitiveness, I later started to question if it was actually me who got it all wrong. I was probably too sensitive and gave up to feeling helpless, unable to change anything and to dissatisfaction, rather than improving myself and educating those around me. While some of the kids I deemed insensitive grew up to become trainers…

It took me some more time to let this realisation sink and come to terms with it as well. I had to carefully sift through guilt and self-reproach. After all, horses still delight me, and those who wanted to devote themselves to horse riding (competitive or not) did it anyway. The world turned out to be a little bit bigger and capable of giving space to all sorts of feelings, even if they contradicted each other. As for me, I only try my best to keep up and ride my imaginary horses.

The drawing is 42 * 29.7 cm H/W.
The work is very detailed and of gallery premium quality, high resolution, unframed.
I used water-based markers to create energy movement.
It's bright and energising and would look perfect in a study room or work room.

Related themes

EleganthorseBrightbackgroundNatureloversRunawayhorsesSkinpattern