Page 27 of Marking Micah

“Hi there, China. I’ve got something for you, girl,” she said, reaching out to stroke the horse’s neck.

She held the apple slice out on her flat palm, and China took it the same way she had before, sniffing for it, then using her lips to softly pick it up before munching on it. Micah breathed a sigh to release some of her tension and smoothed her hand over China’s velvet muzzle. She really was the sweetest thing. A five-hundred pound sweet thing.

“Great job. So, today you’re going to pick up one of her feet.”

“What? With my hands?”

Arrow chuckled. “Well, we’re sure as hell not getting a crane. Of course with your hands.”

“I don’t know about this,” she said doubtfully. “Petting and feeding her apples is one thing, but this? This sounds dangerous. She could kick me or step on me.”

He smiled at her, reaching out a hand and rubbing his thumb between her eyebrows. “First, try to let that furrow relax. Better? Okay. I’m gonna show you how to do this. You just run your hand over her rump first, like this—remember that she’s blind, so she can’t see what you’re doing, and you don’t ever want to startle her. You keeping a gentle hand on her will help her to relax and trust you. That’s what this exercise is about—mutual trust between you and the horse. Just bend down and run your hand along the inside of her leg, like this,” he said, demonstrating. “Then you’re gently grabbing her here at the back of her ankle—it’s called the fetlock—between your thumb and your forefinger and give a little pressure as you lean your shoulder into her, signaling her to shift her weight onto the other leg. She’ll know what to do. Horses do this all the time when they have their hooves cleaned. And you tell her ‘up’. Just keep your tone gentle. See that? Her foot goes right up, easy as pie.” He set China’s foot back down and straightened. “Your turn.”

“Oh… um, okay.”

She put her hand out and stroked China’s flank, and the horse nickered. “That’s her happy sound, right?”

“Yep. See? You’ve got this.”

She bent and wrapped her hand around the horse’s ankle, but China stomped her foot and Micah jumped back, her heart pounding.

“I messed that up, didn’t I?”

Arrow stepped forward, murmuring to the horse as he ran his hand over her shoulder. “It’s okay, Micah. You just moved a littletoo fast for her and maybe grabbed her a bit too aggressively. Try it again. Go as slowly as you need to. Slow is good.”

“Okay.”

She tried to do it the way he’d told her, but this time when she reached China’s ankle, the horse swished her long tail, hitting Micah in the face and making her jump back again. She felt like such a failure. Tears stung her eyes as she turned to Arrow.

“I don’t think I can do this.”

“Sure you can,” he said, speaking as gently to her as he had to the horse. “You just have to remember that China may feel as shaky about this as you do. She can’t see; she can only sense and feel and hear. And she can either sense your fears or your confidence. Tap into your empathy. Make her feel comfortable. Help her to believe in you. And believe that you can do this, Micah.”

“But what if I’m not sure I can?”

He took a step closer and took her hand in his, his dark eyes intent on hers. “I believe in you, if that helps. I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. You got through your surgeries, months of physical therapy that I know damn well wasn’t easy. But you were determined, and you did it. You can do this, too.”

It was like a quiet storm of emotion rushing through her as he watched her face carefully, and once more, she sensed there was something more behind his words. But she knew he spoke the truth, and it did help a bit.

She nodded, pulled her hand from his, tried to get her shoulders to relax, then tried again, more calmly and feeling a bit more confident this time.

You can do it. He believes in you.

She ran her hand over China’s flank, then down her leg to her ankle, leaning into her. “Come on, girl,” she murmured. “Up for me, please. Up.”

To her surprise, China shifted her weight and lifted her hoof. She felt such a sense of accomplishment she had to force herself not to gasp out loud.

“Good girl, China,” she said before letting the hoof go and straightening up. She smiled at Arrow. “I did it! We did it!”

“See? I knew you could. You just have to believe in yourself enough to trust that together, you and China here can make a good team. It’s about trust and empathy—trust in yourself and her, empathy for her, and for you, too. It has to be reciprocal in order to work. And for those few moments, it’s about stepping outside of your own fears and worries and being there for her, too.”

She was quiet for a few moments, taking it all in, processing. “I think I’m getting why horse therapy can be so helpful.”

He smiled, his rugged face lighting up, as if he were just as giddy with accomplishment as she was.

“Why don’t we brush her?” he suggested. “It’s a good way to establish connection, and she loves being brushed. Kind of like aftercare for you both, yeah?”

“Yes, that totally makes sense to me.”

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