Horse Magick
*Originally written on October 4th, 2026.
I have been distracted from writing my post about horse magick because of a Threshing Day related distraction...
Yes, I discovered www.dragonkind.com, made by Rebecca Yarros (and her marketing team). I was immediately impressed with what they put together, and immediately jealous as THIS is exactly the sort of thing I want to make for my own book someday. I also immediately decided "challenge accepted" to finding and bonding with a rare blue dragon, as blue is my favorite color and I refuse to settle for less where dragons are concerned.
My first tries on my own got me incinerated.
However, I also managed to bond with two dragons on my own as well. The first one was an orange swordtail, the second a green daggertail. I'll share their pictures, too, as they are quite beautiful.
I was curious, so I looked up who usually bonds with oranges and discovered they are the most unpredictable of dragonkind, usually bonding with morally grey or villainous characters... I suppose this checks out a little, because I'm pretty sure any dragon (or any being) introduced to my particular brand of neurodivergent would have to be very gutsy to make a Bond with me and hear my thoughts for the rest of my life. All the same, I am still determined to go after the blue.
While I wait for my main email's four hours to reset so I can try again, I am finally going to write this post about what I can only accurately refer to as "horse magick."
So, this morning started out normal- with normal-sized anxiety, and a normal trip to the barn. How did it evolve, then, into a beautiful day that taught me both the secret to healing my anxiety disorder (at least temporarily) and the secret of my own horse and his wonderful healing powers?
My husband and I went to the barn together for trip number one. It was lovely- we took photos, gave Viento lots of treats (including his favorite flavor- pumpkin spice), and took him for a walk to explore the outdoor arena of the barn he has only lived at for five short days.
Halfway through peacefully brushing Viento's soft cream-colored fur I realized something with a start- my husband hadn't filled out the liability release required to be able to visit Viento at this new barn, yet!
My chest tightened.
A slow dread immediately started filling the now cramped space between my ribcage and my heart. Panic quickly took it's place, followed by my favorite little visitors- intrusive thoughts.
How could you forget the liability release? That was your only shot! You're absolutely going to be kicked out of this new barn, now! Viento is basically homeless! How could you do that to him?!
"Honey..." I said, letting my voice trail off quietly. I explained the situation to him as best I could. He, with infinite patience and gentleness, nodded and agreed to wait in the car while I finished picking Viento's feet so we could make our hasty escape.
We drove home. On the way, my husband chatted calmly next to me, trying to reassure me as best as he could and also attempting to change the subject in what was quite frankly a valiant attempt to help me regain control over my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I tapped my foot and re-read the text message I'd sent to the owner of the barn for the fifteenth time since getting in the car. I tried to smile and respond to my husband in the appropriate spots, but the ugly anxiety had its razor-sharp talons dug deep into my brain, leaching its sickly green poison into whatever nooks and crannies hold my neurotransmitters.
Once we got home I realized the anxiety was not going away unless I spent more time with Viento. I had to go back- I had to double check that he was still there, still safe... I explained to my husband that I needed to go back so I could clean off the barn driveway. On our way back to his stall, Viento had left a bit of a fun present there. That was my excuse, but my husband was a good sport about it, despite the fact that he knew that was not the only reason. I jumped back in the car and drove right back to the barn.
I got there, hiked up the hill to the lesson barn, grabbed the nearest pitchfork, and cleaned up the driveway mess. Then I marched myself back to Viento's stall.
"Hey buddies! Hey Viento!"
I forced my voice to announce my presence in a cheery tone that I did not really feel. Viento and his cute grey Appaloosa neighbor both stuck their heads out over their barn doors and tipped their ears towards me. With a shaking hand, I unclipped the barn divider and replaced it on the hook. Then I walked over to Viento's stall.
The visit began like a normal one- Viento accepted a treat or two from my pocket. I made careful conversation with another boarder and her son until they went home. I was already in Viento's stall when they left, but the energy shifted the moment they were gone. My sunny walls came crumbling down. My anxiety poured out of me and my posture sagged.
Immediately, Viento quieted. He went completely still, not moving a single muscle. I let myself rest against him, closed my eyes, and ran my still-shaky hand over the soft white fur of his muscular neck.
I do not remember how long we stood that way. The whole time Viento did not move, not even to shiver his skin, despite me resting my head fully on his strong shoulder. I gently stroked his smooth fur for twenty- maybe thirty- minutes and just breathed. Finally, I began to realize- I was feeling totally different than I had when I stepped into the stall. I was feeling... calm.
Viento had lent me his own sense of calm. He had felt my clouded, anxious energy, had known exactly what I needed. Then he gave it to me without hesitation.
I opened my eyes with the realization. This is one of the ways horses heal people. His calmness had seeped into my very pores. Then came the second realization: I had to do something, had to give something back. I couldn't just take his calm and leave him there with a giant cloud of dark OCD energy hanging over his stall.
It was then that my mind jumped back to the EWIM Facilitator Level I Training course I had taken with Amanda Held earlier in the year. It was a beautiful course on facilitating healing with horses. The whole experience was awe-inspiring, but the specific part of the training that I knew I wanted to utilize in this moment was the act of giving back to the horse that heals you. I immediately did what I had learned to do in the course- I closed my eyes again, assigned a color (blue) to the calm feeling Viento had given me, and pictured that calm dreamy blue. I pictured it inside of me, at first. Then I pictured it growing, pouring its calm back into Viento, and then finally growing even more and flowing through both of us out into the air of his stall.
Finally, after completing this energetic visualization, Viento moved. He exhaled a large exhale, then took one slow step back towards the pile of hay in the right corner of his stall. He lowered his neck and promptly started to munch happily on the hay, as if nothing of note had happened. I stepped back and stared at him, my heart full and my mind calm.
After a long moment of gawking at my horse, I immediately jumped on my phone and gushed to Amanda the whole experience. It had been such a profound moment for me and Viento, and I wanted to share it (and get it written down so I could write this blog post later!). Then, full of a new peace and calm I had not felt for a very long time, I kissed Viento's forehead, gave him another pumpkin spice treat, and then floated back to my car.
If I hadn't been convinced before, I am now. Horses are their own magick. Viento had totally understood the assignment the moment I stepped into his stall. I will never underestimate him, or any other horse, ever again. They have infinite wisdom, courage, and healing. And now, whenever I feel that familiar spike of anxiety, I know I can reach back to this memory and remember the peaceful blue calm that Viento and I made together. He has given me a beautiful gift- something I did not expect to receive ever, let alone today. While he might not have cured my anxiety disorder, he did something much more valuable. He gave me a new knowing, a new tool, which will help me fight back against the darkness in the days and months and years to come.
