Her name is Athena.
She doesn’t know it yet,
but next week she’ll feel a saddle on her back for the first time,
one that doesn’t quite fit.
Someone with the best intentions will put a bit in her mouth,
before she’s even seen a dentist.
She’ll panic and get called ‘difficult’.
Her pain unseen.
Another misunderstood horse.
She’ll be handled more strictly, because that’s what the trainer said.
After weeks of protest, misunderstanding and resistance, She’ll stop being difficult.
She’ll give up defending her nature.
She becomes calm. And easy.
People will be proud. Some will love her deeply.
While she lost a piece of herself.
This painting isn’t about blame.
It happened daily, in every stable I visited as a veterinarian,
with the most devoted and loving owners.
It happened to me too, with my own horse.
None of us saw ourselves as the problem.
This painting asks for awareness,
for every horse trying to tell us something,
and for every person who’s willing to listen.
