SYMPATHETIC

The Real McCoy++ (Aarief x Fersara)

There is just something about this photo that gets me. I mean, it really gets me, straight in the heart and all the way up to the back of my throat. I'm not a sissy but this photo pushes every emotional button I've got and yet, the very words to describe what I see and feel, escapes me. That is, until I turn to Carl Raswan for help. 

"The indwelling gentle spirit of Arabian horses finds expression in their intelligent, sympathetic features, the glory of their beautiful countenance and in their soulful eyes."  

Raswan uses the term "sympathetic" to describe the countenance of an Arabian horse, which includes their "soulful eyes." Dear reader, how many times have you read or heard another person express that the horse's eyes were like windows to its soul? A friend of mine, whose opinion I not only trust but also, value, said that Raswan was "bat-shit" crazy. Well, Raswan gets me and if that speaks to my level of mental health, well, I do like bats.

The intelligent, sympathetic features that Raswan refers to are the physical manifestations, the tangibles, those characteristics that support the intangible traits that speak of an emotional depth, unique to the breed. For example, the structure of the Arabian horse's face, which includes the large, dark, luminous eye project wisdom and serenity. A chiseled, concave profile, elastic nostrils which grow in size and shape, sharp, curved-inward ears, attentive to their surroundings and a small, delicate muzzle all work together to enable a wide range of facial expressions. Sympathetic features also suggest an emotionally-aware being, who is highly perceptive and able to read human emotion. When we are at our worst, an Arabian horse will look at you with understanding, empathy and kindness. The horse's desire is for a relationship which reciprocates kindness, cooperation, willingness and trust.

It's like a paradox of sorts because in the greater, all-breed, all-discipline equestrian world; sympathetic features usually refer to the physical and emotional signs we associate with the nervous system and the part of the brain which responds to fear and stress, via a fight-or-flight response. For a breed of horse long-recognized as "hot-blooded" or even, "spirited," much of what I am saying about sympathetic features does not correlate with most people's misunderstanding of the Arabian breed. And yet, sympathetic features are what we know to be truthful about the breed because we live those features every day. Love your breed more by refraining from the trash talk on social media and start spreading the gospel truth about what Raswan calls an "indwelling gentle spirit." Anything less is really bat-shit crazy!