Horses help us to be present.
Being in the now. It’s a catchy phrase that is going around a lot in mental health circles and with a lot of authors. It 
has to do with so many of us trying to be out in the future of our lives or trying to make the past appear different to us in the hopes that it might feel better then. As a horse photographer I understand what being present with a horse feels like. I understand that being present is the gift of the horse. From watching where you walk and where your feet are, to leading the horse with the feeling that you know the intent of where you are going together. It’s a feeling of being present.
Horses help us to be here, now.
I did not really think about this being such a great issue, being present in the moment, until I started reading about some of the work that people do when they heal with horses. Or rather when they present the moment for people to heal themselves with horses as the conduit for that to take place. There must be something about 1000 + pounds of horse moving around you that asks your brain to really fully focus on what is going on around you moment to 
moment. To be here, now. It happens when I go out for a photo shoot though, it’s probably part of what I look forward to, just hearing the horse breathe and be present. It reminds me, and gives me permission also, to just live that moment too.
Horse art as horse presence and present.
Horse Mountain
Some of my photographs really have become more artistic than others, the lines and the curves and the colors and shapes no doubt all lending themselves in just the right way to bring that about, but what about the feeling of just dropping into the moment as you look at the photograph? Is that what art is about, pulling you into the present moment? I feel that way when I look at some of my horse photo’s, that I have the permission to just look at it and to stand there without words or much of anything being asked of me really. What a great feeling that is to just stand there in front of a horse photograph and to feel the gift of just being with them. As a horse photographer, I have to be aware and stay present in the moment of every photo shoot. In a split second I can be trampled by a horse or worst yet, miss the best shot! Photographing horses and being in their presence is therapeutic for sure. I am always happy to hear that my audience picks up on this from the horse photo’s as well. It really is the present of a horses presence.
Jody Miller is a professional photographer specializing in Horse Photography, Equine Photography, and Equestrian photography. Her work can be viewed online here in her gallery section, and she is also featured at these Arizona Galleries: Arts Prescott Gallery, Sedona’s Village Gallery , Easy Street Galleria in Carefree and Dragonfly Arts in Cottonwood.