Horse Sense: What a Motley Crew of Rescue Animals Taught Me About Healing and Belonging
Updated: Sep 21
By Dr. Peggy Philips, PhD, IYI
Founder and Principal Author of the Neuro Emergent Meta-Framework©
I want to tell you a story about a sanctuary my mother built on a pristine piece of fenced land. It was home to a beautifully broken, utterly mismatched family: two miniature horses, a half-blind Palomino, and a male llama named Tina. They were the creatures the world had tossed aside—animals deemed to have no more use. Watching them, I realized a truth that shifted how I see all of us:
No matter our race, color, breed, height, or status, every single one of us just wants to belong.
They didn't need a complicated blueprint to find peace. Once their basic needs—food, water, and safety—were met, and once they learned to respect one another’s boundaries, they simply lived happily together.
I’ve noticed that the people who are drawn to care for these kinds of animals often carry the very same scars. It is as if our own histories of rejection mirror theirs. By wrapping them in safety, we are making a silent promise to them, and perhaps to ourselves:
I won’t let humans do to you what they have done to me. I got you.
It turns out that this quiet wisdom isn't new; it is woven right into the ancient fabric of the world. There is a beautiful reminder of this in the book of Job that always brings me back to the pasture: "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you... For the life of every living thing is in his hand, and the breath of every human being." Watching our crew, I realized they truly are our greatest instructors. They don't need a complicated blueprint for peace, and they don't carry the heavy anxieties we do.
By simply existing, they teach us how to slow down, how to heal, and how to look at the world with a little more grace.
When you sit with these creatures, you can feel the physical, grounding benefits right in your soul. Your heart rate slows. Your breathing steadies. Even when they roll around in the dirt, the scent of the earth on their coats is a pleasant, calming aroma that makes me smile, anchoring me entirely to the present moment.
We saw this truth play out on a global scale during the pandemic. For the first time ever, an animal graced the cover of major magazines because rescue shelters were completely empty.
When the world shut down, humanity collectively realized that connection matters—and that animals hold a vital key to our emotional survival.
If we use animals as a mirror, we see that the peace we chase so frantically actually lives in the absolute simplicity of each moment. My absolute favorite of our crew was Angel—not that I am one to choose favorites, but she was gifted to me. Angel is a mini horse who seemed to understand my soul better than most humans. Whenever the other animals in the clan tried to crowd or hurt me,
Angel would literally stand in the gap, using her tiny body as a shield.
On quiet nights when I sat in the dark just to breathe in the outdoor air, she would stand silently beside me. She kept guard, watching for the very same nocturnal critters she had to protect herself against, just so I could feel safe. And during a time of great personal anguish, when my chest ached with grief, Angel walked up and
gently rubbed her chin back and forth over my head, comforting my aching soul without a single word.
They don't ask for much, and they don't judge where you've been. They just ask for safety, respect, and a little bit of grace. Maybe the rest of the world could use a little more horse sense.
This Motley crew is the reason animal wisdom is a pillar of NET and the inspiration for: Amazon.com: The Furry, Fluffy, and Feathery Chronicles: What Ancient Literature and Animal Behavior Teach Us About Stress, Survival, and the Mechanics of Human Nature (The Lighthouse Project) eBook : Philips, Dr. Peggy : Kindle Store
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