Recent studies in equine cognition reveal that horses are able to read human facial expressions, distinguishing between anger, joy, and neutrality. They respond differently to a smiling human than to a frowning one, even if they’ve never encountered that person before. Their large, laterally positioned eyes — able to see nearly 360 degrees around them — detect the smallest of changes in posture or tension. They sense human heart rates and respiration and often mirror them, a phenomenon scientists call physiological synchrony. This mutual feedback loop is not unique to horses, but it is unusually strong. When a rider feels fear, a horse often responds with nervousness. When a human breathes calmly, the horse slows its own rhythm. Riders sometimes say that a horse “feels” their mood — and they’re not far off. It’s not magic, but biology. The horse’s nervous system is a mirror to our own.
from Science News Today
We are greeted by this spotted pony just outside of Snake River Correctional Facility in Ontario Oregon. He is surrounded by onion fields. During harvest renegade onions bounce out of the trucks and roll off the roads and into the ditches. The sky is big and bright most days. Divided between the medium facility and the much smaller minimum unit, the prison houses 3000 souls. Enrichment opportunities are limited in the prison that is a six-hour drive from Portland. We utilize our time by running two back-to-back workshops each month when we visit. Workshop days tend to be exhilarating as we have a big crew in person and quite a few submissions coming from the Solitary Housing Unit. In celebration of today’s Lunar New Year, our spotted pony delivers this bundle of letters.
Osmus: To Your Younger Self
by Osmus Garfield
And don’t be scared to ask your teachers if you need help; you might think you don’t need it in life, but you don’t want to be like me where I wish I tried harder in school. Now I realize how dumb it was to cut class because I don’t have an understanding of a lot of things that would help me in life.
Marcus: Letter to Younger Self
by Marcus Standing Crow
Agony is bound to fade, mistakes are never a failure, only a lesson learned. Don’t count the days, make the days count.
Knowing this Will Help
by Jason Centrone
Before flailing, advice advises we just we just “take a beat” — not a beating, but count to something. And on the worst days, advice shines like a streetlamp on a sunny day, lighting the thing we see just fine.
Shane: A Letter to My Younger Self
by Shane Espinoza
Understand that friends come and go, but there are a precious few that you should hold onto. They will be there when you make your biggest mistakes and not think any different. They will be there when you come out of the storm. The others will fade away.
Why You
by Robert Tsow
I gotta question
Why does every curse come with a blessing?
God placed you on earth to deliver a message
Put positive influence where negativity has shown oppression.
Who I Am, Who I Have a Choice to Be
by Herbert Rabago
… some way know that you’re gonna survive through it all. Because, whether you believe it or not, you are bred from a bloodline and culture that has endured the savages of both conquerers and world war. You are a descendant of Kings and Queens who seek the American Dream.
The Wrong Golden Star
by Chris Lewis
The darkness of a town
Preciously growing brains
Led by the violent and insane
“The Devil’s Playground,”
A So Cal noun
Just boys seeking adventure …
Jesse Jay Jimenez writes: Do what you enjoy doing and be what you want. You are always learning, never quit. All the skills and abilities to be great are already part of you. Progress and grow. The greatness that is you, the only the way you do it. Family wants the best for you; be understanding that people make mistakes. Live with a steel hand and soft heart. The weakest attribute can be the strongest way, so don’t be afraid to lose or get hurt. Know the greatness that has ever been and will ever be is what you become. The strength of a tool is only as good as its crafter and the tool’s work is only as good as its artisan. Make the best of your heart’s desire and be the best that you are.
There has been much talk about the Fire Horse, how it is bringing big, fast moving energy. But this is just one expression of the horse, an intuitive and sensitive being. I think of the men we meet in our writing groups who are often physically powerful and yet, the violence of prison has made them hypervigilant. They assess the energy in the room to determine if want to write from the emotional well — if they are willing to share. In the workshops, we spend time slowly building trust. Each month we return. The group slowly shifts, gaining ground, keeping a steady pace. | TDS
