by Tessa Wood-Woolard

In her groundbreaking film, ‘The Path of the Horse,’ horse trainer Stormy May chronicles her decision to give up her career and travel the world, searching for people who might unlock the secret of how to move to the next level of understanding with horses. What she finds is simple but is she willing to pay the price to take the path less traveled?

This inspirational documentary explores the future of horse-human relationships and ultimately all human relationships. As our culture evolves from domination over nature into a partnership, we see this change being reflected in the work that people are doing with horses. This is a story of visionaries, of men and women who have made it their life’s work to develop and reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings through achievement of a synergistic balance with the horse’s own elegant naturalness. Horses have a gift to share; teaching us how to develop community, leadership, trust, and love within our own families through a connection that goes beyond words. ‘The Path of the Horse’ takes an honest look at what we’re doing with horses today and asks, “Is this the world we want to create?”

This video is the dawning of a life-changing realization for horse and handler. It shows how letting go can bring so much more home than anyone could have known. This is a calling that started as a whisper and grew into something undeniable. ‘The Path of The Horse’ explores this very personal journey into the horse wisdom of some of today’s most innovative handlers. I almost said trainers, but this goes far beyond the limited scope of that terminology. This is not about control, it’s about compassion. It’s not about a battle of wills, it’s about collaboration. It is the opening of a door that should never have been closed to begin with. It is a path that will amaze, astound and inspire for a lifetime and beyond.

I am walking this path from the beginning of my horse partnership. I found the road less traveled surrounded by the broodmares and foals at a working thoroughbred farm. These people thought I was crazy…and I wondered what was happening to me. But I trusted the wisdom of the horses without compromise, they knew better. They want to be with me because I offer respect and a deep love and compassion that they identify with. How did I get here? I was lead here by a horse called Joey’s Mandate. It has been a journey of discovery, the same path as Stormy. I thought all horse people had this ‘connection’ with their horses. I did not know that I was being chosen by a herd of horses and that they were teaching me by deed as I was teaching them with my hands and my body alone, no tack or gimmicks. They were shaping and molding my beliefs on a level the people here could not see. Once I realized that this was a gift, their gift to me, everything changed.

The most important thing I learned was that EVERYTHING I did was teaching them, good, bad or indifferent, they were learning from me. Instinctively, subconsciously, their subtle wisdom was also being passed along to me, and a powerful transformation was taking place! I was the filly in this herd of four colts, who would have done anything to protect me, just as I would to this day for any of them. Though they now are far away from me, I honor their wisdom with every foal and US Equine Rescue League horse that I am fortunate enough to handle.

This journey forged a bond that is now inescapable…it is this reward, this gift of wisdom from four colts to a virgin handler…that began my first step along this path. Walking alongside Joey silently, obligingly and carefully forged this mandate for me. I strive every day to bring him back home so he can help me teach others, because he has a much larger purpose than running around a racetrack! My thirst for knowledge led me into Stormy’s world. This makes her film powerful, humbling and awe-inspiring to me in a very personal way. There is so much to learn, so much inspiration…as if being with a beautiful, powerful horse-being is not enough inspiration on its own! What a leap of faith! But what a reward!

Recently, Stormy wrote to me, “I spent some time with my little herd of three today out in the pasture. It is so amazing to be with them, now that they are “free” of the trauma of any pain I inflicted on them in the past, and are seeing me as an interesting person to be with. We get to explore together and find what’s fun for all of us. I watched them grazing in the late afternoon sunlight, after the first good rain of the season, and it was like watching beautiful sculptures catching the last rays of sun. As I called them in to dinner, the leader, Patrik, was eyeing me for a minute or two and then led a mad gallop up the hill to where I was standing and then pranced with me to the food. Moments like that are pure magic, like two worlds colliding and opening up to each other.”

‘The Path of the Horse’ will open your eyes and inspire you to become a better partner with your horse, and will be an opening to spark many discussions with other horse people who might not yet realize the gifts that the horses have to offer. Doors you have yet to imagine will swing wide open. Alexander Nevzorov, Mark Rashid, Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, Linda Kohanov, Carolyn Resnick, and Kim McElroy, under the watchful eye of Stormy May’s lens, impart insights and emotions that many ponder but few explore. Stormy took that leap of faith and now walks this path of rediscovery with her own herd. This is just the beginning of how we become a collective voice for those who cannot speak.

If this prompts in you a questioning of how we treat horses and for what purpose, then it is my hope that this film will inspire you to listen to that still, small voice. It may be the voice of your horse companion asking you to listen with your heart and your eyes, as they do to survive every moment of every day. It may be your inner voice encouraging you to educate yourself or others about these insights. It may be just the inspiration to re-center your own life and change some destructive patterns that may have been holding you back on other levels.

Ask the difficult questions of yourself, knowing that there are professionals here to guide you. As Stormy says, “Remember that this path has many steps, keep yourself and your horse safe first of all and just take the step that’s right in front of you; sometimes the smallest step is the most profound.”