I would like to introduce the horse character ‘The Minister’ as described in Klaus Hempfling’s book What Horses Reveal — as it applies perfectly to me. First you must know that Klaus has assigned the character groups not only based on their inner natures, but also based on the insight that our outer form and conformation “conforms” to the basic being we are on the inside– nature and form, form and nature, are merely two aspects of the same being. Of course, this insight requires a skillful eye — the basic form of a horse cannot be derived from the pieces and parts alone, but there is also a kind of overall “gestalt” to the horse’s formal features and conformations that “reveal” themselves to the perceptive person. This is so true of so many horses that it can be uncanny, once you start to do some investigation. Take me, for example. I am the quintessential ‘Minister’, according to Klaus’ description (even if I say so myself). Here is what Klaus says of this type:
Of all horses, the Minister is the most mentally agile, the cleverest. He is very superior in his nature. He is a wise horse, and one that you would gladly ‘turn to for advice.’ As a rule the owners of such an animal do not, by a long stretch, measure up to the inner abilities of the horse in terms of awareness, directness, honesty, clarity, thgouhtfulness, peace and purpose. The horse then knows only too well that, with regard to these qualities, he is a long way ahead of his human, which can lead to difficult situations. He learns extraordinarily quickly and is only too ready to take on and master these new challenges. A child’s genuine down-to-earth attitude and agility make it surprisingly easy for him to approach this horse. This Minister loves children because they are so much more like him than the adults.
Here is the representative portrait of the Minister in Klaus’ book. You can see from his body type, head, and basic energetic movement, that he is just like me!
Klaus goes on to describe the right kind of person for a horse like me. He writes:
If the Minister feels that he can encounter a person on the same plane then he will be the first to tear down every barrier between human and horse. Overall, he is the most open type of all horses but he is also the one who can quickly hide himself, or even entrench himself behind a wall of feigned ignorance: he will pretend not to understand. The Minister is a wise horse and he seeks wisdom in human beings and, ultimately, the Minister can only accept a fine, high-ranking person of strong character. In fact, he is the most exacting when it comes to the selection of a suitable person. For that reason the Minister often feels very ill at ease in the world of human beings since this world, particularly these days, and particularly the riding world, is not exactly liberally sprinkled with wisdom and nobility.
You can see for these reasons, how difficult it was for me to be born at a racing track where I was completely misunderstood, and no one could recognize me until my new owner rescued me and took me in –that was over 25 years ago! I was still confused and skeptical about the human world, but I immediately recognized a soul-mate when we first met and our hearts touched as she reached out to me with love, affection, gratitude and a tremendous sense of hope for our life together. Here is a photo of that first and most important encounter
You can see how unsure of myself I look as a 4 year old. But just one year later I had grown to be athletic and confident as you can see in this second photo.
Here we are together just one year after meeting up. We were a very tenacious pair, galloping through the fields and mountains. Those were fantastic days. But my real nature as a Minister unfolded gradually. Due to my early years and problems with my feet, I did not hold up well under competition. I happily retired to a large farm for many years where I got to see my horse herd grow into the 8-member family we are today. Here is a photo of my best years on the farm at Spring Hill.
Today I am 30 years old! Now I teach workshops to humans, inviting them into the wisdom and heart-space that I try to share with them by opening up my own inner nature for them to experience. My outer form is not so rugged and handsome any longer, but my inner spirit has been allowed to manifest in very open and significant ways, thanks to the great fortune of having found the “right” person. I am now a true Minister, as the human world is my “Ministry” which I happily and whole-heartedly embrace. Here is a photo of me, now on the lawn at Alderlore, my home:
It is important for humans to be able to know us on a deeper level if they want to cultivate joy with us. It is necessary to understand what joy is, what does joy feel like, and what does it look like in different horses. When a horse is allowed to express her true nature, there is joy. It is like the ducks we have at the farm. Every day they enjoy their ducky nature, which is diving into the pond and eating mud. That certainly would not be joyful for a horse! Neither do we like a lot of human -centric activities, or even human type comforts. We want, foremost, to enjoy our equine natures. Beyond that, different types of horses — the different horse characters — express joy in different ways. Humans cannot expect us to be joyful, when what you are asking us to do is against our most authentic nature! Take me, for instance, I’m Gypsie, the one up front in this photo. I type as the” Prince”. I like to set clear rules. I like to lead. Jhana (in the background) types as the Sargeant. She likes to follow clear rules. That makes us a perfect pair. It is no coincidence that we run the ring the way we do, me on the inside focused on the trainer, while Jhana shadows me like a loyal companion.
The Horses at Alderlore Present 