Why "Zen" "Horse and Human"?

Well, here it is! New year (2025), new logo, new mission…

I am really excited to announce that Blu Mountain Horsemanship is now Zen Horse and Human!

It’s taken me quite some time to land on a name that truly resonates with me, and which will properly represent what we do in our business, and what our mission is.

We started off as Harmonious Horsemanship, with the logo inspired by the Ying Yang symbol of harmony, because I felt that bringing harmony to horse-human relationships was what we were about. Then, because there are quite a few people going by “Harmonious Horsemanship” I changed to Blu Mountain Horsemanship which incorporated my heart-horse, Anderstone Poco MidniteBlu’s name and my mountainous origins. But it didn’t speak to what we were about (and Blu isn’t spelled with an “E” which made us harder to find).

Ok, so why “Zen Horse and Human”?

I’ve taken a step away from “Horsemanship” for two reasons. Firstly, because it automatically excludes anyone who doesn’t have a horse, and I help people who don’t have horses, too. Secondly, I’ve found that many people have preconceived ideas of what Horsemanship is, with imagery of Western riding and “cowboys”, and thinking that it isn’t something for “English” horses and riders (which isn’t true). People often also assume that I practice “Natural” Horsemanship, which I don’t (anymore).

Then, “Horse AND Human” because I help both horses and people… I’m an Equine Behaviourist, a Life Coach, and a Mindfulness with Horses Practitioner. So, whether it’s a horse than needs to find some Zen or you, you’ve come to the right place.

Next… “Zen”. Most of us will be familiar with the word “Zen”, associating the term with calm, serenity, and stillness – and this is what I want people to imagine when they come across my business. It’s also what I want to have as my North Star in everything that I do.

Zen “is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that emphasizes simplicity, present-moment awareness, nonduality, nonconceptual understanding, and zazen (‘just sitting’) meditation”.

In the equestrian world (and the world in general), there is a lot of domination, miscommunication, misunderstanding, anxiety, and trying to keep up with the Joneses. My mission is to help horses and humans find a sense of calm and unity – either individually or in their horse-human partnership. Zen Horse and Human is all about slowing down, calming down, and finding peace in the chaos.

And then, the logo… The Ensō or circle is one of the deepest symbols in Japanese Zen. It can be open or closed, and symbolizes an expression of life and learning, both of which are never-ending cycles. It’s also used to express absolute enlightenment. When painting an Ensō, the goal is to free the mind from thoughts of anger, fear, and from how things “should” be. It’s all about being connected, being in harmony, being in a state of “flow”. It’s about appreciating the beauty of transience, and teaches us to embrace emptiness, to find beauty in the incomplete, and seek enlightenment in the ordinary. And these things, to me, are what we are all about. If you happen to see a horse-headed snake in our logo as my husband did, then that’s cool too, because snakes symbolize rebirth, transformation, and healing because they shed their skin 😊

So, welcome to Zen Horse and Human. I look forward to constantly learning and evolving, and finding peace with you – and your horses.

Love and light,

Vicci

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