The sun rose today just like it does every day. My window faces the eastward horizon and I have spent every morning of my life watching the dark night sky fade to grey and catch fire with reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows illuminating my world until finally dawn arrives and my day begins.

Today started just like it does every day. I watched the sun rise, but by the time Selena arrived, I had grown bored of looking out the window and was so still that she thought I was sleeping. She tenderly approached me, humming a lullaby under her breath as she laid her small, warm hands upon me, coaxing me to rise. I opened my eyes and gazed at her through my long eyelashes. She planted a kiss on my nose and set to brushing my long, shiny hair.

“Today is going to be a big day for us, Autumn, I can feel it,” she whispered as she dressed me.

Selena led me out into the yard. Every inch of the green world around me, from treetop to flower bed, was drenched in sunlight. Its warmth made me feel whole, alive, and full of love. I resolved that today really was going to be a big day for us. I no longer mistrusted Selena, nor these new people who entered my surroundings on a daily basis.

This place isn’t just for me, after all. It is for all of us and we do good work here. On any given day, we will have families, small groups of city kids, or children with special needs visiting for therapeutic purposes. The latter group is arriving today. Selena and I are beginning our journey into Equine Assisted Therapy for children on the Autism Spectrum.

We’ve had a bumpy start. At first, the children frightened me. They were unlike any children I had encountered before. Often they were quiet, clam, and unresponsive despite my best efforts. I let that get to me, perhaps too much. I shouldn’t have. I believe I scared some bright children away and for that I am truly sorry.

Today, though its beginnings have been as familiar as any other day, is the day that I will truly connect with a child, and we will grow together, help each other, and learn to love.

They are arriving. Selena sense the anticipation coursing through my veins and I believe she is mistaking it as fear because she rests her hand upon my shoulder and shushes me sweetly.

Three children and their adults approach us with trepidation. Selena and I are careful not to make any movements until they have had the chance to evaluate us and this new situation, but I feel a stirring in my heart that is making stillness difficult. The group of children, two boys and one girl, are watching me thoughtfully. The boys look kind and honest, but the girl has made her way into my heart before she and I can even have the chance to properly meet.

Her mother explains that her name is Carly and she is seven years old. Carly is nonverbal and has difficulty with touch, but loves animals, so her parents are hoping for a miracle today. I want to tell them that something will happen but I can’t find the words.

Instead, I take a tentative step forward. The boys back away, but not Carly. She stands still and we lock eyes and all at once I feel her love and understand her needs. I take a few steps more and am towering over her tiny body, looking down at her big blue eyes, seeing that they are filled with only me.

I lower my face to hers and nuzzle her chin with my nose. Carly’s parents bring their hands to their mouths and watch with tear-filled eyes as she reaches out her delicate little girl hand to stroke my mane.

Selena steps forward and straps a child size saddle to my back. Carly climbs onto my back with the help of her father and I begin walking. I walk and walk, letting the rhythm of my gait sooth her mind and soul. She relaxes and moves her hands from my course mane to my fuzzy skin, feeling my textures as Selena stands by putting words to those sensations. She leans forward and wraps her arms around me, burying her face in my mane, and it is the best hug I’ve ever felt.

Today is much different than any other day, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.