COMMENTARY Patient hearts and horse dreams

There’s something about girls and horses.

Call it a sweeping generalization, sure, but it often holds true. While boys dream of faster forms of transit — racecars, rocket ships — girls prefer to amble along on a fourlegged friend. While boys fantasize about making the major leagues, girls harbor another ambition: to one day own a horse.

Every summer, horse camps fill up with girls. They are drawn to the massive, mystical mammals, somehow sensing that a form of therapy is available on their backs. Preteen troubles can be smoothed out with a curry comb.

This June, I observed a horse camp in rural Minnesota, where suburban girls donned boots and jeans, not a cellphone in sight. Each girl was assigned to a horse for the week, and no sooner were the pairings announced than that horse became hers.

BRIDGING FAITH | DEACON MICKEY FRIESEN