The Swan Center for Intuitive Living
A bridge from where you are in life to where you want to be.
Spiritual Discourses
by
Master Rose Ashley
A complimentary spiritual discourse recording is available on the first day of each month from 9am to 9pm Eastern Time.
Due to technical issues,
the next recording will be posted
November 3, 2026
If you would like to purchase this or another spiritual discourse,
please click HERE to be directed to our online store.
All proceeds from the sale of the spiritual discourses go directly to the care
of the Swan Center Outreach therapy horses.
Spiritual Tidbits are bits of wisdom from Master Rose.
A new tidbit is posted on the first of every month.
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NOVEMBER 2026 SPIRITUAL TIDBIT
DUCHESS
At Swan Center Outreach, we view animals as teachers, healers, and friends. They have an incredible capacity to teach humans compassion, patience, and tolerance; heal the mind and body; and demonstrate how to love and be loved in return.
Spring is the time of the year when the horses begin to shed their winter coats. The hair comes out in handfuls. You can do a complete grooming one day, and despite the many piles of hair on the ground when you have finished, the next day the horse can look as if it hasn’t been groomed in weeks. Grooming a horse at this time of year is downright addicting, and it can also be very relaxing and satisfying. On one particular spring day, many years ago, I really wanted to relax and escape the tension I had been feeling. Our horse sanctuary was overdue on rent, and eviction was looming.
I found myself drawn to the barn to assess the grooming needs of our 30 equines. All were looking a little scraggly, but some were covered in spots with clumps of hair, begging to be plucked. The horses stood in stalls or pens, waiting to be turned out after being fed. An untied line of rope was draped across the opening, and with little to no effort any one of the horses could have walked right through, but none tried to challenge the rope, as each knew the routine: a pile of hay, then a bucket of grain, back to the hay, then turnout to the paddock with more hay. None were anxious or in any particular hurry to be turned out, because they usually received hand-fed carrots and apples before they were.
As I walked along, inspecting the grooming to be done, I came to Duchess’s pen. Duchess had previously been sold to a kill buyer for meat and was awaiting shipment to a place of slaughter in Mexico. When I was notified of her plight, she was in the last two weeks of her eleven-month pregnancy. I paid $650 for her and brought her home. When she first arrived, she was untouchable and trusted humans little to none. Now, years later, she stood, calmly reaching over the rope, hoping for carrots and apples.
Her entire chest was covered in small tufts of hair – a horse groomer’s delight. I was armed with a shedding tool, so I bent over the rope and began my work while talking to her aloud. My body was centered with her chest, and her head loomed above me. Duchess had never been a warm-and-fuzzy type, so I was surprised when I felt her nose lightly touch my back. At first, I wasn’t sure what she was up to, because she had been pretty pushy in the past, so I proceeded with caution. As I continued working, her nose grew heavier. Then, she began to gently groom my back with her lips. It was the sweetest sensation I have ever experienced in all of my years of horse interactions. I felt engulfed in love and completely comforted by her.
The tension I had felt began to melt away, and my conversation with her changed from “Good girl, pretty girl” to “It's going to be OK, Duchess. Don’t worry. Somehow we will make it. I won’t let you down.” Duchess stopped grooming me, lifted her head, and pressed her cheek into mine. She held it there for a long time before wrapping her head and neck around me in a soft embrace. I felt as if she was speaking for all the horses, expressing their gratitude and love for the care they had received. Tears welled up in my eyes as my love and gratitude for them coursed through my heart. They were all so precious.
I have witnessed the many ways that our horses have served humans, while offering wisdom, healing, and friendship. They have taught children to be more confident and adults to be more patient and compassionate. They have opened hearts to love, turned grief into healing, and given legs to those in wheelchairs. Horses are creatures of flight, yet I have seen them, time after time, calmly stand their ground, overcome their desire to run free, and patiently wait to be mounted by a physically challenged person.
For the past 40 years, I have been blessed to watch horses rescued by humans transform into horses who rescue humans. As I approach my 80th Birthday, I am often asked when I will retire and step away from the responsibility of caring for the horses, and the chore of raising funds every day. I once defined what retirement would look like for me: I would stop working so I could spend my days doing what I love. I suppose in that sense, I am already retired and have been for the greater part of my adult life, as I have spent my days doing what I love, providing for our horses, and sharing them with those in need of a gentle, loving embrace.
Copyright Rose Ashley ©2018, 2026
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