In the comforting documentary A Mind Like Still Water, a pair of horse experts, Jim Masterson and Mark Rashid, build an equestrian clinic at a Colorado ranch, attracting horse owners struggling to forge a deeper connection with their animals. The two men are instantly likable, funny, and as philosophical as they are sun-baked.
Masterson is attuned to the way horses respond to touch, not just in ways that feel good for them but that engender trust and a sense of well-being. It’s fascinating to see how the barest contact of fingers on a particular point of a horse’s back causes it to give its neck a long, healthy stretch, or how some chiropractic care can ease tension in its entire body.
Rashid is focused on the relationship between horse and rider, and how the damage humans do to themselves through impatience and dysfunctionality naturally carries over to the way a horse responds to the person on its back.
The lessons we watch during the clinic particularly focus on two women who know their aspirations as horse owners reflect problems they have in other areas of their lives. In that way, the clinic is as much people therapy as it is for four-legged friends. If you want to spend an hour watching horses out in the sun, this is for you. Strongly recommended. Aud: K, E, I, J, H, C, P.