Upon closer inspection of this beautiful container I realized that the expression of the horse's
head was one of pain and discomfort. Very much identical to the ones
Stormy May shows in her movie "The Path of the Horse" when she speaks of
the abuse horses are being subjected to by riders.
Here is a
side by side comparison between the horse in the container and an image
from one of the mistreated horses depicted in the movie.
The similarities are obvious.
Whoever
painted the Father Christmas image was very observant and accurate. He
or she painted it like it is showing the horse's anguish and pain caused
by Father Christmas holding the reigns so tight. Now, why he / she
chose to paint a Father Christmas holding the reigns so tight and
causing pain to the horse is unknown to me. What I do know however, is
that the brutality of this action is cleverly disguised by the beauty
surrounding it.
This kind of disguise has been and continues to
be used very effectively by darkness, death, decay, and destruction to
hide their brutality, hate, and pain or to introduce deception into a
completely benign practice or concept.
How could Linda and I not have noticed this in the container when we first bought it?