Radical Truth and Speaking to the Soul with Nica Quinn
Nika is an amazing artist who describes her work as drawing a deeper connection to ourselves, nature, and horses. Her beautiful artwork embodies the magic that exists in horses - so if you haven’t already seen her work, trust me you’re going to have spiritual awakenings when you do.
In this article, we are diving into an interview with Nika Quinn. I had so much fun talking to Nika during this interview, and believe it or not, I have not known her that long, but it honestly feels like she's been a lifelong friend. I think just being a like-minded horse person, there's this strong kinship there. But there's something about Nika that truly just feels so horse like to me. And something she said on a phone call before this interview really just blew my mind. She said “when you speak, the truth comes out.” This amazed me for two reasons. One, this statement embodies what a truly authentic person she is, and it also speaks to the horse wisdom that she holds. Anyone that can straightforwardly say that when you speak the truth comes out is an authentic, congruent person. And this is so rare in the world. So the fact that Nika embodies this fully is something I so appreciate and I know you will too.
In this interview, we talk about that one horse that changed everything. And for Nika, this was the magic horse Merlin, who put her through a fiery initiation onto an alternative path with horses. we talk about willing partnerships versus relationships based on control.
Read on or listen here to learn about how difficult horses have the most potent medicine for us, the gift of doing nothing with horses as the greatest gift of all, and unlearning tradition without shaming ourselves or others.
How did you come onto your path?
So [laughs], I think we're always on our path in some way, right? I would say since I was honestly like two years old, that was when I fell in love with horses. That's when I started drawing. I know it seems ridiculous too, but I literally have journals and sketchbooks of scribbles from two, three years old. And my grandma and grandpa were artists, so they always instilled in me to sign and date everything [laughs]. So I have been drawing horses since I was little. I fell in love with them after the first time of riding at like two years old. And then honestly, all of it has just been accumulation of my life. I didn't grow up with horses. I went on a yearly vacation where I was able to ride and access them. And throughout the year, I look in hindsight, I wished I had them daily.
I wish I had them in my life all the time. But I can see now, totally in hindsight that being away from them and having to imagine stories with horses, I had to imagine like drawing and that they would come to life and I had to, you know, have imaginary horses in my backyard. And I think having that creativity and like the, not having them actually drew such a deep connection of longing and keeping them magical, right? So like when I were, was able to ride at once a year at this ranch where we would, I mean we were cantering through the forest, like it was a week long thing. And I would get to ride a couple hours a day from like eight years old, you could start cantering, which is kind of wild now that I think about it.
That's how I learned to ride was just literally running through the forest and there was such a sense of magic with it that I think continued to live inside of me until I started really, you know, able to work with them consistently. I ended up working at that place for five summers. And I also did stuff throughout the year with horses throughout college and stuff. But truly, I didn't really get on this “horsemanship path” until I was like 17 and it seems so late. But I had that love and that magic, you know, throughout my whole life before that. So I think that's the part that really comes through in my art is that like childlike love for them, the magic of them and not just about what we do with them or the horsemanship aspect or anything there. I really just try to capture like the essence of why we're so drawn to horses in the first place. And I just think back to my childlike self [laughs].
I think getting up more to present day, after working in quite a few different places, different ranches; I've traveled different places, I went to New Zealand for a year and was able to guide horseback tracks throughout the north and south island and different places. And it was just, it was amazing. And again, just holding that magic where it's like, oh my god, these creatures are letting us tour horseback. To run horseback through these beautiful countries. It's just amazing. And then there was a horse that changed everything for me. Of course, right? [laughs]. That's how it always happens. And it really started making me question things because you only know what you know, right? Like you only know as far as you've been taught if you haven't dove in yourself with extensive research and learning.
I learned by experience, like all of my horsemanship was purely by experiencing and learning from the people I was working with. And when I met Mo, he definitely made me question so many things, because he was not like any other horse I'd met so far. And I quickly realized… no, no, no, no, not quickly at all. Actually. It took me a long time to realize how much of what was “wrong” was me. He taught me what congruency meant. He taught me what actually emotions inside your body are like, I was so numb to so many things unknowingly, I was just, it wasn't for anything bad, I just didn't really know emotions, honestly. And so about the same time as when I started, um, I actually went to Switzerland and stayed with a family for a few weeks that did clicker training with horses. And it was a whole new world for me. And I dove in and I started questioning everything after that. And then it just tied in with Mo and my journey with him so far. And oh wow, I'm really just plowing through this journey so far [laughs].
Okay, so then, I'm trying to think where we were at. I mean it took a couple years of working with Mo to really come to know what he was teaching me. And by the time I really learned it, he gave me the courage to leave the ranch that I was working at, which was very necessary. It was quite toxic and that's a whole other story for a different day. But basically when I left there, I felt very alone in the horse world because I just felt like I had so many thoughts of like, what have I done my whole life with horses, to horses… like, I had so much guilt, so much shame around the ways I've treated horses, but it was just because of the culture that we're in and the traditions and everything.
And so, I worked at this barn for about six months and in that time I really started going down the path of like energy work and just what it means to do bodywork with horses because that was a way that I could help them and not use them in my head. That was a good step of unlearning and then relearning. So yeah, there was definitely a time of, oh my gosh, so much, so much unraveling. It was so hard. I don't miss that time period of, I don't know, there was just so much coming up, so much guilt. I'm sure most people that have been on this path know that feeling. And if you're starting on that path, it is hard and it's going to be hard. But that's where the best learning is [laughs].
So after that, that is when I started drawing and reaching out to the community of people that I was looking for, because I couldn't find them. I didn't know what I was looking for, but I didn't know where to look either. And that's when I found Instagram to be an actual tool. I'd never really been on social media really before that and I didn't even know that it could be good for anything honestly. But yeah, I started drawing what I was going through in my changes with my perceptions on how we work with and be with horses. And it was resonating with people and it just encouraged me to keep sharing what I was seeing and feeling and experiencing. And the more I shared, the more feedback I got and the more people I found that were doing similar things. And it was so inspiring because not only did I feel less alone on this, but I actually felt like I could actually help make a change. And it was, I mean, I'm still doing this right? Like it's been three years almost and I don't see this stopping anytime soon.
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Learn more about Nica
Stay in touch with Nica, and learn more about her story, mission, and her artwork online at Nica Draws Nature, and be sure to follow her on Instagram @nica_draws_nature.
