Selma Blair reunited with her beloved horse after being unable to ride for at least four months due to her recent multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis.
The 46-year-old actress posted a photo of the event on Instagram on Dec. 16, showing her bursting into tears on the calm and steady horse’s back.
Blair said the horse was brought to her front yard in Studio City, and she would remember the special moment for a long time.
“I will heal. I will ride. But until then I will hold onto this feeling and post pictures whenever we all need to believe people will move mountains and horses to help us heal.”
The actress known for her roles in hit films such as “Cruel Intentions” and “Legally Blonde” has long been an avid horse rider. She’s been often spotted with her horse at equestrian events in the Los Angeles area in recent years.
Blair revealed her struggle with MS in an Instagram post on Oct. 20. She said she believes she’s been suffering from effects of the incurable disease for at least 15 years.
“I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps. But we are doing it. And I laugh and I don’t know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best,” she wrote.
In the post, she shared that she was in the midst of an “exacerbation,” which means a flare-up of new or worsening symptoms, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Fortunately, Blair seems to still be functioning on a certain level.
“By the grace of the lord, and willpower and the understanding producers at Netflix, I have a job. A wonderful job,” wrote Blair on her Instagram post.
Blair was recently filming the Netflix sci-fi series “Another Life,” where she plays a member of the media covering events surrounding a space crew’s search for alien life.
MS is an auto-immune disease that causes the immune system to attack myelin, the fatty sheaths that protect the nerve fibers. Myelin functions like insulation, and when it is gone, the nerves short-circuit—nerve impulses don’t get to where they were intended or come through intermittently.
This leads to problems with balance, vision, muscle control, and a number of other basic bodily functions.
While there is no cure, there are drugs that can limit nerve inflammation, fight pain, and in some cases slow the disease’s progression.
MS usually starts affecting its victims between the ages of 20 and 50 and is twice as common in women as in men. Generally, people with MS have their life expectancy shortened by 5 to 10 years.
