11/13/2024
Our fourth EmpoweRanch & Arizona Elk Society Heroes Rising Outdoors VORTEX session was held on Thursday, November 7th with the most beautiful weather we’ve had yet this fall. Our focus for the week was on bringing awareness to the connection between mind and body. We started off our session with Dancer and Grand frolicking together in the turnout, kicking off our session with observations, inquiries, and discussions around horse behavior, communication, and intent. For our check in, we each shared our name, a word or two to describe how we were feeling that day, what part(s) of our body tend to hold stress or anxiety, and a movement for all of us to stretch and release tension.
We found that most of us hold our stress in our shoulders, neck, and jaw, so our movements allowed us to get some of those areas loosened up. Some of our veterans described their experience with the damage caused by our bodies holding in that stress over time. We then proposed an option of doing a body scan meditation next, or holding that off as an optional activity at the end to ensure more hands-on time with the horses. I’ll bet you can guess which option overwhelmingly won!
After discussing some techniques and approaches to reduce the negative impact of stress on our bodies, we related that topic to the horses. We learned about different ways to identify where the horses' energy levels are, outward signs of stress, and signs of relaxation or relief from stress or anxiety in the horse. We then tied Dancer and Grand to the rail and invited everyone into the arena for instruction on reading the horses’ body language, understanding how our presence and positioning of our bodies can apply pressure and why that’s important while the horses are tied, equine instincts as prey animals, and interacting with the horses safely while building a mutually respectful and trust-based relationship with the horses.
Then, everyone chose which grooming tool they wanted to start off with and got to work, grooming Dancer and Grand from mane to tail! Throughout the experience, our veterans made inferences about the horses’ energy levels, noted signs of relaxation, and recognized that over time of building that mutual trust and respect with the horses, the horses relaxed and found comfort in the experience (and vice versa). This was just as much an enjoyable and fulfilling experience as it was a learning one. Dancer got her mane and tail braided beautifully, and they both received so much love and care.
Toward the end of the grooming time, one of our veterans challenged himself to learn how to pick their hooves for the first time. Grand, who’s had to recover from some pain and discomfort in his front hooves and leg in the past, has been known to be resistant to allowing his front hooves to be picked if he’s not completely comfortable…and especially with new people. However, when this veteran approached him with love, confidence, trust, and respect, Grand rewarded him with full cooperation for the entire time.
When it came time to wrap up, each horse was taken back to their stall by a veteran with the guidance of our team, and we gathered back where we started to recap and reflect. Everyone’s demeanor was like night and day from when we first began with smiles all around, relaxed shoulders, and an excitement to share about the connections made during the experience.
The insights shared brought it all home, such as how when we make an intentional effort to identify how stress presents in our body and release that, the horses notice and reflect that release as well. Once we all became more comfortable and relaxed, the horses relaxed, too. The experience of building that relationship, building trust and respect, with the horses was a huge takeaway. We also discussed recognizing when important relationships are not, or become no longer, reflective of our expectations and boundaries of trust and respect for ourselves and our communities. We even had an excellent conversation around ADA rights and service animals, and it made all the difference for these insights and resources to be shared veteran-to-veteran.
This was one of the most rewarding VORTEX sessions yet for this fall season. We’re looking forward to what the next three sessions will bring! If you know of a veteran who may be interested in joining us for our next season of VORTEX in spring 2025, please contact Russ with AES Heroes Rising Outdoors at [email protected]
