When the horse accepts a human as one of their herd, the human learns to work with the horse to work out their anxieties. Even in short amounts of time, the peace and contentment of moments with a horse is comforting. There are no judgements with a horse; they do not care who you are or where you come from or what you have done. They do not care what guilt you carry or how you look or if your brai
n is “right.” A child lacking confidence can take great pride in being able to lead around a 1,200-pound animal. A person suffering with PTSD can feel relate to hyper-vigilant and hyper-specific ways horses view the environment. They can learn to release the emotions triggered by traumatic events, just as a horse does. With horses, herd dynamics are very important. The herd is their protection and comfort. They play with each other and they look out for each other. If a horse does something that endangers the herd, there is correction from the alpha. They also communicate messages of acceptance within the herd. If the alpha horse determines something to be safe, they will tell the rest of the herd this. Human interactions are similar. With both human relationships and horse relationships, there must be communication and trust. If a horse does not feel safe, he will not do what a human asks him. He will try to fight or flee. If a human does not trust a horse, they will feel nervous and have reservations about interaction. The horse will pick up on the human’s feelings and mirror them, which increases fears and nervousness on both sides. We use the horse’s reaction to the client as an opportunity to guide our clients to mindfulness. Depression, anxiety, stress, awareness, and regulating emotions all can be helped by mindfulness. Transferring focus from what is internal to what is external helps a person to be aware of the world around them. This is helpful especially when a person struggles with negative emotions, self-talk, and reactions. Herd observation can be helpful in these areas as well. Taking note of how horses interact and communicate and how relaxed they are in the present moment, with no future planning or analyzing is key to contentment and satisfaction. It is important to balance both the internal and external and to recognize signs that emotions are escalating. This enables a person to slow down and look at the big picture. It also helps them to accomplish everyday tasks without anxiety or feeling overwhelmed. Practicing exercises with a horse can be more effective with some people who find traditional talk therapy ineffective or even threatening. It can be as simple as the realization that, “If the horse thinks I’m okay, I must be okay,” and then retraining the brain to a more positive path of thought. The more often the brain’s thoughts are rerouted, the more thoughts take the new pathway. What I love about working with horses is that using the horse as a focal point often helps the client to not feel judged or defensive. Looking at the horse can help them to see things they would not admit on their own. Knowing a horse is incapable of lying reveals hard truths they might otherwise be able to deny. Horses help people realize that even if nothing else about life seems okay, there is an unexplainable feeling of validation when a horse literally cries tears that reflect human pain. We use horses to reveal truths to people about themselves they were not previously able to understand and allow them to heal emotions and fears.
