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A quote comes to mind, “the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.”-Winston Churchill
I’d like to expand on this idea and say that it’s the inside of a horse that can really make a different for people. Horses have incredibly sensitive nervous systems that have allowed them to survive and thrive as prey animals. They have also learned to co-exist with humans. They have carried us into war, across continents, and helped us sift through the struggles we encounter in our modern world by becoming beloved companions, athletic partners, and helpers in healing. Their sensitive nervous systems allow horses to be masters at detecting congruence in humans—meaning, do your insides match your outsides?
Observations of zebra in Africa have shown that they can tell the difference between a lion that has come to the watering hole to drink and a lion who has come pretending to drink but intending to attack. In the first scenario, the zebra stay and drink, the second, they flee. This is why horses are so good at telling what is going on with humans. They can tell if a person is acting calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside is angry, anxious, sad, stressed, chaotic, etc. Through their interactions with us they allow us space to explore how to get more congruent and let go of that chaos.
Horses live in the present moment and they extend an invitation to join them there. You can see horses assess a perceived threat—perhaps a flapping paper bag or loud noise— they may startle or flee but when they determine the perceived threat is not an actual threat to safety, they return to grazing or resting with friends. Sometimes they roll or shake their bodies to literally let go of that stress. In our modern world we perceive potential threats everywhere—that meeting you’re late to, the pile of work on your desk, the grocery shopping, trying to find a parking spot—-but really what of that is life threatening or dangerous? And yet we tell our bodies and nervous systems it is by amping up our stress systems. One of the biggest things horses have to teach us that if it isn’t an actual threat to safety or life, shake that stuff off. Return to the present moment. Relax. Enjoy the company of your loved ones.
From this calm, centered place horses can offer us connection to ourselves. And from there we can truly connect with others. And from a place of calm, centered, connection healing potential is infinite.
Picture this—a person enters a space with a horse and is nervous to be there. The horse begins pacing the fence and looks off towards his buddies. The human facilitator can see this and guides the person through some deep breathing. The person’s body begins to relax. The person says they were nervous when they first came in but it’s getting better. The facilitator asks the person to go even further with this and imagine that their heart center is opening and that a colored light is coming from that heart center and extending to the horse’s heart. There is quiet as the person hesitantly tries this. The horse stops, looks towards the person, walks slowly over. The horse puts his head gently against the person’s chest, stepping into that light.
It may seem woo-woo, far-fetched, or just a coincidence, but as a mental health counselor who specializes in equine assisted therapy, I have witnessed moments like this countless times. As I usually tell my clients, “I can’t make this up.” No matter how many times I have been honored to witness such an interaction it brings tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my arms.
A final quote comes to mind—“I’ve found peace. Horses are peace.”-Nahshon Cook
By Kelsey Mammen PPC, CTRI,
Horse Wellness Committee
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