There are many different alternative healing modalities out there, but what is it about the horses that makes healing with them so different and often profoundly successful?
Horses bring so much to humans, when you consider we have been intertwined with them for centuries, they have helped humans in so many different ways from battle fields, to farming, to leisure and fun, and now we are becoming conscious of how they are helping us to heal.
There are many different aspects to healing. Horses are talented co-facilitators in guiding someone towards reconnection with themselves, helping them remember who they really are, to truly love themselves and then guide them towards the possibilities of connection with all other beings and the rest of the world. This journey begins by learning about our bodies, becoming aware of our feelings and what messages are behind them. Becoming conscious of how we are living, and moving from surviving to thriving.
Horses have their own unique magic that they bring to healing. They are able to feel what is going on in a person, and give instant non-judgemental feedback. By learning to interact with them in a conscious way they help us learn to become aware of ourselves and the parts we play in the relationships in our lives. They show us things about ourselves that we can’t see on our own. The horse gives the opportunity to for us to immediately ‘try out’ new behaviours, feelings and ways of doing things. We don’t have to wait for a situation to arise in our life to see if things turn out differently, or we feel different, the horses gives us the opportunity to experience different outcomes to ‘old’ situations straight away.
The physical body of a horse is part of their healing qualities. Horses have huge hearts and guts, which makes them perfect for teaching us about how to use these brains within us. We have 3 brains, one in our head, one in our heart, and one in our gut. Often us humans operate solely from the brain in our head, we unknowingly disconnect ourselves from the rest of our body as a survival strategy. To be successful in an interaction with a horse you have to start using your heart and gut brain as well as the brain in your head. Learning about this is all part of beginning the re-connection with your whole body. Becoming aware, and starting to feel these other brain centres in your body is a fundamental part of healing. To be able to tune into all these brains, and listen to the subtle messages they are giving you gives you huge amounts of information to help you live your life in harmony. As with learning anything it is always good to learn from the best, so it makes sense for humans to learn from a species that is a master of listening to their hearts and guts, the horses.
I asked a couple of my clients about their experience of what horses have given them that no other healing has. Client ‘A’ has a lot of horse experience, having been around them most of her life. It was only when she started Equine Facilitated Learning sessions that she became aware of how much of a mirroring quality horses have. During one session she was thinking a lot about work, but at the same time really wanting to get a lot out of the session. While she was up in her head, and not in the present moment the horse ignored her invitation to walk together. After a moment of questioning herself, why doesn’t the horse want to be with me? she realised she was trying too hard, thinking too much and wasn’t truly there in her body. As soon as this was acknowledged the energy in her body changed, her intention became clearer and the horse felt this, then he was only too happy to be with her walking around the field and enjoying a loving connection. In this example the feedback from the horse was instant, non-judgmental and very clear. This is one of the gifts they bring to a healing session: the horses have no agenda of their own. As soon as the client was in tune with herself, in the moment and conscious of how she was feeling, the horse wanted to be with her. Horses are very perceptive of our unacknowledged thoughts and feelings and they show this is by moving away from you or not wanting to be around you until you acknowledge what is going on inside you.
Another client, client ‘B’ had no previous horse experience prior to her Equine Facilitated Learning sessions. She found that through the horses she has started to regain confidence in her own abilities. They have helped her become aware of how to minimise stress in her life by teaching her important boundary skills. During these sessions the horses demonstrated another quality they have: they always seem to know what is right for each person in each moment and present situations that bring to light issues that the client may have been unaware of previously. The horses have an inner knowing of what each person’s soul is ready to understand. By learning how to keep the horse at a safe distance, this client learnt what it felt like to hold her own space, and maintain a connection with another being. The horses offer learning and healing opportunities through unconditional love, and honest connections. To have the opportunities to feel these qualities from another being is what horses really bring to the alternative healing equation.
