How do we find balance between our horses and our desires? Can we have both?
A lot of horsemanship is working with the dualities of different aspects of the work both in ourselves and our horses. Horses are incredible, generous creatures and will give us the world. However, a lot of horses don’t know how to be regulated and feel empowered in the work we’re asking them to do. This can be challenging for them because their body is being asked to do one thing while their mind is trying to navigate something completely different. When there is tension in the mind there will be tension in the body and this can make it difficult to train their body for performance.
On the other hand, how do we get anything done if we’re always focused on regulation in our horses? This is where empowerment comes in! Horses experience life as a pressure. As prey animals, their first thought is to run first and think later. When we help them learn to be handled by humans, we need to help them to think first and run second. This comes with building connection, helping them learn how to release tension and regulate, and how to deal with pressures in their life. Not only does this help them feel more relaxed, it makes our experience with horses safer!
Mentoring our horses on how navigate the pressures of life begins the process of developing an empowered way of being. How we are when we’re around them is so important. Our thoughts and feelings shape our energy. That energy is how our horses can sense how we feel about any given situation.
With horses, their biggest desire in life is to feel you and how you are going to respond to their struggles. If we’re reactive they won’t find peace with us and will revert to their natural self-preserving instincts. On the other hand, if we’re calm during higher pressure situations, they’ll be more likely to look to us for guidance.
Horses are very sensitive to the energy we’re projecting. They don’t really care what we do, or how we look. They really only care about how we feel!
When we show up authentically in the space and demonstrate our ability to handle higher pressure environments, our horse’s trust begins to expand. We have the responsibility to maintain our focus on the work and be attuned to the horse’s mental space in the process. This requires time, patience, and focus on the moment.
It can be easy to get caught up in striving for the end goal or hurrying down the path, but it is important to take intentional steps each day towards our goals and find satisfaction in the process. Defining your goals each day and finding equanimity in the process can help with the mental tension of striving for your goals and keeping your training lighthearted.
