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It's all in your Mind

© Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate

Sharing life with a 1200# horse can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences one can imagine. However, it can also be a terrifying experience. Horses have a magical way of mirroring the very worst of ourselves. Their behavior and reactions to our requests for performance ferrets out the deepest recesses of our emotions of which most times we are not even aware. Harboring anger and tenseness in our heart when we approach a horse in a paddock can drive the horse away and into a game of "catch me if you can". Why is that? When we have had a bad day and bring all our baggage with us to the barn, our body posture, our facial expressions, our mannerisms and movements betray us without question. Horses are so much more sensitive than human to the "aura" of the beings around them, they are able to sense our aggressiveness. Yes, anger reaps aggressiveness. Being animals of prey, horses are going to react to the aggressive stances and behavior which we are exhibited unconsciously. They want nothing to do with aggressiveness especially when they feel they are about to become the receipient of our emotions.

Contrarily, horses also have a very special way of inducing the most tranquil and peaceful state of mind ... just by being there for us when we need support. Most times just a step inside the barn and all the day's worries are left behind and forgotten for the time being. The "world out there" ceases to exist. But what happens when we get in the saddle and ask for a certain movement and the horse seemingly betrays us with refusals? We begin to feel the day's negative emotions start to well up in us again. We tense ourselves, we forget to breathe and the cycle has begun.

The horse doesn't set out to "get us". The horse is merely a sensitive animal that lives moment to moment. On the other hand, humans have been conditioned to always fret about what has already happened or what is going to happen, forgetting the suspended moments of the present. How does one get over this hump and learn to experience each second and minute as it occurs while with one's horse? How do we learn to "feel" the present, to savor it and dwell within that time? By learning to discipline our minds to being conditioned to the present. That means to consciously think about what we are doing when we are around our horse. Think about how our body is moving on the back of the horse. Feel the energy level or the blockages which are preventing our relaxation to move freely from the tip of our head to the bottom of our toes. If you have a partner to work with, try closing your eyes on your horse while your partner is leading you or lungeing you. Try to feel the muscles move in your horse's back. Try to feel which leg moves first. Pay attention to your own breathing and your own legs. Where is your energy? Is it still taken up with the worries of the day? Mentally bundle up those worries and toss them out. As you begin to relax *feel* the horse relaxing under you ... the back lengthening, the head lowering and the strides becoming longer. Try to mentally and emotionally connect with your horse as you amble along with your eyes closed. Feel more relaxation from the horse? Yes, it is mirroring you ... the day is being washed away and the partnership between you and your horse is just beginning.

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