Healing for Humans Inspired by Horses

Tag: horse therapy

Laying Awake At Night

Finding Our Way

Truly I lay awake at night, wondering how I can get across to everyone the power of horses and what they do for us humans.  Most people look at a picture of a horse or even ride one and never give a thought to the soul of that animal. Yes, the soul of a horse…

No, I am not trying to offend anyone, but I will tell you that when you spend any quality time building a relationship with a horse, it will change your life.  These sentient beings offer us the opportunity to find ourselves and understand that when we do we have better relationships with everyone in our lives.

Now, how on Earth do I get this message out there?  I post pictures of people-who honestly had no idea what to expect when I asked them to come out to the ranch and work with a horse.  They are literally speechless (which is kind of the goal), and giddy, and overwhelmed and happier than they have been-sometimes in as long as they can remember.  Seriously!   I am not making this stuff up.  Men, women, young, old, emotionally healthy, emotionally broken, energetic and worn-out.  It doesn’t matter whether they are cynical and say, I don’t need this, I have my husband to be my sounding board…or please help me, I am losing my husband….or my daughter…or my sanity….or my job….or myself.  

If you come here, and you are struggling with your vocation, your marriage, your spirituality, your self-image, or even wonder why it seems like no one really “gets” you, and why you can’t seem to connect to anyone anymore.  Instead of hiding out in your apartment, or your house, or your job, or your addiction…why don’t you come hang out with a horse? Horses are non-judgmental.  They are authentic and immediate in their feedback about your state of mind.  They will show you exactly what you need to do in order to understand your husband or your children or yourself.  Yes, it is true, they really do.

Let’s take some of the women we have worked with for example.  Most of the time we don’t even know the vibe we are throwing off.  We think, “I have a smile on my face, my words are measured, my tone of voice is kind, I volunteer my time and give to others, I keep a clean house, and a perfect yard, and my laundry is always folded and put away…aren’t I supposed to be happy?  Aren’t I supposed to have real friends that I can talk with about real life? ”   Suddenly we hear a rumor going around about us, and we are stunned and deeply hurt.  Why would someone say those things about me? Don’t they know me any better than that?  And then you realize, they don’t.  We are afraid that they won’t like the real us, so we posture and pretend, then wonder eventually, who am I really?  

We create maladaptive patterns of behavior over the course of our lives which inhibit us from being vulnerable and showing people who we really are inside.  Now these patterns protect us we think.  And maybe when we were growing up they really did protect us.  But now, they are no longer necessary.  And, they are actually hurting us and our relationships.

Guess what?  When this pattern of behavior continues, it becomes ingrained and it is really hard to break the cycle. This is where the horse comes in.  The horses will only respond to the real you, the authentic you, the one inside that is dying to come out.  And in those moments when we glance ourselves again, and remember who we are, and how strong we are, and how valuable we are, just the way we are, the glimmer of light begins to shine in our souls, and that elusive feeling of contentment and even joy begins to seep in.  And when that happens, the creativity, clarity of thought, ability to make decisions, and intuition we need to navigate through life appears once again.  Yes, really…

If any of this sounds interesting, then please give it a shot.  We promise, nothing scary, no horseback riding, no pressure. Just an opportunity to create in life a change, and no longer settle for what we are used to.  Remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.  I promise, once you feel what real connection feels like, you will not settle for anything less, ever again.

 

From the Horse’s Mouth

Hi.  My name is Zans Ole Chita Lena…aka Leda.  Isn’t that ridiculous?  I mean, come on humans, can’t you come up with something that rolls off the tongue a little bit easier, geez!  I live in Leander, Texas, on a 15 acre patch of grass, dirt and rocks.  I have lived her for 13 years, and it is my home.  My people are actually pretty awesome.  They feed us everyday, and we have clean water.  Sometimes we even get to gallop around and kick up our heels in the green grass!  The best part is they love me, and make me feel safe.  I have a herd, and my daughter lives here too!

When I first came to live with this family, I belonged to a little girl named Katrina.  She was short, and had brown hair, and sometimes she would come cry on my neck.  I, of course, allowed this to happen,  because she always felt happier when she left, and  I knew she just needed me to stand there until she was done.  Then I could get back to eating.

Katrina and I did a lot of fun things together.  Like, we would jump sometimes, and I LOVE to jump.  Katrina said I jump too high, but really, can you jump too high?  We also had to ride in a box on wheels to other places, and I met a lot of different horses, and one time I even got to stand in the middle of a giant arena and Katrina got a medal!  I could feel how happy she was!  It made me happy.  She scratched me, and kissed my nose, and I got a lot of carrots that day!  Katrina really learned to ride on me, and we had so much fun.  Of course, some days I got kinda cranky, because she would pull on my mouth with the bit, so I would give a little buck to let her know I did not appreciate that! Now when she rides me it is awesome!  She learned to talk to me using her body, and not just her hands, and so our friendship got much better!

Then one day, this big black gelding appeared…yuck!  I mean he was super handsome, but gosh he did not know a thing about how to treat humans who were riding him!  What a pompous jerk!  I hated him. Over time, my girl would ride him all the time, and pretty soon she wasn’t riding me at all.  I would stand at the gate and watch her, and I would wait for her to come get me, but she would run right back down to the house, and I would sigh. Soon her mom started asking me if I would teach other little kids how to ride.  Well, I figured, if I could get some good scratches and a cookie now and then, I’d give it a shot.  I mean, I do know a lot about what humans are trying to communicate.

So, today I am the lead mare at the ranch.  I teach kids and grown ups how to ride, and I make them earn every single step!  I know how to do a lot of things, but I make those humans earn it.  Now, if it is a little one, I make sure they aren’t gonna fall off!  But, one of those teenage kids, they better hold on if they don’t pay attention to what they’re doing!  Hee hee hee.

horse

About 2 years ago, different people started coming to the ranch.  A lot of them were sad and hurting. I could feel how sad they were, and I wanted to understand, and to help.  Some of the people were standing there, but I could not figure out how they were feeling!  It was kind of scary, because I need to be able to figure out if those people are safe, and when I can’t “see” them, I really don’t know what they want.

There were some grown up humans, and some young humans.  They would get to meet me, and sometimes I made sure that they knew they needed me.  When they want to be my friend, I really want them to know that I am safe, but that I need them to be themselves, and to be my herd and keep me safe.  Just like my little girl when she was sad, I understood she was sad, and wanted to help.  This new way of interacting with humans is great.  Sometimes it can be frustrating for the humans, but I know that I need to teach them how to be themselves, and that when they figure it out, I can actually feel them start to get happier!  It is like a glow around their heart starts to get brighter, and then I know that I can trust them to lead me, and that we can have a great friendship!