How often do we feel frustrated when things don’t go our way when we are interacting with our horse? And how quick are we to jump to a conclusion or ask again in a hurry because the answer didn’t come quick enough? I would say that it happens to most of us. That frustration is real, when you have a goal or an outcome that needs to happen, on our timeline (not the horses). It is so easy to let that take over our next decision, often within seconds we’ve made a decision on what we will do next. What happens if we stop and take a step back? To reflect on what we asked and or how we asked it. I think that mainstream society has ingrained in us that if we give up or change direction completely that the horse will ‘get away with it’. 

How do you allow your horse to express themselves? And if you do, when? 

I often sit and reflect upon this. Because allowing your horse to have the freedom of expression and feel the safety to do so, is hard. I wish it wasn’t, and maybe to some people it isn’t. But the truth is, this is not what mainstream society has taught us to be around horses. Most traditional training is a dominant leadership style, and as much as we might love our horse, we still have expectations and a desired outcome. There might be 101 ways to get to this desired outcome, some nicer than others, but do you allow your horse to express themselves along the way? 

I think that by referencing a horses social dynamic as a ‘herd’ is an easy way for humans to disassociate from its importance to our horses fundamental health. While the term is accurate, and I’m not saying don’t use it, it takes away the emotion from the term, or idea that is it describing. The word ‘family’, is a much more loaded term and some might say that we are humanising horses by using it. I think that is incorrect. Why do we, as humans, have the privilege of using the word family to describe the ones we love, care for and surround ourselves with? But we have taken that away from a horse, when their herd does the exact same thing?