Horses are hypersensitive creatures

Anyone who handles horses or rides horses knows that horses are very special creatures. You can make contact with it in a special way. That is the basis of horse coaching. Horses can help us with personal development, mental complaints, family or work problems and certainly also with relationship problems. But horses can also help us grow as spiritual beings and promote our awakening process. 

In this modern form of therapy, horses act as mirrors and make us aware of how we approach life. They do this by providing loving and non-judgmental feedback on the energy we radiate.

Matter of survival

But why have horses developed this extreme sensitivity? Horses are naturally herd animals. This makes them very alert to their surroundings. Every change in movement, posture, intention and scent is important to them and may contain information relevant to the safety and well-being of the entire herd. Horses literally respond to everything we radiate, consciously and unconsciously. Wild horses, i.e. horses that have not yet had extensive interaction with humans, are less "truncated" and are much more sensitive than their peers who have received a lot of "training" from humans. Even what we call “unwanted behavior” is a communication for the horse in which it is trying to make something clear.

The nice thing about horses is this: they don't judge. They don't care why you do something, just that you do something. They are not bothered by our human ego nor do they produce human thoughts. They only provide feedback on your energy in the here and now. This way you will learn to better understand what you radiate and how you come across. If you change something in your attitude, thoughts, attitude, the horse immediately gives you appropriate feedback. In horse coaching the roles are partly reversed. The horses are the teachers here and the human coaches are the 'translators'.

Setups

Constellation work is an alternative form of therapy that is often used around family themes. We are then talking about family constellations. By “constructing” someone's family system, therapists try to recognize, acknowledge and, if possible, remove certain relationships between family members and any bottlenecks therein. Horses are increasingly being used for drafting work. With the help of horses we look for (family) patterns, pain and perhaps unprocessed traumas.

“It seems like horses see right through me” 

That may be somewhat true. During the session the horse becomes the therapist. The human coach plays an important role, but you still learn the most from the horse. While you are with the horse (you care for it, guide it or drive it through a number of exercises), the coach observes your behavior and how the animal responds to you. In the meantime, you talk about your theme and are asked questions about your behavior, thoughts and feelings. Even if you prefer not to answer or find talking difficult, the coach can read how the horse responds to you. And they do that immediately and always.

Be present in the moment

You don't fool a horse. The horse will mirror you. If you are insecure, the horse will become insecure. If you are afraid, the horse will become anxious. The condition for making contact with a horse is being present in the moment. That is perhaps the most beautiful lesson that horses can teach you: only when you get out of your head and into your heart, do you come into contact with yourself and therefore with the other person, the horse in this case.

Horses respond to your non-verbal communication and see whether your thoughts, feelings and behaviors match, or are “congruent”. Horses invite you to be real, to be authentic. This will give you better insights into yourself and the challenges you face. And why these are such challenges for you.

You don't need any experience with horses to get started with them. A slight fear of horses can also be beneficial in gaining insights about horses. Interested? Try a one-off session and see if this is for you.