Human Emotions and Horse Problems

 Emotions have been "high" here in the USA... and the residual effects will remain. Some folks are feeling very confident, while others are devastated. Either way, many equine enthusiasts "seek refuge" in spending time with their horse as a reprieve from politics, daily life stresses, and the future unknowns...

I wanted to offer a gentle reminder of how much the horse mirrors human emotions during interactions by sharing a story that occurred at the end of a six-day Alternative Horsemanship clinic a few years back.

A participant was recalling the interaction he'd had with his horse that morning before arriving. Things had not gone as he anticipated, and he used negative human emotional terms to describe the horse's behavior.
 
As we spoke, the horse stood nearby, saddled and in a halter and lead rope. There was lots of slack in the rope as the man loosely held it, and he was facing me as he spoke, with the horse a slight distance behind him. As the student started talking, the horse fussed, flipped his head, and constantly moved around in slow chaos.

After listening to the "rant," I began discussing how emotions influence our intentions during equine interactions. Even if we are not intentionally aggressive, the horse reflects one's emotional state.

As the man started thinking through this, the horse started moving less. He began pondering out loud how to change his thoughts from critical of the horse to how he could offer supportive communication. Within seconds of expressing these "new" thoughts, the horse started yawning, chewing, yawning, blowing his nose, softening his posture, followed by more yawning.

The man, still facing me, had never moved or looked at his horse nor changed how he held the lead rope. His tone had softened, his emotions calmed, and he began to speak with empathy in the "dissecting" of why the horse had responded as he had.

Everyone watching couldn't believe the immediate shift in the horse; he did not even look like the same animal. The initial chaos was replaced with the equine standing quietly, head dropped, rear foot cocked, waiting patiently, with no tension.

I share this story as a reminder that as much as the horse may feel like an outlet or escape from your reality, most animals I meet today cannot "handle" the human emotional purging imposed upon them. They are not "confident with themselves" to not become triggered by human emotional chaos. This can contribute to the horse remaining in an increasingly anticipative state, eventually leading to unwanted behaviors.