Ok, so what’s with the horses?
Metaphorically, I am on a journey of healing. Images of me with my horses can provide a good symbolic visual of that journey. But there’s more . . .
Horses can sense our physical and emotional pain.
I work in the field of equine assisted learning, more commonly referred to as equine therapy though I am not a psychotherapist. What I have learned after more than 6 years in this field of work is that there is a tremendous capacity for healing and self-discovery in a facilitated interaction with a horse. Some interactions are best handled by psychotherapists, but there is an extraordinary amount of personal and health benefits that can come from working with skilled practitioners too. Generally when people come to have a private session with me and my horses, they are looking for insight into one of three areas: their health, their career or a relationship.
Today we see horses helping high-risk adolescents, they are being used in therapy with war veterans, helping inmates in prison prepare for life outside prison, teaching pre-med students how to work with patients, helping corporations build strong teams, helping therapists treat mental health or work in addiction therapy, help with children with autism, and more.
The first time I was sick – back in the 90’s – I didn’t even own a horse, much less know about the healing capacity of horses and interactions with them. So my first healing with lupus and RA didn’t involve horses. But this second time around, I have spent time meditating with my horses because I believe there are benefits – known and still unknown – in doing that.
An excellent example is that before I knew that I had Parkinson’s, I noticed my horses focusing on my head. I was curious. It’s not normal for them to be so insistent on the top of my head. And they have frequently insisted on me taking my hat off so they could focus on my head without a hat.
For those of you inexperienced with therapy horses, in my program over the years we’ve noticed that horses will physically point out an area on your body where you are in pain, where it’s diseased, or where you are recovering from some surgery. They seem to be able to sense our physical and emotional pain. And when they do, they generally hover with their nose over the area. If you’ve heard of dogs detecting cancer in humans, this may be similar for horses as well.
So my horses were insistent on focusing on my head. It was only after I got the diagnosis of Parkinson’s that it all made sense. Parkinson’s is a disease in the brain. And my horses were picking it up.
Over the years I have collected data on well over 1,000 people’s subjective experience with the horses. The results have been amazingly consistent year after year. Here is what happened to the participants in my Healing Horse Circle program in 2019. It was the last full year of the program prior to Covid:
When I started these programs, people kept telling me that they felt the horse “touched” or “opened” their heart, so I started collecting data on that too. Here, 92% report feeling their heart “opened.”
At the end of the program, I ask participants “if the horse could talk to them, what would the horse say?” A surprising 84% say they got a message or insight.
Obviously this is subjective data and terms like having your heart “opened” or had a “connection” are loosely used. But I believe it’s helpful to try to characterize people’s experiences with these sessions as we continue to explore the horse/human realm. Additionally, I realize that asking people if the horse pointed to the area they were experiencing pain is also subjective and is subject to more scrutiny. But it’s a start!
I could talk for hours about the amazing insights I’ve witnessed around people and horses and the loving capacity of these horses. But this blog isn’t about equine therapy, so I will keep this short. But now you have a better understanding of why horses are at least a visually large part of this blog. They’ve earned their place.
If you are curious to learn more about the work I do in equine therapy, please visit my Healing Horse website.
You are an amazing woman! I am so fortunate to have you in my life.
Yesterday I had the experience of a lifetime. In September of 2021 I lost my husband to Covid. In trying to navigate this journey of grief and because I love horses, I sought out the services of Sheryl and her wonderful therapy horses. They did not disappoint. Their loving energy left me with a new avenue to explore and a day that will never be forgotten. Would I do this again? In a minute. My thanks to Sheryl and Jax … Kay B.