Why horses?…great question! Because horses are “herd” animals, they, like humans, rely on each other for safety and survival. In the wild they also are “prey” animals, (i.e., predatory animals want to EAT them!), and to protect themselves, they have developed keen senses and an extreme awareness of the environmental dynamics surrounding them at EACH MOMENT. This keen awareness is possessed by each horse as well as the herd collectively.
Because silence benefits prey animals, horses have evolved a system of non-verbal communication. Horses can immediately communicate complex information to individual horses or to the entire herd with precise body language. Among other things, this enables the herd to maintain a network of constant vigilance over a large area, making it difficult for predators to surprise them. They have also learned to read non-verbal cues from other animals, including humans.
Horses’ keen senses, their ability to read body language and their non-verbal communication skills enable them to comprehend phenomena that lies outside of our awareness and to tell us what they see. Horses are also authentic, honest, non-judgmental and they cannot lie. These attributes are at least part of the reason that horses have the ability to read, interpret and mirror our emotional states. Living in the NOW, they illuminate WHAT IS (and what often may be unconscious to us) without judgement or criticism, which is why equine assisted learning and therapy is so powerful, revealing insights and solutions that may otherwise be inaccessible. This interaction with horses, along with the team of psychologist and equine specialist is what facilitates growth and change in our clients.
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