Horses Feel Your Thoughts
One time I was grooming at a horse show, and one of my duties was to hand walk the horses to get them out of their stalls during the day. Hand walking horses around the same two barns can be a rather boring event. To make things more interesting, I decided to do a little energy experiment. I’ve always been fascinated by energy and how our energy attracts certain things into our lives. In other words, I’m one of those woo-woo spiritual people who has crystals scattered around my house and believes in manifestation and the law of attraction.
I had just finished reading “The Hidden Messages in Water” by Masaru Emoto for the second time, and the interesting research and theories in that book were fresh in my mind. Dr. Emoto did a series of tests on frozen water molecules to see if their crystalline structure was effected by their external environment. He would expose the water molecules to different things, i.e., different phrases, types of music, etc., and then snap a photo of the water crystals. Depending on what the water molecules were exposed to, the crystalline structure would change. Some water molecules would form incredibly beautiful crystals, while others would look disturbed and distorted. In one experiment, Dr. Emoto exposed the water molecules to kind words. These molecules created the most beautiful of crystals, while the molecules exposed to negative words failed to create any crystals at all.
Given that we are made up of about 70% water, this got me thinking about how our words effect the crystalline structure of the water within our bodies…. and our horses bodies.
To see just how powerful our words and thoughts are, I decided to test it out while I was hand walking the horses around the showgrounds. I started by noticing how busy my mind was while I was out on these walks. Next, I simply switched my focus to the words, “I love you” in my mind. I paid close attention to how the horses responded to my new, positive inner dialog. What happened next changed the way I interact with horses forever. As soon as said the words I love you in my mind, the horse I was walking looked at me with his eye and started licking and chewing. He got visibly more relaxed an in tune with me. I tried this several more times with that horse and the two other horses I was grooming. Each and every time I switched my thoughts to I love you, the horses would relax and start licking and chewing.
Two things happened during this experiment. I learned that horses really can read our minds. Horses literally feel the frequency of our thoughts on an energetic level. The second thing I learned is that horses respond to the subtlest acknowledgement. These acknowledgements have a vibrational frequency that changes the water structures within our bodies.
Since that beautiful day at the horse show, I have become extra mindful of my thoughts and emotions while around my horses. In this blog, I will introduce you to 3 of my favorite mindfulness practices to help you become a better horseman. These are very simple practices I’m sure you heard of before, or even tried. My hope is that you see how these practices carry over into your time with your horses.
- Meditation
Meditation has been a part of my daily practice for almost two years now. I remember when I first started meditating, it seemed impossible to sit still and quiet my mind for fifteen minutes. Luckily I realized there are many ways to meditate, and not all of them require you to sit on a meditation cushion for extended periods of time. The whole point of meditation is to focus your mind, watch your thoughts, and let them pass by.
Being able to watch your thoughts in any given moment is a powerful tool when training horses. Often times our thoughts take us out of the present moment. Presence is one of the most underrated horse training tools out there. If we are not present with our horses, we miss a lot of the subtle nuances and ques our horses give us. Since training horses is simply the act of communicating with an animal that doesn’t speak the same language as us, noticing the smallest things can help us communicate and listen to our horses more effectively.
Noticing your thoughts also allows you to change your focus from mindless negative self talk to more positive thoughts. As you saw with my experiment above, this can make all the difference when it comes to connecting with your horse.
2. Gratitude
Nothing changes your inner frequency quite like gratitude. Not only does gratitude focus your thoughts on things you appreciate, it also gets you into a more coherent state. The HeartMath Institute has shown that by placing your focus on your heart while thinking of something you appreciate puts your body into a more coherent, natural, calm state. When our bodies and minds are more coherent, the energies in our bodies are flowing more freely. When we are in a non-coherent state, we are often in a fight/flight/freeze state instead.
Knowing how sensitive horses are to our energy, they can surely feel when we are in this fight/flight/freeze state. That usually causes our horses to think there is danger, and they slip into a fight/flight/freeze state too. When you and your horse are both operating from this stress state, it is much more difficult to have a meaningful and productive interaction.
As soon as I get on my horse, I’ve made it a habit to think of three things I’m grateful for while warming up at the walk. This immediately shifts the energy of my body, therefor shifting the energy of my horse so we can both stay as relaxed as possible during our ride. I recommend trying this simple gratitude practice next time you are with your horse.
3. Journaling
To be honest, I was never the biggest fan of journaling until I started a daily practice of writing three pages of stream of consciousness writing each morning. After a few days, I realized how valuable it is to write down your thoughts. One of the most valuable things about this practice is learning how to be vulnerable with yourself. Your journal is sacred, and it’s just for you. Journaling gives you the opportunity to be completely honest about how you feel. Learning to have this level of honesty with yourself is incredibly powerful. It also allows you to express your emotions in a healthy way.
Much like horses feel our thoughts, they also feel our emotions. When we can become observers of our thoughts and emotions, we can show up for our horses in ways that are more supportive. Journaling definitely helps us observe our thoughts and emotions in a concrete way through writing.
I hope you get a chance to try out these simple mindfulness practices next time you are with your horse.
