Through the eyes of a horse: back to basics

I often wonder how it must feel to be a horse?  

How what must feel? 

Everything!

How do our human voices sound to them?  How loud is loud?  Do they hear bird song the same way we do or is it different through their ears?

How hot, prickly and claustrophobic must they feel in leg bandages, wraps, boots and rugs?

How does it feel to wear a head-collar, bridle and be pulled around by your head?

We know how sensitive their bodies are to a fly landing on them, but below that fur do they feel wind as wind like we do, and detect the difference between a warm breeze or cool chill? Or is it just wind?

Does a morning's soggy dew covered grass feel wet to their feet?  Is it a cold horrid damp on their muzzle, or is it refreshing and vitalising, or something else?

Is wearing a saddle and girth similar to how I feel wearing tights and bras - constrained and as if I can't breathe (yes I get claustrophobic feet in tights see earlier post)!

How does it feel to be isolated from your own species?  Left alone for hours in a stable?  Patted and stroked by gnarly human hands without invitation?

How does a slap feel to them?  How deep does the sting resonate? 

What about the grating sound of metal scraping forks, barrows and harrows?

When you stop to think, there must be so much discord for them in the human environment and that's before cars, motorbikes, yapping dogs, booming radios and doors slamming get added in!  Surely it's time to be curious about this quiet quality of our horses and consider what gifts in us it could open up if we just noticed it and got in step!

When I need to work, focus, concentrate or be creative, I seek out a quiet place usually with just the sound of bird song or the oceans waves as background.

When I'm physically unwell or emotionally down its a walk in nature that usually provides the most relief.

Have we stripped away too much of what nature has to offer with modern life?  Have we buried the world's natural healing capability below blankets of machinery, vehicles and technology? Have we gone a step too far?  If we haven't yet - will we know when and if we do?

A friend came to visit the horses last night.  All three of my herd came into the menage for some light exercise.  We watched and discuss their movement and how well they were all moving.  No body looked in pain.  Yet, I explained, the problem with horses is that if they were in pain for example Essy having a head ache right now - they would most likely try to conceal it.  Showing physical weakness if you are a prey animal heightens your risk of being eaten! So they learn to conceal pain well.

This served as yet another reminder for me of just  how quiet, a horse is.  

They don't yelp like a dog does when injured or hit.  They don't bark to sound the alarm or whimper to get attention.  They don't purr like cats or imitate sounds like a budgerigar.  They are truly quiet animals.

Doesn't it make you wonder if we owe them some quiet times back?  To become a better carer/ rider/ owner who recognises this peace loving quality horses have and to do all we can to provide that for them, as much as we can, as often as we can?

Maybe in the process we would quieten ourselves, our minds, our movements as we slow everything down.

Imagine creating a simple new daily routine of a 3 minute ritual of doing and saying nothing with your horse each time you arrive at the yard/field.  No stroking, touching, chitter chatter - just 3 minutes of NOTHING.

Try it at home now - it will no doubt seem like an eternity and may even feel irritating!  Or, for some it will feel calming and wonderful.  For all of us this simple task can bring massive health benefits and lucid thinking.  For all of us it CAN and WILL feel fabulous - but first we have to get past the irritation stage. The only way to do that is to keep practising!

On my website (Jigsawequine.com) there is a free 3 minute meditation to download.  It's a script for you to print, read and either memorise (the gist only) or record into your phone to have on hand.

When I use this meditation at seminars it never fails to dazzle people with the wonderful calming effect it has on them.  It NEVER fails - now how often can we make a claim like that in life!

Last night as my friend and I worked on Solar's Heart Meridian, we talked aloud to each other.  I was conscious of our talking as it was not something I would normally allow myself to do while in a healing treatment with her.  However, there were exceptional circumstances last night.  But, towards the end of the healing, as I stood up to finish the treatment and do the 'close down ritual' with Solar Sue, we both fell silent and stopped talking.

There it was!  In that wonderful space of pure silence, Solar went into a deep healing state.  Her head lowered, her muzzle twitched and as her eyes closed, mine did too, as she relaxed and breathed out so did both humans.

No one moved or spoke it was pure silence and togetherness - you could not have bottled it and sold it to be any better! 

My friend's comments "wow, I feel so privileged to have shared that moment"!  

.....What a wonderful tribute to Solar Sue and to the power of wanting to help heal one another.


What did I hear in her words?  The sound of a spiritual lady who should be around horses as much as possible for her sake and for theirs!

As a contrast  I began to wonder how each of the "3 Human Myth carriers" in my earlier post might have reacted and what their words might have sounded like.  That is,  if they would have even stayed to be part of the experience or would they have dashed off to smooch with another horse, fluff up a bank, or drive home bored?

Just maybe... Silence is Golden and we really are making life too complicated for both ourselves and our horses!  Its certainly giving me some good food for thought about the direction I'm heading towards and quickly!

Another great 'wake up' moment - thanks Claire!

Back to Basics!

"We want an Essy Grandma!"

Since the arrival of my elderly mum onto the yard to keep Essy company while on box rest, we've all had a bit of a reminder of how easy it is to take things for granted about your horse and what he /s he offers you, especially the simple things.

If we are honest, most of us no longer feel joy and delight in the simple pleasures of our horse doing as we ask in hand, or around the stable - we just take it for granted and expect it.  Last night, watching my mum revel in the fact that Solar Sue walked backwards when I showed her how to ask for it - was both humbling and heart warming. 

 

As a 76 year old who has never before lead a horse, never mind put on its 'collar' - the last three weeks have been a revelation for anyone watching from the side lines.

I've had comments made to me about "how quiet my mum is with Essy" and how "gentle" and how "sweet to watch it is".  Comments like this remind me how rough, tough, boisterous and noisy we can be around horses - out of habit, our need for speed, or simply having an agenda to achieve.

Horse and Hound this week had a piece on the Equine sound system - "horses can hear commands spoken at low volume" does my mum know that already and it's only the horsey set that don't?

"Essy's Grandma visits" as they've become known have seen her sit with him outside his stable for up to 4 hours at a time, just "chatting"!   She gives his head a cool sponge down, offers him essential oils to smell, (noting down which he responds to).   She's now taken to leading him round the yard, to the front gate and back. Amazingly he behaviours superbly well!  Like all grandma's her handbag is packed with treats: carrot Julienne, Waitrose prunes, organic apple quarters and Johnsons wet wipes!

...She is religious at capturing the start of a runny nose! 

So it's become very obvious that sometimes our own learning and awareness is heightened by the actions of a 'newcomer' who go about 'being with horses', in a very different way!

Last night I caught myself brushing Grace's long thick mane.  I realised if this was my own head of hair no way would I be this rough.  I didn't mean to be rough.  It certainly isn't how my old mum would brush it though!  So, it seems I'm learning from a total novice how to 'be' with a horse in a way that is more in keeping with what Essy's teachings are about: 

• awareness
• softness
• healing touch
• peace

If horses are here to bring us peace its going to be hard for us to recognise that in amongst our noise and no nonsense way of doing stuff!

Watching Essy and my mum interact is an absolute joy.  They both seem to be exploring boundaries without a single moment of anxt, pressure, power, force or anger.  

There is a huge absence of expectation!

There is a peaceful quietness to their time together.

Essy continues to find new ways to teach me how to 'wake up' and be more 'aware' of what horses respond to, and how without appreciating the basics our horse offers us, it will be hard to move forward.
 
I watch with admiration and intrigue as their journey unfolds,  thrilled to be a part of it and learning vicariously as we go!

Now if only I could get her into some 'sensible', horse appropriate shoes!

How to like yourself more...

Play Time and Tears!

I had a wonderful day hanging out with my three glorious horses.  Twice they raised me to tears just looking at them: such peace in their eyes.

I walked away with an immense feeling that my horses like being horses!  They like being who they are. That may sound a bit of a non event on most days but today it  really hit me that to like being who you are, must be such a gift.  I wonder how many of us can say we feel the same way?

Of course there have been moments in our life when we've felt pleased with ourselves at work for our contribution, at home for our friendship and support to friends or family.  But is that the same?  Does this mean we actually like being human and like being who we are - warts and all, day after day?  If we don't, what would we prefer to be? Until recently I hadn't considered being anything else (except wishing I could run on all fours alongside my new puppy)...

... how great would that feel?

Tonight at the yard a fellow livery and her hubby were doing what looked like 'play lunging' with their two horses.  From inside the barn I could hear their laughter - real belly laughter - and once outside I could see hooves, knees and legs all aloft - as the four of them shared some high jinks together.

What a contrast with another livery's words to me about how 'badly behaved' her old boy had been when he was turned out.  Apparently, once off the lead rope and lose in the field he would kick, buck, tear about and be "unruly".  I wanted to suggest maybe the horse was expressing himself in a moment of happiness and joy.  I sensed she didn't see it that way.

All around us there are people who are happy with themselves and we can see that through their relationship with their horses, if we know what to look for. Others are not so blessed.

It is said that by turning our attention inward to our self that we are able to experience a deeper connection with Life, with God, Nature and beyond.  And, as humans, every relationship we ever have with another exactly mirrors one or more aspects of the relationship we have with our self. 

So, can we learn to like ourselves? Can our horses teach us how? I hope so as Horses are so much closer to nature than we are with all our mod-cons and materialism. 

In his book Messages From Water -  Dr. Masaru Emoto shows the powerful effect that our thoughts and words have on us. In his research he attached written words to containers of water, such as “Thank you,” “I love you,” and “You fool!” Then he froze the water and took photos of the water crystals with a microscopic camera. In addition to using written words, he varied his experiments with thoughts, music and pictures.  This is one of my favourite books which I often take to seminars I'm delivering to help people think about the affect our thoughts have on us.

In every case when there was a positive energy used, whether it was a written word, a verbal statement, or a picture, the photos of the frozen crystals were exquisitely beautiful, as above.

On the other hand, in every case where the stimulus was negative, the crystals were small, misshapen and deformed! This so clearly demonstrates the effects of negativity when we bury ourselves under unkind thoughts, or beliefs about our body, mind, or abilities. 

If our bodies are about 60% water, imagine what happens to the part of us that is water when we are hit with lots of negativity. Whose to say it doesn't have the same debilitating effect on all parts of all our body cells. No wonder we struggle to feel good about who we are on an average day.

Add to this, the famous book, film and industry known as the Law of Attraction which warns us that when cells vibrate with negativity it draws towards us, more of the same.

These two pieces of work are relatively recent.  Not everyone has yet to come across them and their important messages.  Without them we are left floundering under a sea of pressure to be this way or that, taller, smarter, faster, thiner or just better.

So back to play time and tears....

The life of a horse isn't always 'a walk in the park'.  Looking at their 3 basic needs it's a wonder any show happiness to be alive, never mind as a horse.

Food & water: some horses have it, others have too much or insufficient. Many go without vital herbs or nutrients	Most of us can put food on our tables whenever we need it, enjoy lavish meals, detox, diet or fest, stick to the same diet or vary it up
Friendship: some horses spend a lifetime without same species relationships or contact. Family separation is a guarantee, often prematurely	We get to pick and choose our friends real, virtual, local or worldwide.  We also get to stay in touch or switch them out on demand
Freedom: some horses are locked up all day, many can’t pick and choose when they work or what job they do or when to retire	We can move around the Globe, be alone or with others, express ourselves, work for others or create our own work

Next time we notice happiness in a horses expression or stance, or in their love of being able to run about let's wonder why its so hard for us to feel pleased to be who we are when on the face of it, we have so much more.

Let's stop and remember that beyond the 3 x F's, all those other things we long for in life just alienate us further from our true selves, from nature and from a meaningful connection with both, leaving us strangers to ourselves amongst the paraphernalia of a modern existence.

It seems shallow to simply view the needs of a horse as simply the 3 x F's.  It seems unrealistic to compare our ability to like ourselves based on only that as criteria.  To look deeper can be difficult to get our heads around.  To keep it simple and practical here's my own list of the lessons our horses might be trying to pass on to us, to help us learn how to like ourselves!

* they don't judge themselves or others

* they don't seem to set goals and push themselves constantly 
* they live for today and in the moment of now

* they only hold a grudge (in the form of negative associations) with good reason usually fear based

* they probably don't generate negative or positive thoughts - just in the moment awareness

* they aren't likely to compare themselves with other horses abilities, size, shape or luck

* they know how to communicate with each other very effectively without misunderstandings

* arguments are resolved quickly

* they use their energy wisely and avoid being exhausted at the end of the day 

* they don't try to be something they aren't knowing when they are confident and capable or not

* they aren't fickle and don't flit between equine relationships (if allowed the choice)

* they reciprocate touch and scratching when offered 

* they don't appear to have a negative ego like humans and can let go of the need to control

* they don't play emotional games with one another

* they don't lie 

* they know how to have fun and try to do so when the mood grabs them

* they are patient and tolerant of other species

* they are communal by choice preferring to share their world not keep it for themselves

In summary horses appear to be great ambassadors for RESPONSIBILITY.  Not as we are taught at school and at home which manifests more like duty, burden, 'ought' and 'should'.  For horses responsibility simply means 'being able to respond'.  To what?  Their needs.  Moment by moment.  If they need to sleep they doze. If they need to run they run.  If they want to eat they eat.  etc.  The good news is that there is nothing stopping us (people) from having the same approach to our lives.  Most of us (if adult) are not in captivitiy, stabled, told what to do, or when to eat etc.  We are much more like the undomesticated, free roaming horse - able to respond to our needs moment by moment, if we would just give ourselves permission.  Be selfish!  A place of honest intent to be happy by fulfilling our needs which puts us in a better position to help others - human or horse.

I'm sure the list above isn't complete.  However, even as it stands it makes a compelling set of tips on 'how to live our lives in order to like ourselves more'.

With my horses help I will keep digging deeper to explore 'how to like myself more' - but for today this is where my awareness level is at so my musing will have to end for now.