Why Horses?

 

The idea of using horses in coaching and training humans may seem strange at first. Horses are large, expensive animals and their use certainly offers some logistical challenges.

 

In nature horses are prey animals that live in herds, and they are designed for survival in the wild. Horses have highly developed emotive and sensory systems. In fact, the emotional part of the horse's brain is equal in size to that of the human's. Horses are designed to be highly aware of everything that is going on around them, including the emotions and intent of other animals (including humans), to which they are highly reactive. Sensing another horse's fear or a predator's intent to kill can mean survival in the wild.

 

Horses live in the present. They do not dwell on the past nor plan for the future. They take in what's happening right now and respond to immediate stimuli. Although they may react to something that triggers a memory of a bad experience, they are still reacting to the present stimulus. Horses do not retain anger, hold grudges, or manipulate.

 

Horses may choose to cooperate with us if there is a threat that they'll be hurt if they don't, which was the foundation of traditional horse training. They may also choose to accept a human as their leader and cooperate with them out of pure choice, if the human exhibits calm, compassionate leadership and gives the equine partner what it needs for direction. This is the basis for non-violent training.

 

We can communicate with a horse through body language and gestures using the horse's own language, and we can control their energy and adrenaline levels by controlling our own. We can, through effective leadership, get a 1,000 pound animal to fully follow us and cooperate with us. If we have that kind of power when we are in the present, calm and centered, and communicating in a way that can be fully understood, imagine what that means for our ability to effectively interact with people.

 

Horses force us into the moment. They reflect back to us exactly what we are really communicating and how we are feeling. Every aspect of our lives can be enriched by living more in the present moment, being congruent and authentic, and reading valuable input when reacting or making decisions. We build better relationships with the right people, we improve our communication skills and our leadership ability, and we become easy to be around, which helps improve our influence on others and our ability to negotiate win/win situations. The horse is the most definitive, effective tool that I have ever seen for helping people to accomplish these things in a very short time.

"The horse is born to love us without condition attached, because horse and human are on a parallel journey to help each other. It's by understanding this that we start to unravel our own mystery and potential."
                   -- Margrit Coates