How do horses enhance our wellbeing and personal development?
Each horse and donkey are unique, individual beings. They naturally love to interact, make friends and do things together. They are always authentic and present, and they prefer us to be as well. They help us regulate our heartbeat and emotions and give us strength and support in doing so, because we are generally more aware, connected and present when around them. Being in their presence can make us feel and think better, they heighten our senses and help us align our heart, mind, body and spirit. In practicing this way of being with the horses and donkeys, we gain clarity, integrity, processing, communication and relationship skills that transform our own Being and way of being. Our horses (and donkeys!) in particular have been supported in their individual uniqueness and expression, having been trained with least resistant methods that put relationship first. This allows them to keep their voice, keep their unseen connection to all that is, and simply be who they are so they all love to help people learn and grow. While we ride our horses for recreation (ours and theirs), this is only to further our personal relationships with them and enjoy our time away from working, together. Our equine-facilitated learning and equine-facilitated coaching services all take place on the ground only to emphasize connection, interaction and freedom of choice.
The proven processes and tools we use to develop ourselves in the presence of equines are based on evolutionary biology, neuroscience, behavioral and educational psychology. Check it out! There are some links below to get you started.
Why Horses?
The Science, Stories, Heart & Spirit
HeartMath Institute, Connecting Hearts: Understanding the Research on the Symbiotic Bond Between Horses and Humans https://youtu.be/JUiHf9yAG24
What is heart coherence? From HeartMath Institute: https://youtu.be/AcbsLQFRWBk
We need heart coherence more than ever. Hear why and how from the HeartMatch Institute: https://youtu.be/-szBnENCdX0
HeartMath Quick Coherence Technique: https://youtu.be/sKmKKCdnJ4U
Horses respond to human emotions Study Examines Connection Between Horse Heart Rates and Human Emotions – The Horse
Horses can read human emotions. https://youtu.be/qnJ8pjhOJLM
Horses are fun, beautiful, non-judgmental, connected, present, wise, caring, natural partners.
"There's something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." ~Winston Churchill
"There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham." ~Black Beauty (Written by Anna Sewell)
*More coming soon*
Why Mustangs and Burros?
I have a soft spot and passion for the plight of America's wild horses and burros for a few reasons. First and foremost, they are amazing companion animals and working partners, carefully bred by nature to be tough, loyal team members. I love to work with their instincts instead of against them, slowly and progressively bringing their heart, mind and soul into alignment with our domestic world. If they could all remain wild and free, I would be happy with that. But no matter which 'side' you're on (there are more than two!) when it comes to this issue, the fact of the matter is there are tens of thousands wild horses and burros in government holding facilities that deserve real lives in real homes. In 2022 BLM estimated an overpopulation of free roaming wild horses and burros on our rangelands of 55,599 equines, in addition to the almost 50,000 in government holding*. These animals deserve our help AND we benefit from helping them! One of the offerings in the Heart to Wild Heart program is for groups of humans to observe and discuss my gentling and training process for the purpose of experiential learning and personal development. These equines come to the learning center frightened, confused, and relying on their instincts to stay alive. Through my gentling process and meeting their basic, learning and social needs, people of all ages learn about real partnership and teamwork. This includes (but is not limited to) safety, trust, communication, interpersonal and relational skills, fairness, personal and shared responsibility, foundational beliefs and team and personal motivation. The best part about helping more wild horses and burros than we can personally purchase and adopt ourselves is making heart connections and finding each one their own home. Heart to Wild Heart is a great way for you to be involved in solutions for this national issue, whether you give something to support the program, volunteer or participate in these workshops.
* https://www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/about/