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I love working with the young horses. It is so relaxing and so rewarding. We humans could learn a lot about interaction with others from our horses.

                My routine at the moment ends with the young horses in the evening. I’ve got them in the front paddock beside the house so as soon as I get home they’re waiting for me, and who could resist those faces peering over the fence with forward ears and bright eyes. There is no pressure; my day’s work is done and I don’t have to touch the young horses if I don’t want to. That freedom makes them even more appealing, like something I could chose to do for fun.

                I have written about Abdi in my post In Your Own Time, Horse she grew up with next to no human contact and even the simplest things like putting the halter on are a big event to her. So it doesn’t matter what we work on, every session is valuable. Every session is another drop into the cup of her life experience.

                Older horses, or even young horses that have had plenty of handling, will fill the gap to a certain degree if their human is not present in the moment or if their signals are not clear. That just doesn’t fly with these horses of little handling. They are always aware, always watching, and they can see through any guise to the underlying intention. Every now and then I’ll have a moment of sheer awe and amazement at just how sensitive they are. Last week; for example, I was combing out a mane at the end of a session and thinking to myself how nice it was to spend time with horses and how relaxing it was to simply enjoy their company. Then I began wondering how I could reorganise my working day to get more of this time and as soon as my thoughts left the present moment the horse walked off. This was no co-incidence, it was a reaction at the precise moment of the change in me, the perception of the most subtle shift of mindset.

                Working with these horses is more like having a conversation with them than a training session. I’m trying to stay mindful, living only in the moment with no preconceptions or expectations of what might happen and no fixed plan of what I’ll do next. Only when I am connected to myself and without mental distraction can I be truly honest and open with the horse. This is such a peaceful way of being. My actions are guided by the horse’s reactions and the feel of the energy between us. The rest of the world does not exist nor do its stresses or demands. Working this way has similarities to meditation and the feeling of calmness and relaxation lingers on after our session concludes. There is no better way to spend my last half hour of daylight each day.

                Before sharing these special moments with our horses we first have to share them with ourselves. How many times have your hands been doing one thing while your mind is somewhere else? Or talking to someone without even looking at them? Staying present in the moment and performing tasks without mental distraction takes practice and it’s hard going in the beginning. It’s well worth the effort though, not just as a means to an end when working with horses but also as a better way of living and being around others.

My journey with horses is intertwined with a journey within myself and many of the lessons I have learned can be applied to interactions with all other beings, four legged and two legged alike.

Originally published 16 July, 2015 for jessicabrycehorsemanship.wordpress.com