Here's a guest article I did for the British Appaloosa Society Newsletter
There’s no partnership quite like the Horse and Rider. A duo striving to reach a level of understanding and harmony yet with no comparable spoken language. Communication through seeming telepathy alone. But we know this isn’t the case…
As an NLP practitioner and Equine Psychologist, I see both sides of the coin daily and it fascinates me. NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming or as I like to describe it; the way that your inner voice speaks to your subconscious (or sometimes conscious) self.
Humans have evolved to be “The Superior” species. The most advanced species to inhabit the earth. This is because of our BRAIN. But this advanced way of thinking has been both our evolutionary blessing and our modern-day curse. Our minds can be our biggest cheerleader or our harshest critic. As a predominantly predatory creature, how did we come to domesticate arguably the most well adapted prey animal on the planet? We now ride horses for leisure, not into battle or to farm our lands (as a general rule anyway!). Mindset, psychology and understanding of how the brain works has gathered momentum in recent years for both the horse and the rider. Two very different brains, coming together as one.
Horses have undergone such an amazing evolutionary process to become one of the greatest athletes in the animal kingdom – yes, even the small hairy ones! Long, single hooved legs, large eyes on either side of the skull for near 360 vision, large nostrils, super sensitive ears, a spleen that releases 3 litres of extra blood cells at high intensity exercise to “blood dope” and allow more oxygen uptake, huge muscles capable of running and jumping at speed… Biological features and adaptations aside, Equine Psychology – and consequential behaviour - is the component that has allowed them to survive in the wild and escape predatory threats for so many millennia. Choosing to live in a herd, innate “flight” response to danger… all of these things are for one simple reason. Survival.
Humans as mentioned are a predominantly predatory species. We are adapted to hunt. To think ahead and assess the outcome of our actions. We are also relatively athletic, able to run and think fast. Survival to us has very different connotations. In modern day society, “survival” has manifested into many varied forms. But generally, our horses are our break from the daily hamster wheel of life. Our fun time. Our happy place. A place of positivity… or are they? I specialise in Confidence Coaching for riders; isn’t it interesting that our supposed hobby – a thing we do for enjoyment and pleasure - can turn into a place of high anxiety… all because of our mind! The fact that Confidence Coaching for Horse Riders in itself says a great deal! We know they’re big, powerful and potentially dangerous!
And there’s the human Ego. Why are we riding? Is it for fun? For leisure? Or is it our business? Are we athletes competing to the highest level? Why? For what reason do we do this? I’m sure most of us would agree that our horses aren’t just a hobby, they’re a way of life. An all-consuming way of life!
A statement I hear often (from what I would describe as your average rider) is “I just want my horse to be happy” or “I want to do the right things for my horse”. This is where the importance of understanding that other side of the coin comes into play. I would argue that it’s only been in the last few hundred years that this way of thinking has even developed. It’s a huge step forward for horse welfare! Changes are being made in our management of horse, knowledge is growing in the way that we feed them, in the way that we train them… but what about in understanding the way that they think?
Natural Horsemanship and cowboys with flag sticks spring to mind when Equine Behaviour or Psychology is mentioned. Some “horse whisperer” turning up to magically solve all your Equine Friend’s problems with the swish of a leadrope! Understanding horse psychology is not as mythical or unattainable as is portrayed. We just need to understand the basics of evolution and survival, then actually PAY ATTENTION to our horse!
That unspoken language I referred to? I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s called BODY LANGUAGE. Your gateway into your horses’ mind is through their behaviour and actions, as is our own. When I’m training or coaching, I often see body language in action (from the horse AND human) before the handler/rider has even registered what’s about to happen. I’m no magician! I’ve just spent a lot of my life around a huge variety of horses and come across a lot of different humans too! Those innate reactions that have kept horses on this earth for so long transmit from the brain in a split second. As humans, who’ve never really had a need to flee for our life (because we’re a “predator” probably doing the chasing), we don’t always keep up! Our brains tend to overanalyse AFTERWARDS rather than in the moment, causing all sorts of traumatic associations.
I was recently having a conversation with #TopHorseDad and he brought up a phenomenon known as being in “Flow State”. An almost meditative state where the body and mind work as one effortlessly during a physically stimulating activity. Where the body just knows what it’s supposed to do and yet the mind doesn’t even seem to have to think about it. The movement just happens. I truly believe this massively applies to horse riding. We’ve all had that moment when everything comes together, it’s like we just have to think something and our horse offers us the exact response we wanted. That moment of pure connection and understanding. The harmony that we are constantly striving for, even if just a glimmer. Two minds thinking as one.
Therein lies the conundrum; we NEED to understand both sides of that same coin for the relationship and connection between horse and rider to be possible. Horse riding is the only hobby/sport/activity (whatever you want to call it!) where the partnership stems from the minds of two very different beings, not only the bodies.
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