Books with Spirit – Joyfulness between horses and people

When your horse wants to be with you and wants to do what you want to do, you can achieve so much more with your horse.

Last week I worked on a wonderful 20 year old Arabian mare, Bremervale Promise, in the vet check and rest intervals of a 160 kilometre ride, that she completed in around 18 hours.  No big deal, she would have made it fine without me – maybe the reiki healing that I gave her made it a bit more comfortable. 

This was Promise and young Sarah McLaughlin’s 4^th Quilty buckle, a silver belt buckle that is a symbol of the completion of that ride.  So this was the fourth time Promise had gone out and carried Sarah for 160 kilometres in less than 24 hours.  Congratulations on a brilliant effort to Sarah and Promise and all the other partnerships that completed the event with their horses in good enough condition to go out again.  

Then there was the absolute star of the ride as far as I was concerned, a partnership between a lady and a white haired elderly gentleman named Sarisha, a 23 year old Arabian gelding who achieved their 11th Quilty buckle.  This was the eleventh time that Sarisha  had carried his owner Keryn Mahoney for 160 kilometres in much, much less than 24 hours.  This is an extraordinary new record. 

So what makes it possible for one horse to do the most extraordinary feat of endurance with their rider, year after year after year?  And others cannot?

I don’t know Sarisha or Keryn at all, but from what I’ve seen in other horse sports, I suspect that there is a bunch of factors.  Everything from the rider’s physical ability to sit still and comfortably on their horse to a well fitting saddle, to a good training program, to the right strapping that suits the horse and the conditions.

But the biggest of all I think, the thing that makes it possible for one horse to do this incredible feat year after year after year, is the relationship with their rider. 

So how come I am so sure that I am right about that?

In the book and audio lesson set, Zen Connection with Horses, I talk about how the brain works with processing emotions and I describe how during that processing, emotions can cause tremendous damage to the body.  Yes, that’s right, emotions that are not dealt with properly cause very real, sometimes quite severe physical symptoms over time – in both humans and horses (but lets stick to the horses here.)

When our horse is afraid and when he or she cannot do anything about that, then there is very real physical damage to their bodies.

So what kind of things do we do that can cause our horse to bury their fear?  Any gear that we use to stop them from taking action to make themselves safe when they are afraid can cause them to have to bury their fear.  It doesn’t matter whether it is a bit or a halter or any other kind of gear.  In fact, I’ve caused my horse to bury his fear at liberty with no ropes or gear at all, when I’ve worked his backside off whenever he wanted to move because he was afraid.

I can explain in more detail to anyone who is interested, but when our horse buries fear, the muscles that are affected are a big muscle in the pelvis that has a large effect on the sacro iliac joint (where the spine meets the pelvis at the croup) and the neck/shoulder muscle that withers away on the top of the neck when the horse tends to be U-shaped in the neck.  There is another muscle that is adversely affected by fear found behind the knee and another deep in the foot.

So where are the places that our horses most commonly fall apart physically?  I don’t think that it is coincidence that it is the sacro iliac joint, the shoulders, the knees and the feet – all the places where the horse buries fear. 

I see the other side too, time after time in my clinics, as the riders learn to deal with their horse’s fear in a sympathetic and systematic way – their horse’s bodies start visibly healing while they are in the clinic - rumps, necks and shoulder muscles fill out, spines start sliding into place, lameness’s can heal.

So horses like Promise and Sarisha with their happy, healthy bodies that do this huge feat of endurance year after year after year have a relationship with their rider that means they either have no fear or when they do get afraid, they are allowed to deal with their fear and don’t have to bury it.

So much of what I see in the horse world is not pretty to my eyes that see so much from the horse’s perspective these days (although that was not always the case!)  And sure, out of the 200 plus starters of that ride, I saw some stuff that was not pretty and a very small amount that was seriously not OK.  Funnily enough, there was much, much less of what was not OK than any other horse event that I have been to – and considering the pure physical effort of the event, that is a credit to elite level endurance riding. 

But man, I take my hat off to the horses and the people who are so good at this elite level of their sport, who are so good at it that their horses still love to be with them 160 kilometres later.

You can help your horses be with you without any fear too.  You can learn step by step how to release old fears and traumas from your horses past and bring them back to health and joyfulness.  And in the meantime, you can build a relationship that would be the envy of world class riders.

I give you my personal money back guarantee, that Zen Connection with Horses, the book and audio lesson set will give you a systematic and effective way to deal with all the aspects of your horse’s fear, to heal old injuries to their bodies that have happened because of that fear and to keep them happy and healthy as they find it unnecessary to bury any more fear into their bodies.

And when your horse is happy and healthy – then your time with them is much more fun, the way it was meant to be!

Click here to have a look at more about Zen Connection with Horses.

I asked my good friend Jane McLaughlin, Sarah’s Mum and strapper at the Quilty ride to have a look at this article because I felt there was something that I was missing.  I’ve decided to quote Jane’s email directly:

I have difficulty expressing this – but the horses that compete long term – they love it. It is not just that they are pleasing their human.

For instance, Syrahbia yesterday (Jane’s horse) did not want to go home. Every chance she had, she headed off on another track – she loves to explore. I swear she has marveled at the dawn views at the top of Mt Cole as much as I have. She loves being strong and healthy. I believe that only those horses that liked to live in the tent with Bedouins were bred – therefore the arab has developed into a creature that enjoys human company, loves to be fit and tough, loves exploring. I suspect they even like the sense of achievement.

Whereas Promise likes to achieve at the highest level – she is the consummate professional. She might be as happy in the show ring provided she was acknowledged???

Then you have a horse like Tas (similar breeding to Sarisha  (the horse that achieved it’s 11^th Quilty buckle)). These horses are unbelievably tough and extraordinarily competitive. Most excel at endurance and are impatient to WIN. Not just compete. And the rider better know how to hang on because their will to win dominates their character. Even at liberty, Tas will always go wide past the lead mare (and risk her wrath!) so she can win when they are allowed to gallop in the back paddock.

To me, endurance is not just about me convincing my horses to do what I love. It is allowing them to experience what they love – camping together, exploring together, being tough, – and sometimes excelling.

Thanks for that additional perspective, Jane.