Equine Leadership
Natalie told me that when she first saw Munroe he reminded her of Phil who had been a big, brawny man in life full of confidence and swagger. Natalie told me that she knew this was Phil's way, with the help of Munroe and Onxy, of telling her that he wanted her to move on. Natalie felt that when Munroe lay down and let another horse step up and in to his space and even rest his muzzle on Munroe's head (something that is unusual horse behaviour) was Phil showing her that he was laying down to let another person come in and take his place . The dance of both horses rolling together was for Natalie a message that Phil would always be with her but that there was room for her to love again and deeply and that it was good. Natalie told me when this thought came into her head both horses stopped rolling and then Munroe got up and walked away leaving Natalie with the other horse that represented new love. Onyx stood with her in a final heart connection before he slowly walked away. We stood there in silence for many minutes in awe of what we had just experienced and the gift those horses had given us. Funnily enough true to Munroe's nature since he was not working with us he chased Onyx away from the water bowl to get a drink. Much more like the Munroe that I knew and loved. This showed us just how hard they had worked and how out of character they had been to get this message across to Natalie. I am pleased to report that a few weeks after our session she met the man that she did end up marrying and will be having a baby in a few short weeks. Building Playgrounds: Jack's mother was hoping time with the horses might help her son with his anxiety and ADHD. Jack is a sweet 8 year old boy who had a lot of nervous energy and he was very concerned about pleasing others and getting things right. His need to be perfect ended up paralyzing him and caused the anxiety he felt inside which led to melt downs. Jack had no experience with horses but was curious about them. Over the next 4 weeks we did many different exercises. We watched the horses over the fence where he felt safe, and observed them and their behaviour. We practiced being like horses looking though the eyes of a horse - the wide lens view, to listen like a horse picking up all the minute sounds, to feel the ground under our feet and feel our bodies and how they moved. When we got into the paddock with the horses Jack was able to notice how he felt, when one of the bigger horses came up to him at first he began to get anxious and hyper ventilate. I reminded him to breathe and asked him to take a few steps back and notice how he felt. When he realized he felt ok and not scared we stayed there as did the horse. He continued to practice breathing and when he was ready we slowly made our way over to the horse who stood so still for Jack. Jack was learning to self regulate without putting it into words. He was learning that when he felt anxiety in his body he could stop and breath, that he could take his time and wait till he felt safe and good in his body before moving forward. We did some leading of different horses and when Jack would let his mind wander I was able to gently remind him to be present with his horse. The horses helped a lot with little cues like perking their ears forward which I could use to ask Jack what he thought the horse heard, or was seeing. Over time you could see Jack on his own beginning to work with breathing around the horses, to be more present and aware of them and not so much in his anxious mind.
February 2017
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