“The moment we sit on the saddle, we see the world in front of us in different colors”.
There must be more than hundreds reasons why people all around the world enjoy horses and horseback riding. A horse is not the same as a dog, cat, or other domesticated animal. Most non-equestrians, as you may have noticed, will “turn off” within the first five minutes of your description of that fantastic new feeling you discovered the other day while riding. Who has never tried horse riding cannot completely understand the deep connection between a horse and his rider.
While riding a horse we feel part of something bigger. We create a binomial with another living being. For a couple of hours, we are part of exhilarating movements and act as witnesses to the physical power of one of the most beautiful animals on planet Earth.
We borrow strength, grace, power and freedom from our horses. We give in exchange care, wisdom and confidence. All the challenges, whether physical or emotions are immediately forgotten the moment we place our seat on our horse’s back. Horse riding has antidepressant effects as it helps to drop the levels of stress hormones. Horse riding is also a natural stimulator for the production of Serotonin, which is known as a mood enhancer, when this is released we feel a sense of well being and happiness.
Do horses perceive our emotions?
As well, horses feel the bond with their riders. As prey animals, they have developed all kinds of senses to recognize danger from very far. Their well known flight-or-fight behavior protected this species from many predators (human included). Horses have been domesticated more than 6000 years ago and they are now part of many human cultures. Especially in the arabic culture, have played a vital role for centuries and are now one of the UAE symbols along with the Ghaf tree and the falcon.
Horses can read our feelings in a very accurate way even before we are fully aware of them. By smelling specific odors in human sweat, they recognize our emotions such as fear or happiness. Something we must always remember as equestrians, our mood affects our horse as well.
Whenever we feel anxious, fearful or insecure, we cannot guide our horse the way we want to. In the age we live in, it’s becoming normal to shut down our emotions to follow a group or to achieve some kind of results. As equestrians, we must ensure to be honest both with ourselves and our horse.
As human beings, we have far more distractions than our horses have. A bad day at the office, a whatsapp message that didn’t get a reply back, a family issue. All of those things can affect our mental state and our humor.
This all post it’s about saying that it’s ok if today you don’t feel like jumping the same height as yesterday. It is ok for you to skip the arena lesson to enjoy an hour in the paddock with your horse instead. It’s ok if you don’t feel safe enough to canter 30km because your back hurts. Feel and follow your gut, always and ever. Your horse will thank you as well for didn’t putting you in a situation you don’t want to be in the first place. No external judgments are as important as your horse’s. Your reputation with him it’s the only thing that really matters. Remember this next time we go to the stable.
Let’s make every ride as a “Heart-full” one.
Some books I would love to advice to deep dive into the equestrian mind’s topic:
Perfect mind: Perfect ride
By Dr. Inga Wolfram
I hope it rains
The Confidence Manual for the nervous rider, by H.U. Owen
Horse brain, human brain
The Neuroscience of horsemanship by Janet Jones
