It is intriguing to me that many of the ‘problems’ that people have with their horses are really insights to the owners’ own hearts.  Horses truly are the mirrors of ourselves if we allow our hearts to see the reflections. More importantly, allow our hearts to see the reflections and then allow our thinking to change as needed to move forward in any ‘problem solving’ that is a block with the horse.

When your horse exhibits frustration – are you frustrated?

When your horse is ‘misbehaving’ – is your heart feeling a bit rebellious about something?

When your horse is nervous or spooky – are you exceptionally worried about something?

When your horse is barging over you and not listening to him – are you truly listening and connecting with your horse? Or, are you experiencing an attack of the ‘what ifs’ ?

While Leadership is essential for the HORSE it is more affective for the owner; the handler, I think. In as much as the horse HAS to be either a leader or a follower I think that in every instance the owner/handler can get an insight into his or her own heart with every moment. Even with most difficult rogue horses if the human changes his or her thinking that horse will listen and respond.

The Leadership role initiated by the human must be open and honest in order for the horse to become  fully connected with the attending human. That’s sometimes is a difficult task for the human, to say the least. The nooks and crannies in our own hearts hide the most difficult emotions we feel – those we feel are not acceptable to us, but more so – to others whom we feel are valuable in our lives. We feel that to allow those feelings to expose themselves would weaken us.  “To thine own heart be true.” (author’s name forgotten right now) … means putting aside any concerns over what someone else might feel about our own feelings, our own emotions and accepting what is in our hearts. At the very moment we accept our own hearts and emotions the horse will accept us. But until we are open and honest and true to ourselves the horse cannot be anything but a ‘rogue’ to us. To a horse – those things that are hidden and jump out of the trees/heart unexpectedly are those things that threaten his survival – they are horse eating monsters. Once those hidden things are displayed out in the open then the horse can examine and realize that its nothing more than a boogey man that lies in wait but once exposed, loses its power to eat horses.

In as much as we cannot connect with our horses until the hidden boogey men are exposed, we cannot even connect with our very selves – until we expose those hidden fears, frustrations, anger or other negative emotions that lie in wait in our own hearts.

Today, allow your horse to unveil your heart and see how the relationship begins to change between you and your horse. Blow those hidden boogey men right out of the trees and expose them – then you AND your horse can continue forward with your journey of the hearts.