The horse has been my greatest teacher in seeing the value of patience and honouring the souls path. There have been countless moments, especially with my own horses, where I have been asked to be patient. To honour the no and allow time to pass without doing. I often found myself wanting to be in fix mode, as a caring individual seeing a horse suffering or in pain can be hard to watch. But as I have experienced, the healing process doesn’t always play out the way I had envisioned. When connecting with the horse, I like to set the intension of listening with no agendas, no expectations and no attempt to ‘fix’. It is from this space that I am best able to hear the horse and honour their path. Honouring their path can look like veterinary care, it can look like body work sessions, Bach flower remedies to help clear emotional components or it can be being patient and doing nothing, or what feels like nothing. Giving them time and space to be, heal and process can be just as helpful as any other modality.
~ I’ve had the absolute honour of being asked to listen to the no ~
I’ve had the absolute honour of being asked to listen to the no. Whether that no was from a quiet whisper within my own body, the loud shouts to back off now or the clear message from a horse telling me not that, not today. Horses have a knowing within themselves, just as we humans do, of what their body, mind and soul need in order to be the best version of themselves possible. When we listen to the no: we build trust, we build love, we honour ourselves and we honour the souls that have crossed our paths. The body, mind and soul knows its best possible routes for healing. When we are unwilling to listen to the no, we push past boundaries, we can throw the body into the fight or flight response, we can create more pain then is necessary. By honouring the no we honour the path of the horse’s soul.
What happens when we honour the no?
- We build trust (in ourselves and the horses in us)
- We create space for the truth within ourselves and our horses, to come forward in exactly the right way and exactly the right time
- The body is kept in an optimal space for healing ie it doesn’t go into protection mode
- What needs to release or heal happens in a much softer, easier way – nothing is forced
- In body work, the body responds much quicker and the effects are long lasting, as we have listened to what the body can take at this time
- We don’t create more pain in our attempts to help fix
- The soul has space to act in it’s highest good
Sometimes time is the greatest healer. Processing time needed between times of great healing, is often required for the horse, as well as us humans. For example, forcing someone to confront an emotion that is too raw, will create more pain, then if they were to honor their process, leave the emotion as is and give their soul time to process before diving too deep. This is no different then in the horse. The body and soul can only take so much change at one time. As well as integrating time between shifts, whether that is physical or energetic, is required in order for them to adjust to their new way of being. Knowing how much to intervene and when is an integral part of the listening process. Time and space can be one of the most important healing modalities we have access too.
Situations where honouring the no can be the best way forward:
- No permission to connect to your horse – no means no
- No permission to gather information about a specific issue
- When tissue/bone in the body needs time to heal
- They have things set up the way they want it, and don’t want assistance at this time
- You or the practitioner you are working with is not the most appropriate for this horse at this time – someone else is needed in order to move forward and honor the soul
- Now is not the time for that specific treatment, it is best suited 6 months down the road, for example
- Another form of treatment is more appropriate than what is currently being offered to them
- We as humans are not meant to intervene. The horse has been sent down a path and chosen a path that is of their highest good, and we are not meant to ‘heal’ or change their direction. These are moments where we have to trust
Take home message
Honour the no
Listen to your horse
Sometimes time is the greatest healer and love is the only way forward
– Lauren, Willow & Cezanne