As I sit down to write about what it is that moves me so in my work bringing people together with horses, I’m reminded of the many stories I’ve heard and read about peoples’ experiences. “The horse seems to understand me,” or “I can’t explain why the equine-assisted sessions with my spouse are so powerful, but they are!” Or, while interacting with horses loose in a pasture who, on occasion, walk away from a participant; “I realized I had a choice about how I react to others’ actions.” Science can explain the significant lowering of our heart rate when weare being quiet together with horses; it is the expansive range of their electromagnetic field affecting us and the generous size of their heart which determines slower heart rate, and yet, there is so much more they invite us to discover.

Horses, with a kind eye, are looking at us but past the exterior self we show to the world. They can see deep into the essence of who we are, actually feel who we are, as well as where we are emotionally in the given moment, then give us honest, instant feedback. By losing ourselves in their appraising gaze, we become mindful; we can anchor in the present moment. Anxiety falls away, because that’s about the future; depression lessens because that’s about the past. There is the moment when we key in to listen to our heart knowledge. We hear things we did not hear before, smell things we did not smell before, and see things we did not notice before the connection with the horse, and his kind eye