Personal Healing Journey – Part 2 of 4: Horses as teachers

Horses are our teachers. 

My understanding of energy work, mind-body-soul connection, and the power of grace all started with the many lessons that horses have taught me over the years. For me, the biggest lessons happened in the pastures with the horses by learning how to build a relationship with them through connection. 

Horses helped me find the ability to trust again. That trust led me to having respect for myself. From finding trust and respect in myself I was finally willing to have hope that I could learn how to live life without being lost in a sea of pain, trauma, and isolation. 

This week we are diving into Stage One of the Unbridled Change Method – living your life! In stage one you learn how to break free from feeling like you are just surviving life to being empowered to live your authentic life. In this short vlog I share a little about the first horse teacher I had – Schedule A. 

Horses are, by nature, sentient beings that want to be in relationship and balance with the world around them. As I shared in the video, when I was recovering from my illness at 13, I didn’t understand humans. They didn’t make sense to me because they would say one thing and do something different. I felt at odds with the human world because most of the time nothing “matched.” I couldn’t trust it. But I could trust horses. 

Why could I trust a horse and not a human?

Horses act in alignment with the world around them. They don’t lie to us. They didn’t judge us based on what we wear or how we look. They only cared and respond to one thing: how did we treat them and ourselves. If we are willing to be trustworthy and respectful with them, ask for our needs fairly and without hurting them, I have found that they actually want to not only be around us but they want to be in partnership with us!

Our programs Unbridled Hope and Unbridled Healing work off this premise. They combine the therapeutic process of bringing awareness to our thoughts and limiting beliefs that are causing us to loose willingness and the process of developing a real life connection of building a relationship with a horse based on the principles of trust, respect, and willingness. This combination creates a way for you to actually see, feel, and interact with your own patterns (the good, the bad and the sometime ugly) in the dynamics of relationship building verses solely self-reflection. 

Then, just like Schedule did for me, you have a chance to discover any “blocks” that might be preventing you from stepping into a healthy relationship. Another huge benefit of working with horses through equine partnered psychotherapy is that you have the option to practice new skills of living by working through those blocks as they appear. 

The “therapy” happens organically, in the moment based on the horse interaction and then processing with the mental health professional on the team.

Stage One is all about understanding what is blocking us, embracing our strengths, and working to heal and repair trust and respect in ourselves so that we can move out of just surviving and our living the life we want! Up next in this series I share a little more about Stage 2 in our method – learning to be open to and create loving your life.

Sending light and love on your journey — Michelle

P.S. I you feel that one of our programs can help support you or your child’s healing journey apply for a free consultation to see if working with our team might be the turning point you have been searching for.