Equine Leadership
A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE Looking through the eyes of a horse By: Esta G. Bernstein, U.S.A.
“There is nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse. ~ John Lubbock” No truer words were ever said. As we look deep into the behaviors and emotions of our equine companions, we discover a wealth of information about our own actions, reactions, and habits. As we go down this rabbit-hole, we discover how horses bring us to a level of awareness, including awareness of our life’s transitions. They can help us overcome the challenges that these transitions present. As we examine the energetic communication between our horses and ourselves, we see that they have always held the key for us to become comfortable with change.
CHANGE IS NOT THE END… IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING Horses and humans are creatures of habit. Both species are very comfortable with consistency, February 2021
routine, and things that are familiar. Emotions and behaviors change in these species when their routines are disrupted. What emotional or behavior changes do horses go through when a herd member departs, or a new one arrives? When we are asking a horse to calm down, are we really speaking to ourselves? Are they our perfect mirrors when dealing with change? How do we step out of ego and realize that they are feeding us valuable information about ourselves? Based on my experience, the answer is “yes,” horses can mirror our emotions to a “T.” Within these past thirty years of my rescuing and rehabilitating horses, I have seen an array of equine emotions and reactions on display, based on my own mood when I arrive at the barn, as well as observing their behavior when new or
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