Whether you like it or not, a lot of what happens between you and your horse is based on something simple and undeniable: Energy. Above, that's my Sharif, he of 'exuberant' energy!
Oprah said: “You are responsible for your life. And what is your life? What is all life? What is every flower, every rock, every tree, every human being? Energy! What kind of energy do you have?"
As Oprah so passionately said it, in her final show: " ALL LIFE IS ENERGY, and we are transmitting it every moment. We are beaming it...little tiny signals, like radio frequencies, and the world is responding in kind."
During a lesson yesterday with a long-time student of Horsemanship with Heart, I made the comment that every time you go into the paddock to greet your horse, you need to ask yourself about the energy that surrounds you, because as we all know! - horses will pick up on that energy and respond in HONEST terms to that which we put out.
With my background in human personal development and motivation, the energy stuff is not new to me ... and it has helped enormously in my teachings with humans and their horses!
If you were your horse, watching you walk into their environment, what sort of aura would surround you?
An interesting case
I have a student whose horse was quite happy to be with her, be petted and brushed when standing free in her paddock, and the human was in her regular, non-riding clothes. Think about the energy that human might be putting out on a sunny day with the horse in the paddock, with no ropes or bridles or saddles or anything to say that she wanted something from the horse. All she hoped for was some acceptance of her love and affection. And the horse was calm and responsive.
Then, when she put on her riding outfit, and went to 'catch' her horse, it all changed. The horse did not want to be with her (ran away) and when she finally was able to bring her horse into the mounting area, she had all sorts of problems, having to tie the horse short to be able to brush, saddle and bridle. The horse would try to bite her if she didn't tie him up.
The student called her horse a Jeckel and Hyde.
What seems apparent to me is that the human had two sides to her, as well. And the energy she emitted was completely different in both cases. Which energy worked for her horse?
The energy we put out is directly related to our relationship with our horse. It is this energy that we need to learn to control, through consciousness of that energy. What an exciting thing this is! (Thanks Oprah, for the inspiration!)