Four Ways Horses are Healers
Horses are the most excellent teachers for humans regarding our healing and understanding of our energy field. In a natural setting, horses are fully grounded on Mother Earth. They are, for the most part, energetically open beings. They sense the energy of the environment and the intention within the animals and humans that are around them. The ability to read, engage, and move energy within themselves and others comes second nature to a horse. Many horses become masters at intentionally moving energy in their environment and during Coaching with Horses sessions. Other horses may have sensitivities to energy but may not reach such levels of mastery. Instead, they may continue to be reactive, unaware, or unproductive in their use of energy. In doing so, they remain at a lower-ranking within the herd than those horses who have developed emotional and energetic mastery.
In the world of Coaching with Horses or Equine Facilitated Learning, horses have stepped up to be our teachers, guides, space holders, and healers for human beings of all types. Through the last fifteen years of facilitating this unique and profound work, I have watched hundreds of horses closely during sessions. I am fascinated by their responses and movements around the client. Many of the horses show up in a way that I least expect, and when I travel, they show a side of their personality that often shocks their owners. The horses have full liberty to be the horse they were born to be, which is sometimes the opposite of what their owners see. In this work, horses can be authentically themselves releasing all of the conditioning and conforming that is typically expected from them when they are with humans. As I hold space and facilitate a person through their experience with a horse, I also can notice the subtleties of communication and energy exchange between the horse and a human. I am always amazed at the patterns I see and how the horses are participating in helping to shift energetic or emotional patterns held in the consciousness of the human.
My students often ask me:
What are the horses doing with the energy we are offering them?
What can we learn about myself and my energy field during the process?
Why are horses so willing to be the conduit of change for humans?
There are many ways that horses work with us and help us to see our energetic contribution (our current energy we are offering others). They also help humans to understand their energetic signature or one’s continual energetic offering to the world. Without an understanding of who we are at an emotional and energetic level and how to master agility within our energy field, we can become much like a horse who never matures enough to be trusted or given a job that requires grounding and presence. We won’t believe our self, and others also won’t trust us. Without knowing ourselves at an intimate level, we will lack the ability to allow our real soul’s calling to emerge and to feel we are living the life we were born to live.
I have studied horses for years and have found several ways that they move energy. There are four common ways that h
orses work with our energy field and how we might better understand the horse’s nature and also the collective teachings they are bestowing upon us. The horse, as an open vessel or what I call an “acoustical being,” (a being of sound and light waves) receives every aspect of our energy, including our mind, our emotions, and our intentions, both conscious and unconscious. What are the unique ways that they respond to and work with what we are offering them? The four common ways are Horse as Mirror, Horse as Sponge, Horse as Diffuser, and Horse as Spiritual Alchemist.
If you have engaged with horses before most certainly, you have experienced the power of Horse as Mirror. The Horse as a mirror is a widespread concept in the Equine Facilitated Learning field of work. The horse responds to what the human offers energetically and at all levels of consciousness. The response shows up through a clear expression in their body, and the horse responds to it. If we (or the client) are feeling lonely and rejected, the horse moves away and affirms the deep-seated belief of our worthiness. The movement is subtle, but the message and reflection powerful.
When we feel frustrated, fearful, and anxious, the horse brings that energy into their body and begins to move around, paw the ground, trot, or if it escalated, may move into a canter. The horse goes into an energetic resonance with the human’s emotions, just as they would with other horses in a herd. The horse does not consider a different behavior. Instead, the horse mirrors what is being offered by the humans back to the human. A skilled coach knows how to work with the client to help them modulate their emotions and bring energy into check. As the emotional energy becomes more contained, it prevents the energy within the horse from potentially escalating even further, causing unneeded displays of anxiousness, anxiety, fear, or worry. They respond to information in the energy (emotion) the human is offering in the way that it works for them at that time. The mirroring effect is powerful and can be stunning or jarring to the client’s experience. However, the horse is revealing an unconscious aspect of the human. It is the human’s choice to embrace the offering from the horse. If they awaken to the messages, better decisions can be made on an emotional, spiritual, and mental level.
Whenever we are working with any animals, it behooves us to ask: “What is this animal mirroring back to me about my mood, emotional state of consciousness, and energy ?” “What is my horse showing me about myself?” When the horse is a mirror, it projects back to the human, the energetic content of the human.
A second way a horse works with the mood or emotion that a human offer is when the horse becomes an energetic sponge. I have seen this very often in situations where horses feel it is their purpose or agreement to take on the energy of others, to be the healer, or to fulfill a job or purpose within their environment. The horse will embrace the human energetically and begin to take on the human’s uncomfortable energy patterns so that the human may feel better. I call this horse a Horse as Sponge. Often, this will happen when emotions such as sadness, grief, hopelessness, and a lack of confidence arise in the human. The process can be subtle or dramatic.
The human, who may or may not be in touch with the energy of their body, may leave not knowing what transpired in the time with the horse. However, they generally feel better. The horse is merely trying to be of service. The sponging effect can become very detrimental to the well-being of the horse if the horse isn’t taught how to move energy productively. Often the horses pick up this way of processing energy through the example that the human counterparts are unconsciously modeling. When a horse becomes a sponge, they take energy from the human’s energy field into their body, and it can become stuck. They are caretaking to a very high degree. Ultimately, we want to remind and teach domesticated horses how to naturally run energy through their bodies and release unwanted energies they have picked up from others through the earth or their grounding.
There is also the dynamic of Horse as Diffuser. The diffuser energy of a horse is when the horse has become a little more masterful at managing their energy than the horse that is the sponge. As the diffuser of energy, the horse is very clear about its own space and how to manage or “run” their energy to maintain their stance, energy bubble, and a powerful healing heart. These horses are often the “glue” in the herd. They are the peacemakers and peacekeepers. They are usually in the background and do not require a lot of recognition for their contributions. The human that experiences the Horse as Diffuser may experiencing emotion arising in their body, and then the feeling alters and subsides. The horse, more than likely, is watching purposefully, licking and chewing and letting the energy move through. The horse may be active or standing. A shift will happen in the energy field of the human, and they often feel uplifted, more hopeful, their heart is more open, and calmness prevails over the confusion, frustration, or anger they felt at the beginning. The horse that is the diffuser feels no need to rescue the human but instead is a master at holding space and witnessing the human’s process. A horse powerfully allows the energy that the human is offering to be present, and then gracefully enables the energy to flow once the human has reached a non-resistant state.
Horse as Spiritual Alchemist is when the horse changes energetic patterns in another. The human can experience a shift that lasts forever, removing all traces of what was, and a new, better present reality is created. These horses are masterful energetic healers that can hold space for another’s process, and actively help to release and transmute the unproduced energy patterns or cycles. The Horse as Spiritual Alchemist focuses on the transmutation of something into a superior form. The horse who is the spiritual alchemist help to awaken consciousness and most often does so in the most subtle of ways. The human often feels altered in a non-describable way. They lack the words, thought process, or ability to articulate what happened. During the process, there can be a sense of timelessness in the environment. Often at my ranch, additional environmental components play out, such as; flocks of birds perch on the tree limbs offering their orchestra of song, a silence of human activity prevails, and there is a sense of stillness in the air.
Additionally, the rest of my herd will stand by and watch. The horses lick and chew as the session transpires, contributing the power of their presence to the session. Experiencing a Horse as Spiritual Alchemist can be a mystical journey that can be life-changing as it goes deep into a cellular level.
Have you ever considered how it comes to be that you feel better when you are with horses? Do you ever experience an energetic weight being lifted after you spend time with them? Do you have a tendency also to be sensitive to the energy of others, and if so, which of the four types mentioned best describe you?
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Inspiring true stories of how horses teach humans and heal their hearts. Horses are sensitive creatures with hearts 
ten times larger than humans and much more to share with us than meets the eye. Life Lessons offers poignant short stories about the trials and tribulations of befriending horses. Equine expert Kathy Pike brings you on a healing journey that includes lessons a wild horse taught her, how horses teach humans in her equine facilitated learning programs, and personal insights about living off the land and engaging with the dynamics of a herd each day.
My favorite interview to date. I fell in love with Frederieke and
enjoyed my time with her so much…
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Get your own signed copy! – Life Lessons from the Heart of Horses: How Horses Teach Us About Relationships and Healing
Inspiring true stories of how horses teach humans and heal their hearts. Horses are sensitive creatures with hearts ten times larger than humans and much more to share with us than meets the eye. Life Lessons offers poignant short stories about the trials and tribulations of befriending horses. Equine expert Kathy Pike brings you on a healing journey that includes lessons a wild horse taught her, how horses teach humans in her equine facilitated learning programs, and personal insights about living off the land and engaging with the dynamics of a herd each day.
My favorite interview to date. I fell in love with Frederieke and enjoyed my time with her so much…
Kathy Pike, found of The Academy for Coaching with Horses, is interviewed by Frederieke Karin van der Lijn for Oude Wijsheid – Nieuw Bewustzijn
(Ancient Wisdom – New Consciousness).
Hi Cathy,
My husband and i have been blessed to have a Equine Facilitated program in Costa for 10 years. I have read all your books and receiving your newsletters for years. I think your fantastic. I am interested in your Horse as an Alchemist, but did not see a detailed description of the program. For example is it all on line, or part in Tuscan? What is the cost. Can you please send me that information, so i can make a decision, if i should register.
Thank you for your assistance.
Horse blessings
Marsha Friedman
Hello Marsha– would love to have you at the Horse Alchemist. I sent you the information so let me know if you need more information. Kathy
Hi,
Thank you for these very interesting insights into energy movement in human-horse relationships. I’d be very curious and interested to hear how you teach a horse (from Horse as a Sponge) to move energy more efficiently and learn to release it? What is your approach?
Hi,
I am the MI Networking Coordinator for Eagala and also an ES. I am preparing a class for Sept and saw this and went wow. You are truly gifted in the area of knowing your herd and I would love to learn more about that.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge free as I am not in a place to be able to afford to take your courses at this time due to my daughter having a baby and getting married this year! lol Yes lots going on.
My dream is to one day get your certification as I have researched may options and I believe yours connects the best to the equine friends/partners we work with.
Thanks again,
Beth
I think one or both of my mares were diffusers for me yesterday. I was feeling very anxious about that day’s clinic. As I said positive affirmations to release my anxiety and build my confidence, Pearl moved away from me, but she was licking and chewing as I said the affirmations aloud. The anxiety dissipated, and I felt much better. My other mare was behind me, so I don’t know what she was doing.
Wonderful blog! I definitely see three different types in my herd of three. And one is definitely a sponge. I would love to learn how to move his energy as he does soak it up he fits the description to a tee.
I hope this is the year I’m able to enroll in a course and begin offering EFL at my farm.
Kathy is truly a valuable mentor to me and her books are prized possessions in my collection 🙂
Hello Lori–thank you for your kinds words. Reach out when you are ready to come into the program!