Why Horses?
Horses are prey animals which makes them highly alert to their surroundings and any threat that may be present. Horses are deeply somatic beings and their greatest need to be met is knowing, trusting that they are safe. Their survival depends upon the accuracy of this instinct. As they live in a social herd they rely upon one another to ensure this trusted safety. Over millennia horses have become prime experts in nonverbal communication. False rapport is possible when interacting with humans, it will not pass 7 seconds with a horse!
Learning to communicate with horses requires an appreciation for all the messages we send and receive as it demands patience, gentleness, self-confidence, sensitivity, focus and a keen awareness. Horses are large but also easily frightened – their survival as prey animals depends upon them being finely tuned to body language, emotional tone and to the position or movement of objects and other beings within their sensory fields.
By reflecting back to us the most subtle signals of our intent (that we may not be conscious of) the horses can teach us to be much more aware of the messages that we convey. Horses also can help us refine our instinctual, intuitive and sensory faculties that may have dulled due to pressure of exams/schooling, scientific reasoning, logical diagnosis, and clinical decision making. As horses can be fast, mighty and sometimes unpredictable animals – they can challenge us to overcome our fears/indecision and develop confidence, courage and conviction.
Why Horses for Medical Professionals? How Does this Relate to Patient Care?
Because health science education stresses most of its training on intellectual excellence, much less attention is placed on proficient communication, both verbal and non-verbal. Interacting with a flighty, prey animal who is ultimately tuned into its own safety brings medical providers to a place where they can experiment with various approaches to find creative solutions while also processing frustrations, fears, and insecurities and learning to manage conflicting feelings by enlisting collegial support. This can mirror many aspects of how the stringency of modern healthcare can make authentic communication and connection difficult. Through this work, professionals are able to see firsthand the effects of emotional in-congruence and increase their sensitivity to non-verbal awareness. As they develop the poise and self-control to deal with a 1000 pound being, their ability to monitor and modulate the same trusted feelings of safety, treatment and trust for their real human clients is refined.
By reflecting back to us the most subtle signals of our intent (that we may not be conscious of), Horses teach us to be much more aware of the body language messages that we convey. Horses also can help us refine our instinctual, intuitive and sensory faculties that may have dulled due to all the pressures and regulations in the business of becoming and being a medical professional. As horses can be fast, mighty and sometimes unpredictable animals – they challenge us to overcome our fears/indecision and develop confidence, courage and conviction. The loudest thing that we communicate is not in the spoken word. If we are able to convey trust, rapport and safety in our nonverbal language then all that is spoken has more meaning and compliance.
Humans have the same somatic intelligence that horses have developed so keenly. Societal norms have dumbed down our senses and intuition, however when we do not feel safe, do not feel protected, do not feel heard or cared for…we may not actually rear and run out of your exam room (but somatic-ally we want to). Then, when something goes wrong in their care, instead of trusting you to guide them with other options, that patient calls a lawyer (that may be the rearing part).
“Doctors would be far more respectful of their body language and bedside manners if their patients all weighed 1200 pounds; horses help medical students and professionals learn non-verbal communication skills demonstrating the powerful voice of our body’s language”
~ Dr. Allan Hamilton, MD, FACS
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