Connection
By: Mary Joy Johnson
I have read a lot recently about how new research is showing us that humans benefit from time in nature. We have the revolution in ‘Green Care’ with GP’s ‘prescribing’ time in nature. To me, that’s like saying fish benefit from being in water, or suggesting that we might do well to draw in the occasional lung full of air. Exciting and timely as this ‘revolution’ is, this is not news. In fact, the ‘news’ is that living the way we have, particularly for the last fifty years or so, is not natural and that so much of what ails us is borne from the stress of disconnection from our true identity, within the wider natural world.
It speaks to me, that where I seek to offer a species appropriate environment for the horses in my care, I might do well to investigate, psychologically, emotionally, socially and physiologically, the true nature of a species appropriate environment for myself and the clients who choose to work with me, stripping us down to our most basic identity as a species, i.e. the horse - Equus Caballus and humans – Homo Sapiens. Where do we need to be and how do we need to feel in order to be content, regulated and in touch with ourselves and others in a symbiotic, full and rich way?
I wonder how much of our evolution happened through the attunement and co-regulation possible from our interactions with other beings, co-sentient neighbours on the plains, forests and mountains. If so, when did we stop and unlearn this, our most ancient trait, to locate and regulate ourselves through our connection with the natural world?
Evolution
Humans are the result of millions of years of evolution, as far back as ‘Millennium man’1 (Orrorin Tugenensis), believed to have existed somewhere between 5.8 and 6.1 million years ago, through to Australopithecus Afarensis2 from over 4 million years ago. (A fossilized example of which was discovered and fondly named ‘Lucy’ - which is slightly easier to say!). Then on to the original ‘spring chicken’ herself, ‘Mitochondrial Eve’, a mere 200,000 years ago. We have lain in the arch of time, evolving and adapting, being part of the earth, in rhythm with and connected with the wider ecosystem, for millennia. We are old. We are ancient. But horses (Equids) are older still, having evolved from ancestors (Eohippus) that existed some 60 million years ago.
When archeologists found the fossils of one of our earliest ancestors, ‘Millennium Man’, one of the ways they confirmed the age of the fossils was by comparing what other mammals were present in the surrounding strata. Fossils of the early ancestors of horses (Equids) were found. This shows that the early ancestors of man were in the same environments as horses (and millions of other species) for many hundreds of thousands of years - evolving alongside, adapting and changing as the landscapes, climate and circumstances dictated.
Interestingly, it is believed that we only learned to speak somewhere between 150,000-50,000 years ago. That’s not very long ago at all in the grand scheme of things. It leaves a whole heap of time prior to language, operating instinctually, using our physiology and subsequent behaviour, and our nervous system, as our primary communication tool. This is something we can reconnect with physiologically, whilst in the non-verbal soup of sensory interaction with horses in a natural setting. But we have to relearn these skills, feel into our nervous systems and learn to listen to our bodies with new (old!) ears.
It is analogous to blowing cobwebs off an old, much loved car that’s been left in bits at the back of a garage, on the eternal ‘to do’ (but never done) list. Sometimes we turn the key and there is nothing. No sound, no reply. Other times we might do well to stand back and wear goggles as it spits and farts out toxic plumes of accumulated dust and debris. But before long, through the gentle application of time, care and wisdom, we can feel into the low rumble of our connected selves. Our nervous systems offer us the most sublime journey through life. It was never meant to be smooth. We were crafted within a dynamic and shifting landscape with pitfalls, high peaks and lions and tigers and bears (Oh My!).
The joy of connection is to get back into the driving seat of our nervous system; that finessed and attuned, safety seeking and safety making device. This connection is to understand our thresholds, triggers, what soothes us and aids connection rather than being dragged behind on a reactionary, hair-raising, white-knuckle ride!
Yet homeostasis, even as a potential, is a miracle! The process cannot be rushed or over-simplified. It is a personal, dynamic journey for everyone and can have complexities relating to an individual’s life experiences, resilience and exposure to trauma.
I find it reassuring that, like in the time of Millennium Man, horses still live alongside us now, albeit in a different, mainly domesticated way. Our domestication and use of horses over thousands of years has compounded the imprint of this deep connection in our psyches. But remember, our few thousand years of connection with domesticated horses is perhaps a mere blink of an eye in terms of our ancestral connection with them as co-sentient, co-wild beings.
We can hold this quality of connection in a light, curious and fun way when with horses: by just noticing where we plant our feet when we stand, what moves as we brush by the trees or hedgerows, how the light and air touches our skin, seeing which birds are moving above and watching them land, perch and take off again. Thus connected we can take in the wholeness of the moment, quietly mulling on where we and the horses fit, right now, in our current ecosystem.
Through Equine Facilitated interventions we can create safe spaces to experiment with what connection feels like for ourselves; in groups, teams or with family members and friends. We can turn on our ‘engines’, or more simply, just acknowledge that they are there and have always been there, humming, spluttering, connecting us always to the sensorial soup of being alive.
There is a myriad of reasons for why someone’s nervous system may not be optimal. Why anxiety or trauma responses, for example, can be prolonged and embedded. Working with a practitioner who has in-depth knowledge and Trauma-Informed professional psycho-therapeutic training is recommended for those who have experienced trauma. They too can ignite a new connection to self, to safety and to the world. Horses can be their exquisite, sentient companion as they travel this road.
I wonder how much of our evolution happened through the attunement and co-regulation possible from our interactions with other beings, co-sentient neighbours on the plains, forests and mountains. If so, when did we stop and unlearn this, our most ancient trait, to locate and regulate ourselves through our connection with the natural world?
Evolution
Humans are the result of millions of years of evolution, as far back as ‘Millennium man’1 (Orrorin Tugenensis), believed to have existed somewhere between 5.8 and 6.1 million years ago, through to Australopithecus Afarensis2 from over 4 million years ago. (A fossilized example of which was discovered and fondly named ‘Lucy’ - which is slightly easier to say!). Then on to the original ‘spring chicken’ herself, ‘Mitochondrial Eve’, a mere 200,000 years ago. We have lain in the arch of time, evolving and adapting, being part of the earth, in rhythm with and connected with the wider ecosystem, for millennia. We are old. We are ancient. But horses (Equids) are older still, having evolved from ancestors (Eohippus) that existed some 60 million years ago.
When archeologists found the fossils of one of our earliest ancestors, ‘Millennium Man’, one of the ways they confirmed the age of the fossils was by comparing what other mammals were present in the surrounding strata. Fossils of the early ancestors of horses (Equids) were found. This shows that the early ancestors of man were in the same environments as horses (and millions of other species) for many hundreds of thousands of years - evolving alongside, adapting and changing as the landscapes, climate and circumstances dictated.
Interestingly, it is believed that we only learned to speak somewhere between 150,000-50,000 years ago. That’s not very long ago at all in the grand scheme of things. It leaves a whole heap of time prior to language, operating instinctually, using our physiology and subsequent behaviour, and our nervous system, as our primary communication tool. This is something we can reconnect with physiologically, whilst in the non-verbal soup of sensory interaction with horses in a natural setting. But we have to relearn these skills, feel into our nervous systems and learn to listen to our bodies with new (old!) ears.
It is analogous to blowing cobwebs off an old, much loved car that’s been left in bits at the back of a garage, on the eternal ‘to do’ (but never done) list. Sometimes we turn the key and there is nothing. No sound, no reply. Other times we might do well to stand back and wear goggles as it spits and farts out toxic plumes of accumulated dust and debris. But before long, through the gentle application of time, care and wisdom, we can feel into the low rumble of our connected selves. Our nervous systems offer us the most sublime journey through life. It was never meant to be smooth. We were crafted within a dynamic and shifting landscape with pitfalls, high peaks and lions and tigers and bears (Oh My!).
The joy of connection is to get back into the driving seat of our nervous system; that finessed and attuned, safety seeking and safety making device. This connection is to understand our thresholds, triggers, what soothes us and aids connection rather than being dragged behind on a reactionary, hair-raising, white-knuckle ride!
Yet homeostasis, even as a potential, is a miracle! The process cannot be rushed or over-simplified. It is a personal, dynamic journey for everyone and can have complexities relating to an individual’s life experiences, resilience and exposure to trauma.
I find it reassuring that, like in the time of Millennium Man, horses still live alongside us now, albeit in a different, mainly domesticated way. Our domestication and use of horses over thousands of years has compounded the imprint of this deep connection in our psyches. But remember, our few thousand years of connection with domesticated horses is perhaps a mere blink of an eye in terms of our ancestral connection with them as co-sentient, co-wild beings.
We can hold this quality of connection in a light, curious and fun way when with horses: by just noticing where we plant our feet when we stand, what moves as we brush by the trees or hedgerows, how the light and air touches our skin, seeing which birds are moving above and watching them land, perch and take off again. Thus connected we can take in the wholeness of the moment, quietly mulling on where we and the horses fit, right now, in our current ecosystem.
Through Equine Facilitated interventions we can create safe spaces to experiment with what connection feels like for ourselves; in groups, teams or with family members and friends. We can turn on our ‘engines’, or more simply, just acknowledge that they are there and have always been there, humming, spluttering, connecting us always to the sensorial soup of being alive.
There is a myriad of reasons for why someone’s nervous system may not be optimal. Why anxiety or trauma responses, for example, can be prolonged and embedded. Working with a practitioner who has in-depth knowledge and Trauma-Informed professional psycho-therapeutic training is recommended for those who have experienced trauma. They too can ignite a new connection to self, to safety and to the world. Horses can be their exquisite, sentient companion as they travel this road.
Here… Now…
For those who are experiencing this lost connection - this trauma, particularly in light of the larger political global confusion and climate change challenges we face, at a time when so many have lost trust and connection with themselves and the natural world, horses are the reminder, the ‘evidence’, that you and I exist and have agency. They see you and quietly confirm that your connection has NOT been lost. You may have work to do, but you are here. You really ARE here, with them. Connected. Now.
This is the gift of time spent with horses in a natural setting*. The invitation to step back home, where we most feel, know, suspect, or are intrigued to find out, who we truly are - where there is no effort for connection because here, connection is a way of life.
Beyond proximity, connection is a quality of presence, regulation and homeostasis. It is a quality of freedom even, as the quiet optimization of our internal world creates new opportunities, choices and outcomes. We, like horses, have been purpose built, over millennia, to live in connection and we need it now, perhaps more than ever. ~*~
For those who are experiencing this lost connection - this trauma, particularly in light of the larger political global confusion and climate change challenges we face, at a time when so many have lost trust and connection with themselves and the natural world, horses are the reminder, the ‘evidence’, that you and I exist and have agency. They see you and quietly confirm that your connection has NOT been lost. You may have work to do, but you are here. You really ARE here, with them. Connected. Now.
This is the gift of time spent with horses in a natural setting*. The invitation to step back home, where we most feel, know, suspect, or are intrigued to find out, who we truly are - where there is no effort for connection because here, connection is a way of life.
Beyond proximity, connection is a quality of presence, regulation and homeostasis. It is a quality of freedom even, as the quiet optimization of our internal world creates new opportunities, choices and outcomes. We, like horses, have been purpose built, over millennia, to live in connection and we need it now, perhaps more than ever. ~*~
* Author’s note: I am always mindful to contextualise and consider the compromised environment within which I may be asking my horses to interact with us. In so doing I have been led on my own journey of healing and remembering our profound connection with the natural world. I owe them my deepest gratitude and by way of honouring that I commit to improving the understanding of horses’ innate needs as large, grazing, herd living, sentient mammals - beyond equestrianism, to a paradigm of species appropriate, equine-centric lifestyle and management which promotes liberty and body sovereignty.
References:
1. Brigitte Senut, Martin Pickford, Dominique Gommery, Pierre Mein, Kiptalam Cheboi, Yves Coppens
https://web.archive.org/web/20140226104334/http://www2.ku.edu/~lba/courses/articles/ORRORIN.pdf
2. Johanson, Donald; Edey, Maitland (1981), Lucy, the Beginnings of Humankind, St Albans: Granada, ISBN 0-586-08437-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Johanson
References:
1. Brigitte Senut, Martin Pickford, Dominique Gommery, Pierre Mein, Kiptalam Cheboi, Yves Coppens
https://web.archive.org/web/20140226104334/http://www2.ku.edu/~lba/courses/articles/ORRORIN.pdf
2. Johanson, Donald; Edey, Maitland (1981), Lucy, the Beginnings of Humankind, St Albans: Granada, ISBN 0-586-08437-1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Johanson
Mary Joy Johnson BIO
Mary-Joy Johnson is trained in the IFEEL Method* of Equine Facilitated Human Development and Equine Facilitated Psychotraumatology and works with the IFEEL Centre*, The Dare To Live Trust and runs a small private practice, Equine Centre For Change, in East Sussex, UK. She is passionate about Trauma Informed practice for all models of EFL, in recognition of the profoundly powerful nature of this field, emotionally, psychologically and physiologically and its potential effects on clients, our equine partners and facilitators.
As well as being guardian to 4 wonderful horses she is also a mum of 3 beautiful (human) bubs (who are old enough now to not want to be called ‘bubs’, but they will ever be thus!) Mary-Joy is a birth and adoptive mum and advocates for better, more effective,
Trauma-Informed statutory services to support families with children from difficult beginnings. In her private practice she is now focusing on supporting adopters and foster carers to care for and nurture themselves, so they can become the well regulated, congruent, empathic and attuned caregivers their children need.
*IFEEL Centre is the new name for IFEAL Qualifications from Spring 2019
www.IFEELcentre.com www.daretolive.org.uk www.equinecentreforchange.com
Mary-Joy Johnson is trained in the IFEEL Method* of Equine Facilitated Human Development and Equine Facilitated Psychotraumatology and works with the IFEEL Centre*, The Dare To Live Trust and runs a small private practice, Equine Centre For Change, in East Sussex, UK. She is passionate about Trauma Informed practice for all models of EFL, in recognition of the profoundly powerful nature of this field, emotionally, psychologically and physiologically and its potential effects on clients, our equine partners and facilitators.
As well as being guardian to 4 wonderful horses she is also a mum of 3 beautiful (human) bubs (who are old enough now to not want to be called ‘bubs’, but they will ever be thus!) Mary-Joy is a birth and adoptive mum and advocates for better, more effective,
Trauma-Informed statutory services to support families with children from difficult beginnings. In her private practice she is now focusing on supporting adopters and foster carers to care for and nurture themselves, so they can become the well regulated, congruent, empathic and attuned caregivers their children need.
*IFEEL Centre is the new name for IFEAL Qualifications from Spring 2019
www.IFEELcentre.com www.daretolive.org.uk www.equinecentreforchange.com