The Science of It All
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FEEL (Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning)® is a leading-edge modality for developing human potential where the horse is honored as our partner and teacher. In safe and gentle interactions with horses, people gain self-knowledge and acquire skills leading to positive life changes. It has been said that horse-assisted learning can effect change more rapidly.
One of the reasons is that instead of actively seeking to intellectually resolve past issues, new patterns of thoughts, feelings, and somatic experiences are being created and strengthened.
Let’s explore how horses can empower people to create powerful, transformative changes in their lives.
One of the reasons is that instead of actively seeking to intellectually resolve past issues, new patterns of thoughts, feelings, and somatic experiences are being created and strengthened.
Let’s explore how horses can empower people to create powerful, transformative changes in their lives.
What is it about the horse?
Horses are prey animals and this affects how they are built, how they learn, how they respond to their environment, how they protect and defend themselves, and how they socialize. What does it mean to be a prey animal? Prey means they are hunted by predators. Horses have ensured their species survival through highly sensitive observational skills and intuitive responses to their environment. Unlike humans who rely mainly on intellect, horses access the wisdom of their entire bodies, allowing them to read and respond to all the energies around them.
The horses are experts in communication allowing people to learn how to communicate effectively with others within safe boundaries. Psychologists have determined that less than 10 percent of our communication is verbal. (1) As such, horses help people understand their nonverbal cues, unconscious behaviour patterns, and the emotional import and intent of their words and actions.
Horses are prey animals and this affects how they are built, how they learn, how they respond to their environment, how they protect and defend themselves, and how they socialize. What does it mean to be a prey animal? Prey means they are hunted by predators. Horses have ensured their species survival through highly sensitive observational skills and intuitive responses to their environment. Unlike humans who rely mainly on intellect, horses access the wisdom of their entire bodies, allowing them to read and respond to all the energies around them.
The horses are experts in communication allowing people to learn how to communicate effectively with others within safe boundaries. Psychologists have determined that less than 10 percent of our communication is verbal. (1) As such, horses help people understand their nonverbal cues, unconscious behaviour patterns, and the emotional import and intent of their words and actions.
We are always communicating. Everything we think, feel, do and say sends out a message. Horses help us become aware of how we communicate on every level – verbally, mentally, physically and emotionally. They attune to the person and pay attention to their emotional state and body language. Horses actually listen to us at a much different and profound level. This resonance is a palpable sense of connection.
Emotions as a Language
Emotions are a vital connecting link between our body, mind, and spirit. They are fluid and carry large amounts of energy functioning as a tangible energetic force like a sound or smell that travels through the air. Our emotions are invisible, powerful, and full of information. You can walk into a room and feel a palpable sense of anger without anyone saying a word.
Our culture has often denied or minimized the importance of emotions as a sense, and in fact has encouraged the suppression of so-called negative emotions. By reclaiming our emotions, we learn that emotions are neither positive nor negative, and that all emotions are equal in their ability to give us information about where we are in our lives, and what things need to be changed in order to bring us back into balance.
To the horses, emotion is simply information, emotions are not good or bad. They feel an emotion, it moves through them, and then they “go back to grazing”. There is not a lot of emotional residue, as unlike humans, who tend to go into emotionality, horses do not repress emotions, or behave differently then how they feel.
Many of us are taught to fear our feelings however this only blocks our self-knowledge and truth. Our fears will recede if we allow our emotions to protect and inform us at a conscious level. FEEL Practitioners work with a tool called the Emotional Message Chart created by Linda Kohanov based on the work of Karla McLaren. It teaches the language of emotions: the ability to use emotion as information, get the message behind the emotion, adjust behaviour, relationship or environment, let the emotion go and return to balance.
Becoming more emotionally intelligent and agile, we become more like horses, able to read emotions as information and respond accordingly, not at the effect of our emotions and going into emotionality.
Harmonizing Our Three Brains
The neuro-scientists have finally done it! They have demonstrated that we have in fact three brains: the brain in our head, the brain in our heart, and the brain in our gut.
Emotions as a Language
Emotions are a vital connecting link between our body, mind, and spirit. They are fluid and carry large amounts of energy functioning as a tangible energetic force like a sound or smell that travels through the air. Our emotions are invisible, powerful, and full of information. You can walk into a room and feel a palpable sense of anger without anyone saying a word.
Our culture has often denied or minimized the importance of emotions as a sense, and in fact has encouraged the suppression of so-called negative emotions. By reclaiming our emotions, we learn that emotions are neither positive nor negative, and that all emotions are equal in their ability to give us information about where we are in our lives, and what things need to be changed in order to bring us back into balance.
To the horses, emotion is simply information, emotions are not good or bad. They feel an emotion, it moves through them, and then they “go back to grazing”. There is not a lot of emotional residue, as unlike humans, who tend to go into emotionality, horses do not repress emotions, or behave differently then how they feel.
Many of us are taught to fear our feelings however this only blocks our self-knowledge and truth. Our fears will recede if we allow our emotions to protect and inform us at a conscious level. FEEL Practitioners work with a tool called the Emotional Message Chart created by Linda Kohanov based on the work of Karla McLaren. It teaches the language of emotions: the ability to use emotion as information, get the message behind the emotion, adjust behaviour, relationship or environment, let the emotion go and return to balance.
Becoming more emotionally intelligent and agile, we become more like horses, able to read emotions as information and respond accordingly, not at the effect of our emotions and going into emotionality.
Harmonizing Our Three Brains
The neuro-scientists have finally done it! They have demonstrated that we have in fact three brains: the brain in our head, the brain in our heart, and the brain in our gut.
When you stand beside a horse, look into his eye, connect with your heart, and stroke their velvety muzzle, your heart opens, a feeling of pure love pools in your chest, and the tactile sense from your fingers allows you to feel sensations of softness. From here the feelings and sensations travel to your mind. In your mind the experience gets changed into words and then you can think about it in words. The mind only recycles the energy that comes from the feelings and sensations you experienced. The mind thinks, it does not know. You can only know through feeling or doing, not from thinking.
According to Gabriella Kortsch an extensive number of neurons in the heart and gut behave in a fashion similar to the neurons contained in the brain, and appeared to function at mega speeds, often much greater than those of our cerebral neurons. And it’s also proven that the brains in our heart and gut are far more powerful than the one in our head.
Research shows that the gut brain has learning and decision-making abilities, and can function independently from the head brain - the gut is much more than just a digestive system. Have you ever had that feeling in your gut that something is just not right? This is the place of your intuition and a focal point for courage and bravery.
Dr. Andrew Armour first introduced the concept of a functional heart brain in the 1990s. Studies also show that the heart can act independently of the brain and that the rhythm found in the heart brain is capable of changing how effectively the thinking brain functions. The Heart Math Solution, co-authored by Doc Childre and H. Martin, contributes to the newly emerging view of the heart as a complex, self-organized system that maintains a continuous two-way dialogue between the brain and the rest of the body.
Horses have much larger sensitive guts and expanded heart fields, thus having much larger surface areas for receiving and responding to information. Their neo-cortex, the part of the brain responsible for learning and higher thought, is not as developed. Thus, horses are more likely to emphasize emotion over reason. Instead of accessing logic from their mind brain, they embody mindfulness and empathy.
Mindfulness is the practice of self-observation without judgment while paying attention in the present moment. Horses invite humans to step into this state of mindfulness– one of deeper awareness, enhanced perspectives and richer creativity.
More than anything else, the horses teach us to be in the moment and learn to access our heart and gut brains. When you have a direct experience it does not go directly to the brain in your head. The first place it goes is to the neurological network of the intestinal track and the heart. Having “felt” experiences allow you to start trusting your heart and instincts.
According to Kathleen Barry Ingram (2), the work with the horses allows a client to thrive instead of just surviving. While the neocortical brain can rapidly process information, without the whole body, the brain in the heart and the gut; only the minds’ thoughts and information change. The horses help you fully engage with the whole of who you are and create lasting results creating new neural pathways.
The horses create the space and experience for us as humans to increase our consciousness by harmonizing our three brains so they work together as a team leading to a harmonious and balanced life.
Deep Heart Connections
Horses teach us to ‘listen’ from our heart where we hear and resonate with the truth of something. Just being in the presence of a horse creates magic; people have expressed so many different emotions-some they have never spoken to another living soul; healing tears start to flow down the cheeks not only of women but men; people get in touch with their dreams again; they feel a bond with this incredible creature that has no description.
On more practical terms the heart is much more than a muscular pump, it is a highly evolved organ of perception and communication. Heart neurons are directly connected to the brain producing a direct exchange of information. The heart also has its own memory which affects our consciousness and behavior, how we perceive the world.
Research shows that the gut brain has learning and decision-making abilities, and can function independently from the head brain - the gut is much more than just a digestive system. Have you ever had that feeling in your gut that something is just not right? This is the place of your intuition and a focal point for courage and bravery.
Dr. Andrew Armour first introduced the concept of a functional heart brain in the 1990s. Studies also show that the heart can act independently of the brain and that the rhythm found in the heart brain is capable of changing how effectively the thinking brain functions. The Heart Math Solution, co-authored by Doc Childre and H. Martin, contributes to the newly emerging view of the heart as a complex, self-organized system that maintains a continuous two-way dialogue between the brain and the rest of the body.
Horses have much larger sensitive guts and expanded heart fields, thus having much larger surface areas for receiving and responding to information. Their neo-cortex, the part of the brain responsible for learning and higher thought, is not as developed. Thus, horses are more likely to emphasize emotion over reason. Instead of accessing logic from their mind brain, they embody mindfulness and empathy.
Mindfulness is the practice of self-observation without judgment while paying attention in the present moment. Horses invite humans to step into this state of mindfulness– one of deeper awareness, enhanced perspectives and richer creativity.
More than anything else, the horses teach us to be in the moment and learn to access our heart and gut brains. When you have a direct experience it does not go directly to the brain in your head. The first place it goes is to the neurological network of the intestinal track and the heart. Having “felt” experiences allow you to start trusting your heart and instincts.
According to Kathleen Barry Ingram (2), the work with the horses allows a client to thrive instead of just surviving. While the neocortical brain can rapidly process information, without the whole body, the brain in the heart and the gut; only the minds’ thoughts and information change. The horses help you fully engage with the whole of who you are and create lasting results creating new neural pathways.
The horses create the space and experience for us as humans to increase our consciousness by harmonizing our three brains so they work together as a team leading to a harmonious and balanced life.
Deep Heart Connections
Horses teach us to ‘listen’ from our heart where we hear and resonate with the truth of something. Just being in the presence of a horse creates magic; people have expressed so many different emotions-some they have never spoken to another living soul; healing tears start to flow down the cheeks not only of women but men; people get in touch with their dreams again; they feel a bond with this incredible creature that has no description.
On more practical terms the heart is much more than a muscular pump, it is a highly evolved organ of perception and communication. Heart neurons are directly connected to the brain producing a direct exchange of information. The heart also has its own memory which affects our consciousness and behavior, how we perceive the world.
The Heart Math Institute (3) has conducted ongoing research into the energy emanating and being received by the human heart which affects our moods, attitudes and feelings-whether we are conscious of it or not. The heart is the most powerful generator of electromagnetic energy in the human body. This constantly changing energy is flowing from our bodies and being received by those around us (both humans and animals). The rhythmic beating patterns of the heart change significantly as we experience different emotions. Uncomfortable emotions are associated with erratic incoherent patterns. In contrast positive emotions are associated with the smooth coherent pattern which then creates corresponding changes in the structure of the electromagnetic field radiated by the heart. During a period of sustained positive emotions, a state of coherence reduces our internal mental dialogue, reduces stress and increases our emotional balance and intuition.
The hearts’ electromagnetic field becomes more coherent as consciousness shifts from the brain to the heart. This coherence significantly contributes to the informational exchange that occurs during contact between different fields. The more coherent the field, the more potent the informational exchange. A coherent heart affects the brain wave pattern not only of the person achieving coherence, but also of any person with whom it comes into contact. The two fields begin to entrain or resonate with each other opening a gateway of healing and empathy.
The Heart Math Institute has also performed research with humans and horses. They found that the electromagnetic field of the horse is five times stronger than that of a human’s and the heart rate of a horse is three times slower. The horse naturally lives in a state of heart coherence and just being near a horse we, as humans, can resonate with this deep energy. If we attain that place of heart resonance with a horse our bodies go into an alpha state similar to meditation.
In FEEL activities, people are encouraged to experience this incredible heart connection between a horse and themselves. By some, it is experienced as ‘feeling felt’, pure love, compassion, peace, connection to something more, the mystery of life, or a sharing of soul essence.
The Heart Math Institute has also performed research with humans and horses. They found that the electromagnetic field of the horse is five times stronger than that of a human’s and the heart rate of a horse is three times slower. The horse naturally lives in a state of heart coherence and just being near a horse we, as humans, can resonate with this deep energy. If we attain that place of heart resonance with a horse our bodies go into an alpha state similar to meditation.
In FEEL activities, people are encouraged to experience this incredible heart connection between a horse and themselves. By some, it is experienced as ‘feeling felt’, pure love, compassion, peace, connection to something more, the mystery of life, or a sharing of soul essence.
Touch your inner self, your soul, through the Wisdom of the Horse.
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Wendy Golding Bio Wendy Golding is a respected leader in the field of Equine Facilitated Learning, a speaker, author, and President of Horse Spirit Connections Inc., a not for profit corporation dedicated to promoting transformation and personal growth through the wisdom of the horse. Being passionate about horses all her life, Wendy took up riding again in her thirties and joined the Governor General’s Horse Guards in Toronto, where she participated in the precision riding of military parades. Wendy went on to play the noble sport of polo, experiencing that incredible trust that exists between horse and rider. After a bad fall and serious injury to her neck, Wendy looked for other ways to live her passion. She became a Shamanic Coach and combined this healing modality with the incredible wisdom of horses. Wendy and her partner Andre started Horse Spirit Connections in 2006 and created FEEL (Facilitated Equine Experiential Learning)® services and programs for people of all ages. They deliver a six month intense FEEL Facilitator Certification training program for practical training and experience in developing FEEL programs where the horse is valued for their role as a teacher. Wendy invites you to awaken your spirit at www.HorseSpiritConnections.com. Email her at wendy@HorseSpiritConnections.com to learn more about this special connection with horses. |