Should You Spend Non-Demanding Time with Your Horse?
I feel like I’m constantly learning new things, especially with my horses! This week I learned that sometimes the best thing you can do with your horse is nothing at all. I have specific training goals for each of my horses, I am currently working three jobs, and it seems that I always have a long to-do list; which means that my time with the horses is usually pretty focused and structured. Sunday I was out with Mesa and Boston and felt the need to just sit down in the corral for a short rest. My short rest turned into about an hour of non-demanding time spent with my sweet girls. This was quite possibly the best use of that time. Here’s why…
So, what is non-demanding time?
Non-demanding time means you spend time just hanging out with your horse, much like you would with a good friend. It is time to visit (yes, I talk to my horses) or be present and still. It’s time to offer scratches and grooming, if those are things your horse enjoys. Boston absolutely loves “being in my pocket” and hanging around me no matter what I’m doing. She loves being groomed and getting scratches. Mesa, on the other hand, has been somewhat aloof since her trip to a trainer. You can read about that experience here. After I had spent a good 20 minutes or so with Boston, Mesa came over to investigate. She emptied out my grooming bag and explored the different brushes until she found one that she wanted to play with. While some folks may discourage this behavior, I welcomed this interaction because it showed that she was becoming curious again and interested in what I was doing. By receiving permission to play, she began to relax even more.
Karen Rohlf suggests mimicking your horse’s behaviors, such as chomping, grazing, and yawning. I caught Boston starting to yawn and mimicked her. Pretty soon she had yawned about six times! By the way, yawning is a great release for horses and really shows their state of relaxation.
I truly feel a spiritual connection with my horses. I have always kissed their muzzles and whispered at their noses. Jim Swanner says this exchange of breath is a horse’s way of sharing her spirit with you. How cool is that? Jess Roberts suggests free-writing while you’re sitting with your horses. I am definitely going to give this one a try.
Benefits for Your Horse
As Pat Parelli said, “Horses don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Spending non-demanding time with your horse is a wonderful way to show that you care. Your horse will learn to relax around you because you bring a sense of peace to her world. This is a great time for your horse to build her trust in you. Your intuitive communication will grow also. I just love it when I’m riding along and think about making a turn or change in gait and Mesa feels/senses that and responds.
Benefits for You
Non-demanding time with your horse can increase your calm, decrease your anxiety, and fill you with joy. One reason is that a horse’s heart radiates an energy field five times larger than a human’s; since it is much stronger than ours, it influences our heart rhythm. A horse has a coherent heart rhythm, which has been shown to efficiently recover from and adjust to stress, and may be associated with calm and joy. You can read more about horse heart studies done by the Institute of HeartMath here. For me, spending non-demanding time with my horses is truly a form of meditation. It’s a time to clear my mind, slow my breathing, and just BE. An added bonus is that our partnership and mutual trust will grow even more. This may carry over into your training times. I know that Mesa and Boston were both very connected to me during our training sessions the days following our non-demanding time.
It’s hard for me to set my training plans aside, but I can see how making this a habit will benefit my horses and me. Perhaps non-demanding time actually needs a spot on my to-do list each week. How about you?
