Defining Horse Medicine
It has as many definitions as there are individuals to define it. Just like health and horsemanship, we all have our unique perspective on it, and our own way of tapping into it.
For some ‘Horse Medicine’ may be a touch too “woo-woo.” However, hear me out as even though woo-woo is my native language (as I grew up in a very hippie small town in Northern California), I feel it’s a flexible enough term to encompass the vast, expansive and complex territory of the healing and horsemanship world.
The way I define Horse Medicine (with a capital ‘H’ and a capital ‘M’), may not be the way you see it, and that’s perfectly OK! If you have another way of looking at it, I would love to hear it. In fact, I encourage you to go to the private Facebook group for The Herd: Healing and Horsemanship Collective and share it.
For now, the goal of this post is to map out the topographical prominent landmarks in this area of horse-human interaction so that we can get to the heart of what is so therapeutic or empowering about our relationships with them.
The Four Corners
A phrase you’ll commonly find in the therapeutic horsemanship realm is ‘Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies.’ This essentially defines the practices of equine professionals who offer experiential opportunities that provide mental, physical, or learning benefits.
There are a whole lot of practices that fall under this umbrella. To demystify the overarching focuses of each practice, we’ll break them down into four distinct areas, which can be likened to the four directions of a compass.
The Center of It All
Though there is much to be gained by us through any of the approaches or strategies to Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies, I must highlight that all equine-, mental-, and medical-professionals engaged in this field have a crucial ethical responsibility to ensure that the horses’ wellbeing is the highest priority.
Equine-assisted activities and therapies can quickly become just another way to exploit horses without the integral understanding that they are not tools, curatives, magic bullets, or simply part of a treatment strategy - but rather, they are sentient beings!
Of the four directions of focuses, at the center of it all is Horse Medicine. That is my belief, anyway. The capital ‘H’ and capital ‘M’ in Horse Medicine reminds me that there we have a higher responsibility to the horse, in our work with them, than anyone else.
Horse Medicine also offers perspective on the power of horses. It might become easy for our egos to get ahead of us in our work, as we see positive results and feel that we are in control. But we must stay humble, as when we work with horses, we’re in a partnership (at least we should be). And that should mean equal recognition to both parties. But sadly, that doesn’t always happen. Horses are often left in the dust when it comes to us truly honoring what they bring to the table.
So it’s time we step up and improve what we bring them them.
How do we keep the Horse at the center of it all? That’s exactly what we’re going to explore more in The Herd, and Healing and Horsemanship. So stick around. And until then, hold your horses with all your love.
