Does your horse have trauma?

Every horse experiences trauma at some point in their lives. The extent in which their trauma effects them depends on how deep the trauma was and whether or not the horse felt safe to process their emotions at the time of the trauma.

Trauma doesn’t have to be an awful accident that happened. Trauma is an emotional response to an event that happened. When trauma happens horses disconnect from their body and don’t feel safe in it. The experience is so visceral and physically unpleasant that their conscious awareness doesn’t want to be in their body anymore. The mind then associates feeling their physical body with a sense of danger. Coping strategies are then developed when the trauma isn’t dealt with or healed. The disconnection between mind, body and spirit happens to minimise pain, but this is not a sustainable option long term.

This is why horses with trauma become lost, disconnected, find distractions, can’t focus or do the same exercise for too long. They are trying to cope and stop themselves from feeling too much.

Healing trauma is about helping the horse to feel safe in their own body. Bringing them back to their body sensations with a positive association. Healing means becoming whole and is about reigniting the mind, body and spirit connection to become whole once more. Healing must occur on all levels to bring safety to the body, peace to the mind and strength to the spirit.

Trauma has been proven to affect brain development, so if your horse experienced deep trauma at a young age, this could also be why it’s difficult for them to focus. For example, when you first start working with your horse doing therapies or during training sessions.

Horses with trauma react instead of respond. This could be the reason your horse escalates quickly in their emotions, why they become more anxious and panicked and why they can be inconsistent in their behaviour. It’s much more difficult for a horse with trauma to regulate themselves than a horse who doesn’t have trauma.

Research on horse trauma is very sparse and is not recognised enough. Having knowledge of and appreciating that your horse has been through trauma can change everything. Once you have this information, you can do something about it. Whether you bought your horse as a youngster or seasoned show jumper, trauma is a very real possibility.

If you have experienced trauma yourself, then you are likely to own a horse who has trauma too. We attract what we need to heal and horses always come into our lives for a reason. Your horse is encouraging you to acknowledge their trauma and help them heal. But to do this you must recognise and heal the trauma within yourself too.

Trauma isn’t talked about enough in people either, it’s deemed as a negative aspect which people are afraid to talk about. Trauma in horse rider’s is very prevalent because of the experiences we have with our horses, as well as life itself. Are you still holding onto trauma from an accident with your horse? You may not even be aware because you repressed it so much, but it’s important to recognise it, accept it and be brave enough to heal it. We get triggered for a reason, being triggered is an opportunity to heal and they always happen when we are ready to heal them.

Trauma is stored in the cells of the body, the body remembers. Your horse may be experiencing trauma in their body, as well as their emotions through their triggers. If there is a physical element, there is always an emotional element. And the same applies to you.

If you would like help working through the trauma you and your horse have, the Horse & Human Retreat is the perfect opportunity to visit the trauma and release it. Trauma doesn’t have to hold you or your horse back anymore. We work on the issues that come up and heal them so you can achieve everything you’ve ever wanted with your horse. You can overcome anything, whether you want to release trauma, build confidence, or learn how to heal your horse, these retreats are for you.

I use many different modalities to heal trauma and essential oils is one of them. Some key oils I offer to horses who have trauma include, chamomile, yarrow, violet leaf and valerian.

The Sabre Holistic Retreat is always open to welcome you and your horse. Come and enjoy the peace and magic the healing bay has to offer, surrounded by beauty and nature in the North Wales mountains.

To enquire and book you can reach me on the below details:

www.sabre-holistics.com
hannah@sabre-holistics.com
07733380883