Page 36 - SEN116 January-February 2022

Wellbeing
What can working with horses
teach us about mental health
Emma Hutchinson describes the mental health lessons that working with horses can pass on.
36
Movement is magical
If a horse gets stuck in the sympathetic nervous system (that’s the fight, flight and freeze part of the brain), sometimes the best thing you can do for it is offer your horse a chance to dance all those jangled emotions out on the ground, until they come back to a place of stillness and peace.
them out”
Practice new mental habits
Working well with a horse is not a matter of going through a check-list and then patting yourself on the back. It is a daily dedication. Horses love steadiness and consistency, so they really value the stuff you do every single day.
It’s exactly the same with your mental health. If you get stuck in negative stories, a beautiful daily practice is to learn to turn those stories around. Focus on the thing you do really well. Tell yourself that you are enough. Do it again and again. Slow and steady every day, until your brain believes it.
It’s not so different with people. If you feel trapped in negative thought loops, try dancing them out. Shake them out of your arms. Stomp them out of your feet. One of the HorseBack UK team likes going into the kitchen and doing 1979 pogo dancing when she’s got a real jangle on.
You are literally resetting your body when you do this. The nervous system can then move from its threat state to its rest and relax state.
Move it out, dance it out, breathe it out. You may even want to holler it out.
This is another practice that pays huge dividends if you do it regularly. Getting stuck is a horrible feeling, so let your body help you to find freedom again.
SEN116
senmagazine.co.uk
“If you feel trapped in negative
thought loops, try dancing