Unlike dogs, cats or other domesticated animals, the horse is a fear/flight animal. In nature predators prey him on. This innate fear/flight characteristic produces an animal that still functions from primal needs. A horse is not interested in pleasing without reason, just as a horse is not interested in changing without reason. A horse is a herd animal and must have a leader or will become the leader, and this applies to interaction with humans as well. If the individual will not take the role of the leader, the horse will.
False self vs True self: Horses allow us to unite unconditionally with another living being. We can take our masks off without fear of rejection. Many times we know what people want to hear and respond in fashion, revealing a false self. The horse, through their senses, knows the true self even when well disguised. Perhaps the most important aspect of horses is that they are consummately honest creatures. A horse's inability to lie can be invaluable in seeing what a student may be attempting to hide or manipulate within him or herself. Horses' body language, by which they communicate 99% of their feelings and actions, can reveal a student's real self and begin to break down barriers and communications blocks.
Horses enable people to make contact with their true feelings.
The assumption is that the horse will imitate a person's energy and/or that people unconsciously gravitate toward a horse that will mirror that person's inner process.
The horse produces the opportunity to practice and integrate new ways of being because of the "in-the-moment" demands that animals require. Having the potential to create change in the moment.
Horses mirror body language: Horses have the ability to mirror exactly what human body language is telling. The lesson to be learned is that if they change themselves, the horses respond differently.
The horse also provides an excellent tool for self-awareness, as the horse will respond to you in reaction to your actions. Example - a rider must learn to control their anger to properly control the horse. The horse will make the rider responsible for their emotional state, because if the rider displays their anger in instructing the horse, the horse will respond in a disobedient fashion. Most students tend to choose to work with an animal that is almost exactly like them in personality characteristics. This can be an effective tool for understanding self and how others relate to self.
By relating their experiences with the horses to other people and issues in their lives, people can begin to examine their negative behaviors and understand how to change them into positive behaviors. Horses can mirror back to us how we work with people and they can teach us something about how we approach a challenge or an opportunity.
When we ride our mind should be like the captain of a sailboat because the mind of the horse is very much like the wind. Everybody inherently knows that a sailor does not fight with or make vain attempts to control the wind by force but instead learns to become accountable for how well he or she can work with their sails.
Working with powerful live animals provides direct feedback not available when using inanimate objects. Horses are social animals, much like humans, and are experts at nonverbal communication and body language. Students can learn about the signals they send out by observing how the horse reacts to them. Naturally very sensitive to emotions, horses can many times pick up on issues such as fear or anger that the student would rather hide. It's tough to fool a horse. This allows you own special issues to come out in the context of the exercises.
Teach respect: children tend to respect power, so bullies learn quickly to respect the horse, and in doing so learn important lessons about respect for others.
Trust: fearful children who identify with the horse's natural wariness rediscover trust by gaining the animal's trust
WARNING
UNDER TEXAS LAW (CHAPTER 87, CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE), AN EQUINE PROFESSIONAL IS NOT LIABLE FOR AN INJURY TO OR THE DEATH OF A PARTICIPANT IN EQUINE ACTIVITIES RESULTING FROM THE INHERENT RISKS OF EQUINE ACTIVITIES.