Dream Horse Connection

This is so true. ❤️🐴

This week looked a little different for one of my Hippotherapy clients.

AI generated image.

Before she had even come through the gate and onto the driveway, she was making it very clear that she did not want to get on Taffy. As she has limited vocabulary and finds it difficult to communicate her needs, it is so important that we listen to what she is telling us in the ways that she can communicate.

When children become dysregulated, their emotions, sensory systems and nervous systems can become overwhelmed. At times like this, asking them to continue with a planned activity is often not the right thing to do. Instead, we need to meet them where they are and help them feel safe, calm and connected again.

One of the wonderful things about horses is that therapeutic benefits don’t only happen when a child is riding. Simply being close to a calm, trusted horse can be incredibly regulating. Taffy’s gentle presence helped provide a sense of comfort and security, without any pressure or expectations.

So instead of a Hippotherapy session, we sat by the fence with Taffy and read her favourite story, Room on the Broom. She watched him, talked about him in her own way, and enjoyed sharing that quiet moment with him.

We also spent time exploring nature together. She picked flowers, held ladybirds and enjoyed being outdoors in the sunshine. These moments may seem small, but they are often exactly what a child needs.

Not every session looks the way we planned, and that’s okay. Success isn’t always measured by getting on the horse. Sometimes success is listening, adapting, and supporting a child to leave feeling calmer, happier and more regulated than when they arrived.

This week, she went home smiling, relaxed and connected to the world around her. For me, that’s a successful session. ❤️🐴🌼🐞

This is a friendly reminder that I’m off for the week for a family holiday.

A horse who looks away from you is not always disconnected.

Sometimes they are regulating.

Humans often imagine connection as eye contact.
Attention.
Engagement.

But horses are different.

Sometimes looking away is how they process.
How they think.
How they soften pressure.
How they stay present without becoming overwhelmed.

Yet so many of us have been taught to interpret those moments as disrespect.

"Pay attention."
"Focus."
"Don't ignore me."

But what if the horse isn't withdrawing from the relationship?

What if they're trying to stay in it?

I think one of the most beautiful things we can learn from horses is that connection does not always look like intensity.

Sometimes connection looks like space.

Sometimes it looks like a lowered head.
A deep breath.
Eyes turning away from pressure.

And sometimes the greatest gift we can offer another being is not more engagement.

It's enough safety that they don't have to stay hypervigilant to remain connected.