Observing the horses at East Point Horspice never disappoints. A snort, a blow of the nose and a short dash away from an object in the pasture may not make sense initially, but they are only acting on an ancient behavior allowing them to survive as a species for another day; perhaps being unaware, the horses are reacting to their gut instinct. Having a gut instinct about a situation is a remarkable thing. It can be described as intuition, an inner voice or perhaps a sixth sense. However it is described, humans have become less dependent on this innate, fundamental instinct as we have become increasingly detached from our body’s reactions to outside stimuli through our evolution into more solitary creatures who reside inside our comfortable homes and places of work. Humans have less of a need for this inner alarm, unlike our equine partners who still rely heavily on this ability, as it can literally be life saving for them.
As a prey species, horses continually monitor their surroundings and utilize this gut instinct to help them decipher possible dangers. Horses in your pasture may seem high-headed or spooky when they choose to do the quarter-mile sprint away from perceived creatures of death like that plastic bag from the grocery store, or a cardboard box that they are certain devoured many horses earlier in the day. To a horse it makes sense to create distance between themselves and the dangerous object to allow them to see it from far away to lessen the threat and give them time to analyze the possible attack. They listen intently to their gut, which seems to bypass any reasonable thought in a horse’s mind resulting in a distinct forward motion of all four hooves. Understanding this gut reaction will help you to appreciate where their motivation lies and, if you haven’t sufficiently introduced your horse to all the scary things this world has to offer, perhaps will point to future activities of helping your horse overcome fears. This will result in a safer and less heart-pounding ride down the road. In the horse’s defense, many theories exist that a horse’s gut instinct is exponentially greater than a human’s due to the anatomical nature of their gut compared to us. Simply put, their gut system literally is relatively so much larger resulting in a more massive antenna, if you will, to which they tune in to the environment. This system works for them and what isn’t broke doesn’t need fixing.
Gut instinct doesn’t always present itself equally. Sometimes it is loud and clear and other times it may be very subtle and hard to discern. The challenge is to always be open to listening to our guts, at times listening a little harder. Another consideration is that gut instinct is not always 100% accurate. As humans we may have an unpleasing first impression when meeting someone new. While we probably won’t, like a horse, turn and run a great distance from this reaction, we should appreciate the possibility that this impression may simply be the result of the person having a bad day, or perhaps we are having a bad day. To be fair, another chance should be offered while you reconsider your gut’s influence on your opinion. It takes time and practice to become more proficient at determining if your gut instinct is reliable; but once confidence is obtained, this instinct can prove to be extremely beneficial to our everyday encounters.
Learning to reconnect with our inner voice can prove to be empowering allowing us a self-assurance reminder that our decisions in life are valid and made with understanding. While we increase our understanding with the gut instinct, take the time to help your horse learn from theirs. The relationship you develop with your horse will prove to be mutually beneficial, this is guaranteed. The EPH horses are always looking for students/teachers in this world who wish to share some time and energy. Feel free to contact EPH at (308) 762-3848 for further options.