Healing Power of Horses
“A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, and beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” -- Pam Brown, author.
The “existence” of a young sexual assault victim is fear, hyper-vigilance, dread of the moment, and a subtle loss of social skills and focus. During a day camp some of our wonderful equine teachers were on hand to work with these very private young girls.
The girls began by learning about their horse’s “bubble” and to respect the horse’s personal space. In turn, they were encouraged to establish their own personal space and to not be afraid to set their own boundaries. Shyness dissipated each day. Bravery overcame fear while working with an enormous animal. Anxiety sheds itself at the success of learning to communicate with a horse.
By the third day even the horses know their students are different. Self-esteem and self-confidence show as they grow in knowledge to stay focused, realize the need to stay present in their bodies and to be aware of their surroundings. Listening skills advance making each feel a part of community…equine and human. Each one learned she has strength, courage and the ability to empower herself and others. Each learned empathy for each other while compassion was modeled by all. For three days these teenagers learned how to overcome the victim image. They left feeling beautiful, strong and powerful.
