Equuality: Reflections on Life with Horses

Seeing our Actions Clearly

About the Book

Ahimsa is the highest ideal. It is meant for the brave, never for the cowardly. -Ghandi

Ahimsa, or non-harming, is an idea that applies across all realms of experience – from thought through words to actions. When we talk about this concept as applied to horsemanship, an obvious place to start is in the physical realm. This is the area where it is most clear what impact our actions are having on the horse and whether the results are causing harm or not.

I think most would agree that any kind of physical abuse would go against the idea of non-harming. We would never thing beat a horse or deprive him of food or water. These examples are quite clear. However, there are many things that we might not recognize as abuse unless we step out of what we think we know and really pay attention to what we are doing.

For instance, scientific studies performed by Lydia and Alexander Nevzorov, among others, show that the pressure of a rider, bareback or in a saddle, may cut off proper circulation to a horse's back within 15 minutes. Even a very fit horse who has been ridden his or her whole life is subject to this phenomenon. Imagine the feeling you get if you sit on your leg wrong and it falls asleep. Now imagine going on an hour long run or several hour trail ride with that sensation.

Now imagine for a second the immense force on the bit when you pull your horse's head around or jerk on him for being a "bad boy." Try putting your index finger in your mouth and then jerking to the side or pressing down on your tongue. You have begun to approximate the feeling in your horse's mouth.

"But," you may be saying, "I never pull on my horse's mouth to punish him!" If that is the case, you have the right mentality. Your desire to do the right thing is clear.

The fact is that through thousands of years of breeding a beast of burden, the horse has become a very supple creature. Through most "training" processes, the horse learns early that is it less painful to put up and shut up than suffer the consequences of expressing the pain he is feeling. Most of us now use horses exclusively for recreation. Can you justify your recreation causing pain to another sentient being who has been bred not to put up a fight? Only your heart can answer that question.

My heart has said no. Every day I do my very best to be in tune with my equine partners and to ensure that communication doesn't come with a price-tag of pain. It is not always easy, but I feel it is just. As Ghandi said, to strive for the highest ideal we must be brave.

I sometimes feel embarrassed that my tack is different or that people will think I'm crazy for what I do or don't do with my horse. I often worry that those horsemen I look up to would ridicule me if they saw what I was doing. I second-guess my methods and equipment. Who am I to go against thousands of years of common practice? These doubts have never left me completely. But once I touched on the pain I felt in myself at seeing the pain I had cause a horse I was "playing" with, the doubts became much easier to overcome.

As I said, the only way to answer these questions for yourself is to listen to your own heart. We can only hear our hearts when we have quieted our egos. We quiet our egos by pointing ourselves towards principles of love and connection. When I understand that my goal is to have as deep a relationship as possible with my horse, my need to fit in, my fear of ridicule, my desire for the approval of other humans, and myriad other fears fall away and I can see clearly whether or not my actions are in line with the principles of ahimsa. My heart tells me clearly if I am causing harm or acting with love.