The Horse That is In Your Head

Some belief systems reject the belief in a subconscious. They reject the idea that humans have any form of shared archetypes buried deep within them that help understand certain behaviors. If one adheres to such a belief system there is no point to read further.

Horses are a rich part of the symbolic and fantasy lives of humans, particularly children. It suggests nothing perverse or obscene to point out that many young girls refer to their horses as if they are their boy friends. Such an attraction is to a relationship and is not a sexual attraction. I have been asked by little girls, with the greatest of concern in their voice, if their horse will think that they are "cheating on him" if they ride another horse. I have seen such little girls sneak a ride on another horse , but only in a pasture out of sight of their horse "so he won't get jealous." The flip side of this is the unfortunate reality that if a little girl feels that a horse has betrayed her trust by bucking, biting or kicking she will often try to drop him quickly and get a new horse friend, even if the miscreant is her own horse that she has ridden for a couple of years. ("Yea, but he bit me for no reason and I like Comet now."...I used to really love my colt, but he bucked." etc)

Most interesting to me is the psychological symbolism that a horse takes on for many older teens and young women. The horse comes to represent the freedom and autonomy that they crave for themselves. They flock to videos of horses being ridden without any tack. They melt over phrases like "I do not catch my horse. I let my horse catch me." They view bareback riding as the ultimate riding experience because it is both free and natural, two things that they long to be themselves. Their attitudes towards bits are the most telling point. They often feel that they are being humane when using a rope halter instead of a bit. A bit is easier to abuse than a rope halter, but both are subject to abuse, and more importantly, neither need be an instrument of abuse when used properly.

The differences between teen age boys view of their horses and that of teenage girls is best illustrated by their very telling terminology in describing training problems. When a horse is not compliant the boys generally say, "He will not do what I tell him to." Girls are much more likely to say,"He is not listening to me." Boys look to obedience. Girls look to communication.

When boys approach a horse in the pasture they generally catch him and immediately make him move. When girls approach a horse in a pasture they are more likely to have the horse stand still and talk to him. Young teen boys too often view a horse as their first car. They have little interest beyond making it go fast and being in complete control of it. As soon as they realize that they are not in complete control they panic and many become too afraid to continue riding. These little boys have been raised with video games in which they press a button and get a result. These games cause 75 pound, ten year old boys to believe that they are physically able to control, or at least blow up, any obstacles. Girls who play no such games have a much more accurate view of the universe. They do not believe that they are all powerful and seek to compromise and compensate. That is why it is so much easier to teach girls to ride than it is to teach today's video game loving boys.

On the other hand, adult women often refer to their horse as their "baby". Many talk to their horses in baby talk. A maddening few of them seem to think that their horses are every bit as fragile as an infant and treat them as such. To this I cringe. It never ceases to cause involuntary convulsions in my internal muscles when a women refers to me as one of my horse's Daddy. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..I do not think of my horses as fragile. I do not think of them as infants (Even when they are infants. I mean, they can canter a few hours after they are born!) It is not a comfort to my psyche to think of a horse as a pre-invalid, made of crystal, likely to break at any moment. Instead, the subconscious symbol that a horse has to me is as the stoic, quiet hero that overcomes all odds and ignores all pain and discomfort to get the job done. That is Tradewind. That is Croatoan. And that is what I should be.

In short, I recognize that the horse symbolizes for me human characteristics that I admire.

All of this would be merely interesting observations were it not for one important part. We must recognize that the horse is not an embodiment of our desires and world views. He is a living creature that has evolved to live as a prey animal in a world in which every movement and every sound could be that of a predator slipping in to terminate their existence. The result is that a horse has a huge range of physical and emotional needs that we do not share with them.

The most important point should be seared into every horse owner's head. The Golden Rule Does Not apply to Horses. Do not treat our horse as you would like to be treated. To do so is to force a horse into trying to live successfully as a human. You may love the comfort of a warm bedroom, sweet deserts, nice shoes, and a life of rest and leisure. But do not delude yourself into thinking that you are doing anything more than abusing your horse when you seek to give him that which you would like to have.

Instead, make the effort to understand what your horse needs and provide it to him.

Or you can try to shrink your horse's existence down to make him fit your image of what would be good. Look at this picture. It does not matter how beautiful a horse is if the existence that you give him is so shrunken that it cannot be recognized as that of how a horse needs to live.