The Wisdom of the Herd: Developing Embodied Awareness (Rangiora)

As the title of a recent survey of trauma treatment puts it, "the body keeps the score". Many contemporary approaches to treating trauma emphasise gradually reconnecting clients with their bodies in order to rewire the brain and nervous system - but tapping into bodily wisdom, and learning how to work constructively with the way our nervous systems interact with other people's, is also hugely beneficial for processing grief, healing anxiety, developing self-confidence and self-trust, transforming the emotional components of physical illness, or simply understanding ourselves better and living a more fulfilling life.

Horses are masters of bodily and relational awareness: they live fully present in the moment to every sensation and emotion, and are also finely attuned to their herd members and the wider environment. Their capacity to extend this awareness to their relationships with humans makes them excellent teachers - just as their compassion and willingness to support other…