Braiding and Somatic Experiencing

I am getting better at running braids.  I like to braid Paris’s voluminous mane when I ride her so that the hair doesn’t get caught up in the reins.  She stands still for it, and I almost think she likes looking so beautiful!

My riding with Paris is not where I thought it would be at this point in the summer.  I imagined us going for trail rides down by the creek and trotting (maybe even cantering) through the hay field.  Even though Paris is a very ‘broke’ horse, I have discovered holes in her training that I need to go back and fill in.  She never learned how to accept ‘contact’ with the bit, which means that I really don’t have an alive feeling in the reins – and I don’t have a gentle and nuanced way to guide or stop her.  Now that I have her accepting the bit, I can work on the next steps, steering and flexion.  And as we started that work, I have discovered that she is blocked in her poll (the top of her head between her ears).  This means that it is difficult for her to flex and tilt her head when I ask, and also means that she ‘grabs’ the bit, puts her head in the air, pushes into her shoulders (which are massive!) and wants to run away.  Working through this is a challenge, and I am looking forward to next week, when my equine body worker will come to work on Paris.  I am sure she will help to pinpoint the problem and give me tips on how to help Paris work through the stuckness.

The blockage in her poll reminds me of how trauma shows itself in our bodies.  I don’t know if Paris had a traumatic experience but wouldn’t be surprised.  I watched her pull back when I had her tied to the fence last week when she didn’t like the water hose spraying the concrete close to her and she just planted her massive shoulders and pulled until she broke the lead line.  No drama, just brute strength.  But it had to hurt the poll where the halter sits.  I’ll bet this isn’t the first time she has done that!

As I play with Paris, gently asking her to flex her poll and then tip her nose, I am reminded that I am actually doing Somatic Experiencing on her.  I am trying to access the energy that is blocked and gently let it release, a little bit at a time.  Same basic principle as with humans, but she can’t tell me what she is noticing and sensing.  On the other hand, she can’t make up a story about it, as humans often do.  We don’t often notice these blocked parts of our bodies, they are just vacant if we do a body scan.  But as we begin to bring attention to the area, sometimes we can feel a pulse or a tingling, as ‘aliveness’ comes back into the tissue.  This is followed by a yawn, or a sigh, or a stomach gurgle, or shaking, as the energy begins to move through the body.

As I continually refine my skills as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, my horses are often my guinea pigs.  As I help them release stuck areas in their bodies, our connection with each other grows.  Trust is made.  And this is where the healing really happens – with horses and with humans.