5 Ways Horses Transform Your Life (And It'll Never Be The Same!)

Horses come into our lives in many different ways - maybe you had a pony as a child, maybe you took lessons as a teenager, or just recently got a horse of your own. Maybe you’ve only seen them from a distance or brought carrots and apples to feed the neighbor’s horse over the fence. Maybe you were born adoring horses or you’ve suddenly fallen in love with them now. However your horse journey may have begun, there is no denying that horses impact us. They touch our hearts in a way like nothing else. It’s powerful. It’s healing. It’s life-changing.

         This came to my mind while I was out at the barn the other day, with the feel of their soft fur under my palm and hearing their low nickers as they enjoyed their evening grain. And I began pondering just a few of the different ways horses make such a profound impact on our hearts and lives.

They Teach Us Trust 

        When working with horses, learning to trust isn’t just an option, but rather the way we learn to ride and work with them. You can’t ride a 1000 lbs. + animal without having some trust. And the more time you spend around them, the more it becomes a way of life. But horses don’t just guide us to trust them, they do the incredible act of teaching us to trust in ourselves. We learn to trust our instincts. To trust those gut feelings. To trust our abilities and trust that our abilities will improve in time. And in the same way, horses begin to teach us to trust others - to trust them with our daily lives and with our very hearts.

They Empower Us  

     Close your eyes and just relive that feeling of muscle rippling beneath you as you cross a grassy field at a smooth lope. The wind in your hair. The sun on your back. The sweet taste of freedom that our horses give us opens a whole new world to us. And in this world of horses, we find that we are stronger than we once thought - mentally, emotionally, and physically. We become aware that we can do things we didn’t ever think we could do. We go places we never thought we could go. Horses give us the wings we’ve always needed deep inside of us. 

They Help Us Grow 

     Being around horses causes growth in your life - in ways that go far beyond the saddle. We grow stronger, in our body and in our spirit. We learn to be confident, to have courage, and to face our fears. And at the same time, we also learn how to fail, how to fall down and get back up; how to admit failure and yet not be crippled by it. We learn to be vulnerable. We learn how to acknowledge and express our feelings in a healthy way. We grow, slowly, to become more of who the Lord created us to be.

They Bring Us Together  

    The world of horses is a world with its own community. Sometimes that community is only you and the horse you’re riding. Sometimes it includes your riding instructor, and those riding with you; maybe it expands to include the people at horse shows, rodeos, or riding groups. It opens you up to talk to new people. You’ll connect with complete strangers with the simple phrase, “I love horses, too!” And horses can even bring you closer together with those outside the horse realm - the excitement and joy of it will find you engaging in conversation with those you love. It teaches us to communicate at a deeper, more profound level.

They Inspire Us

      Horses live in the moment; they live completely and have no regrets. And as we immerse ourselves in horsemanship, that kind of living seeps into our souls. We are inspired to live all areas of our lives to the fullest, and not waste the precious moments we’ve been given. We learn a little more, day by day, to say ‘I love you’, to pause and watch the sunset, and to give to those who need us most. By immersing ourselves in their world, our horses teach us to see our own world in a whole new light.

This is a slow process; it doesn’t happen overnight. They impart these amazing gifts to us, little by little, as we spend time with them, becoming one with their movements and their beings. It might take a lifetime to do so, but every moment spent with them is a treasure. As we embrace the horses around us, they give us a piece of their hearts: a gift that will forever be with us.