New Meaning to "Horse Sense"

One of my first interactions with a dear friend and my “Nourishing the Heart” co-columnist Deborah Rozman was riding horses together. We both grew up with a love of horses. In fact, horses were all that mattered to me for a great deal of my childhood. I sensed their intelligence and had a special bond with them. My family owned two horses, and whenever I called their names, they would run to me from the pasture.

Debbie lived in the city and couldn’t wait until the weekend when she could go riding. She loved the beauty, strength and sensitivity of horses as well as riding with the wind in her hair and feeling a warm connection with her horse as they tuned into each other’s thoughts and feelings.

How perceptive and sensitive are horses?

“Horse sense” means “plain common sense,” which, for researchers at the Institute of HeartMath (IHM), means “the sense to respond to heart intelligence.”

It is well known that horses are very sensitive to and aware of their surroundings. They sense a storm coming long before it arrives and sense a predator long before humans can see or hear one. Many people feel that certain horses mirror the emotions of those with whom they interact. These horses are often used in programs with alcoholics and developmentally disabled children to help them with their personal growth.

We have all heard the saying “horses can smell fear,” but it may be more accurate to say that they can feel fear. IHM research has found that people’s nervous systems are tuned to the electromagnetic fields produced by the hearts of other people and that a person’s brainwaves can synchronize to another person’s heart up to three feet away. Is it possible that horses are also energetically sensitive to the fields produced by the human heart — and that humans are sensitive to the fields produced by a horse’s heart?

Emotions give meaning to our lives. The power of emotion can enrich our lives beyond measure – meaning, color, texture. Understanding the power of your emotions is vital for having a fulfilling, healthy life. Click to receive this Free e-booklet, The Power of Emotion.