In my work and my own personal journey, I’ve noticed many people have become disconnected from their self preservation skills. They throw themselves away to dangerous people or situations. Many times with good intentions, most in hopes of fixing people, situations (or horses). While horses have always been in my life for one reason or another, the horse as a path of self discovery has been one of the most rewarding for me. They are naturally tuned into their instincts and self preservation response. So if you are going to ride you better be solidly in touch with your own instinct or else you may end up on the ground. It makes perfect sense that if a horse is going to allow us to ride and take control of their safety then they will want to sense that we have an intact instinctual system. Unfortunately as we get older society teaches us to become more rational, encouraging us to disassociated from emotions,instinct and our bodies. If we are not aware of what our body is feeling and the thoughts floating around our head then we are disconnected from our solar plexus or gut. Our gut is the center of our fight or flight . It is our natural warning system. For some people it can actually get turned off. Horses can help us reconnect, they are experts at this language precisely because of their large guts. The key is to get back in the body. Have good boundaries. Learn to be aware of what we are feeling and separate from what others are feeling. Develop empathy which is understanding the language of emotions and know how to use it. Learning how to support yourself is one of the gifts horses can teach us.