The Journal of Animal Consciousness Vol 1, Issue 2 Vol 1 Issue 2 | Page 19

triggered the patient’s feelings of low self-esteem as she
‘realized’ this horse ‘wanted’ to be near her, a feeling she
had long denied herself (that of being wanted by other
people). Once the woman had chosen this horse, she was
taught how to lead him and keep him out of her ‘space’ by
giving the lead rope a firm yank every time he drifted
toward her, another metaphor for forcing people in the
patient’s life to ‘respect her space’. Notice that it was
asserted (by the therapist) this second horse came straight
up to the woman because he somehow recognized that
need in her. I would like to present another interpretation
of that: Working on the assumption this is a typically
managed domestic horse who receives ‘regular’ meals
twice per day, is likely given treats during at least some of
the therapy and/or training sessions, and whose freedom of
choice and movement is generally restricted, could that
horse have simply seen the woman as someone who might
possibly have a treat handy?
Based upon my own
experience, I believe it is entirely possible that this horse
was viewing this woman as a potential food-giving source.
My horses have been kept for quite a number of years as
‘natural’ as can be possible in a domestic situation and
they were allowed free choice in feeding situations, even
with hay, and with food resources being spread out
sufficiently for each horse to not feel threatened.
I
remember an old (40 +/-) horse that lived here, when it
came time to put him on a feeding regimen of soaked hay
cubes, he became noticeably more assertive whenever I or
anyone else would come around as he quickly learned to
associate the human being with providing food; he had lost
almost all of his teeth and could no longer obtain sufficient
nutrition on his own. It has also been my experience with
treat-fed horses that they quickly learned to become more
assertive in this respect toward the human. Does it really
matter how we interpret