Liberty and my therapy

Working and learning with horses over a long period I changed from more traditional riding methods as I discovered and learnt to work with horses on the ground, at liberty.

Liberty work is when the horse and rider work without any riding equipment, and often with the horse running free in the paddock. This work aims to foster and build a relationship between horse and handler based on trust and connections that develop as the horse and handler work together. There are techniques the handler uses to get the horse's attention. The horse is free to make its own decisions and can ignore these if they choose. 

Working in this space taught me to relate to my horses in different ways. Previously I had taken up the position of “the expert” with my horses, where they were in a subject position, based on my knowledge and understanding. The power in our relationship was not a shared understanding. Working at liberty, I changed my relationship with horses to a power sharing relationship. I recognised the agency of my horses and learnt to respect the way they related to the world and to me and the questions they were asking. 

I learnt to be patient; to notice when my lovely horses tried to get something right, and to acknowledge this. To notice breath and the way breathing changes according to what is being asked. To notice what challenges are frustrating for them and then to work out how to ask the question in a different way. 

Sometimes it was necessary, in order to be productive , to stay with a question or request that might be challenging even if the response was uncomfortable for the horse. 

Horses (and people) offer their own positions related to a question. Mostly this is obvious as they respond. They might take up stillness, or some other way of demonstrating something, perhaps stillness might show a lack of understanding. Or they may take time to let you know they’re processing the question before offering an answer. 

I learnt to wait. To realise that waiting was alright. Things don’t have to happen straight away. Silence and stillness have meaning. 

Learning, working at liberty, happens for both participants. Trust builds relationships. Working at liberty is having a conversation with the horse, even when we are metres away from each other. The voice of the conversation is what we do, and notice in each other. The small movements. Breath is a voice, as we notice the in and out of our bodies and the way this changes according to what we’re “saying to each other.”. The lines of force between the participants are so strong in the time of the work that every small movement has meaning.”

How does this influence my counselling work? I wait, I notice, I am patient, I remember the way my horses reacted to me as we worked and I reflect on what we were doing and the way our relationships changed and developed and I make room for this in my therapy. These actions offer and make available the space for the client to have a voice and to work use this to work towards preferred outcomes.”