Kissing Spine mindset

• How do you get in the right headspace when your horse has been diagnosed with kissing spine??
• How do you maintain positive energy and mindset as you go through the rehab?
• How do you stay grounded, and develop your horses confidence after major surgery, when you are out of your depth, feeling alone, struggling emotionally with it all, and scared of getting it wrong??
• How will you know if your horse is in pain again?
• And how do you manage your mind as you prepare to get back on your horse??

There’s so many questions around this process, and your mindset can be in a terrible place - I know because I’ve been there, with my own horse. And I work with clients now who are struggling with the aftermath of surgery and rehab with their horse, sometimes even years later, stuck in some strange kind of limbo, waiting for it to go wrong, and preventing them from really enjoying their horses again.

One of the big pieces of the jigsaw in this scenario is developing trust and connection with your horse, so they feel safe and confident through this difficult process. And through a deeper, more trusting and connected relationship, you will know everything you need to know from your horse, instead of guessing. 

Taking responsibility for your 50% of the equation with your horse, by working on improving your own energy and mindset, you can create huge shifts in how you feel every time you interact with your horse AND therefore how your horse experiences you…leading to a much smoother rehab experience.

If your horse feels safe, because you are grounded and providing a safe space for them, they can then relax, you will be able to progress through the rehab exercises more easily if your horses body is relaxed, and any issues that come up, you will be able to handle them from a calm, grounded position, instead of going into catastrophising thoughts, and guide your horse back to the calm, grounded state.

For this to happen you will first need to clear some of your negativity and fear out of your mind and body. Because your horse will be feeling all of that, putting them into fear and disconnection, as they are ultimately looking for safety, especially when they might be feeling vulnerable or in pain…not good for a wild animal.

Feeling fear in your body and trying to push it away creates unsafety and confusion for the horse…if my handler is scared, maybe I should be scared, maybe there’s a tiger in the bush…?

Your energy: clearing the nervous jittery, fearful energy out of your system, using specific tools and methods, and getting in control of your energy by learning new grounding exercises will create the calm, neutral space that your horse wants to be with. 

Your mindset: clearing your negative thoughts and beliefs about yourself and the situation, allows you to step into the present moment, instead of constantly worrying, the what if's running through your head at top speed, and catastrophising even when nothing has gone wrong. None of this is helpful for you or your horse! 

Connection exercises: learning specific exercises that you can use to connect with your horse, and use on the ground and in the saddle. Grounding, breathwork, clearing, presence, visualisations, can all help and be used in moments of difficulty to bring your horses focus and connection back to you! 

So making some shifts in yourself in your energy and mindset allows such a huge difference in how you both get through the rehab process! I like to think of it as creating a calm, neutral platform inside myself, to allow the horse to feel safe, and therefore bringing out the very best boy / girl every day, even though the circumstances are difficult! 

***The answer to all of the above of course is to have some professional support so that you can progress each day through the physical part of the rehab process for your horse AND have support for yourself, to unpick the difficult thoughts and feelings, let them out of your body, rewrite some of the stories that are coming up, so that you can be fully present for your horse, and learn some connection exercises to support your relationship with your horse through this difficult time.

If you would like my support, please get in touch!

1. You can have instant access to my rehab platform for all of the rehab exercises for kissing spine here: CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

2. AND you can access my transformational mindset coaching, which is specific to horse owners, either through my group coaching programme or on a 121 basis. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

3. BOOK a free Equine Owners Support Coaching call with me so that we can meet on zoom, discuss your situation and your next best steps to move ahead with your horse. CLICK HERE for my calendar.