Fear is the cause of almost ALL erosion in the partnership between people and their horses. Our passion for horses amplifies these fears considerably because there's so much at stake to the individual emotionally.

People feel the need to dominate horses because they want to manage these fears and control outcomes. It is not possible to control another animal (or another person for that matter)- all animals are guided by their own wills.

While there is a very real (and rational) fear of physical injury or even death when we are with our horses, for most people, the most prevalent and the most difficult fears are ego-based fears.

Ego-based fears rise from the idea that ones sense of self is directly tied into our work with horses. There is anxiety, even anxiety unknown to us, that something should be occurring to satisfy our sense of self that is not occurring. This idea creates self-imposed expectations.

The outward expression of these expectations comes in language that uses words such as "should" (such as I "should" be cantering by now), and language that blames the horse for not meeting our expectations.

The outward expression of these expectations comes in doing activities with our horses that do not give us JOY.

Common Ego-Based Fears:

• Fear of loss of control and power
• Fear of looking less than our image of ourselves
• Fear of an animal getting the best of us (or of being more clever than we are)
• Fear of not knowing what to do in situations
• Fear of peers thinking less of us
• Fear of not being able to manage our bodies
• Fear of not being able to manage our emotions
• Fear of being on a learning curve
• Fear of not being a master of horses
• Fear of acknowledging that we need help; fear of asking for that help
• Fear of unrealized dreams and expectations
• Fear of passion; fear of the intensity of emotions that we we have with horses
• Fear of the commitment to the well-being of an animal
• Fear of not having special talents (fear of being ordinary)
• Fear of letting go of ideas that are not working
• Fear of falling in love with an animal
• Fear of discovering that horses are not as important to us as we thought they were