Sherry Reed CESMT - CERT

11/11/2025

This is a bit long, but important to share ❤️ 15 Fascinating Facts About Horses’ Emotional Memory and Empathy

1. Horses hold one of the most powerful long-term memories among domestic animals — recalling people, voices, and events for decades.

2. They read human intent through facial expressions, distinguishing friend from threat long before a hand is raised.

3. A single act of kindness can echo for years — a horse may seek out the same person even after a long separation.

4. Trauma carves deep grooves — a horse may forever avoid a place, object, or person tied to fear.

5. They sense human emotion through voice tone, breath rhythm, and body tension — even from across a field.

6. They respond not just to fear, but to sadness, joy, or confusion — silently, instinctively.

7. Mirror neurons in their brains allow them to feel what others feel — true empathy in motion.

8. When tears fall nearby, a horse may approach softly, lower its head, and offer a gentle touch — comfort without words.

9. A wounded horse can form the deepest bonds with a patient human — shared pain becomes shared trust.

10. Horses are proven emotional therapists for PTSD, depression, and anxiety — healing hearts, not just bodies.

11. They grieve deeply — lingering by a lost companion or withdrawing in quiet mourning.

12. Once bonded, they memorize your personal rhythms — footsteps, breath, even the silence between.

13. Their memory isn’t just survival — it’s the foundation for profound connection with those who earn their trust.

14. With gentle consistency, fear can be rewritten into safety — even shattered trust can be rebuilt.

15. Horse empathy is biological fact, not folklore — their brains and hearts sync with human emotion in real time.

11/02/2025

02/06/2025

In 1930, the Mars family faced the heartbreaking loss of their beloved racehorse, Snickers. Just weeks later, they introduced a new candy bar named in his honor - creating what would become one of the world's most popular chocolate treats.

The Mars family's deep connection to horses went beyond just business - Snickers was a cherished family pet, and his memory lives on in every chocolate bar that bears his name. Today, Snickers remains one of the best-selling candy bars globally, a sweet tribute to a special horse who captured the hearts of the Mars family.

02/05/2025

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In 1930, the Mars family faced the heartbreaking loss of their beloved racehorse, Snickers. Just weeks later, they introduced a new candy bar named in his honor - creating what would become one of the world's most popular chocolate treats.

The Mars family's deep connection to horses went beyond just business - Snickers was a cherished family pet, and his memory lives on in every chocolate bar that bears his name. Today, Snickers remains one of the best-selling candy bars globally, a sweet tribute to a special horse who captured the hearts of the Mars family.

12/13/2024

A small stab in the heart is what you feel when you put up the day's riding list and you see riders sinking heavily in their shoulders when reading which horse they are assigned for the lesson. A small stab in the heart for that horse that for an hour will carry around a rider who has already decided that he does not like his horse. A small stab in the heart for the horse that did not choose the rider himself but still does his best, lesson after lesson.

Riding is a privilege and something you have chosen to do. If you chose to ride at a riding school, your instructor assumes that you actually want to learn how to ride. The instructor's highest wish is that you get good at it.

Often there is a plan and a thought as to why you are assigned to that exact horse. Before you mount up next time, ask yourself "what can this horse teach me today?" All horses have something to give, a feeling or a new tool in the box.

The art is actually in being able to get a lazy horse to move forward, to get an uncertain horse to gain confidence, a naughty horse to focus or a tense horse to be released. It takes work. If you think a horse is boring, it's more likely that you don't ride the horse as well as you think! It's not easy to be confronted with your own shortcomings, but it is in that very situation that you get the chance to truly grow as a rider.

The excuse that "it's not my kind of horse" is actually a really bad excuse. A good rider can ride any kind of horse. A good rider has trained many hours on different types of horses to become a good rider. A good rider can find and manage the gold nuggets in every horse.

If we absolutely want to ride, it is our duty to strive to do it as best as possible, even if it's only for fun. We owe it to every horse that carries us upon it's back.

Copied and shared with love for all of our horses, ponies and riders 🐎❤🐎