The Importance of Being and Seeing to Horses

“Over the past few years, I have really made listening a big part of what I do. Personally, it’s not easy. You really have to change your judgments of every situation, and you also have to be able to lose your expectations. The only goal is to have your horse feel as if you’re on their team, so they know you can recognize when they become concerned and help relieve that concern. In order to listen fully, you must also be more present, and just from that mindfulness, I have seen a huge change in horses that I work with.” Warwick Schiller 2022

“Many people struggle to be in the presence of their horse without doing something. If there’s a problem, they want to fix it. if there’s not one, they want to fiddle and groom and touch… Many times these well meaning owners… are doing a lot of work to try to resolve their horse’s anxiety issues, and many times the incessant fiddling and grooming and touching is part of the problem.
Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do is be a human being, instead of a human doing.” Warwick Schiller 2025

These two quotations above from the illustrious horseman Warwick Schiller really sum up the essence of working correctly with horses. It is not, as Warwick points out, “about the doing,” but it is about the being and the seeing. We must be present, and we must be aware of the horse’s every concern and have them know that we are. In these two steps, the horse finds not only the partner he seeks but the security and confidence he needs.
When we look at our horses deeply, trying to understand their inner state, our mirror neurons help us feel and sense our horses in our bodies, which communicates to them on a feeling level that we get them. Mirror neurons are a type of brain cell that fires both when a person or animal performs an action or when they observe another performing the same action.Being present helps us to be aware and grounded. We should strive to be our horse’s rock, not their rabbit hole.

“First, you go with the horse. Then the horse goes with you. Then you go together.” – Tom Dorrance

First, you really see your horse. Then, the horse finds security in your presence. Then you have connection and go
together—the Two-Step Way.