Horses And Humans In Harmony

The healing ways of Oppistal

- Yolanda Steyn

Oppistal is a fully fledged equestrian facility situated in the beautiful Cradle of Humankind. They strive to create harmony between humans and horses. Yolanda Steyn, director of Oppistal, believes that horses can assist humans to balance them spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. If one doesn’t deal with an issue on a spiritual, emotional or mental level, the issue will present itself in a physical form. An example of a physical imbalance is low or high blood pressure. This can indicate the need for self-acceptance, love and nurturing.

Emotional faculties

According to scientific research, our gut is linked to our brain via our vagus nerve. While you are developing in your mother’s womb, the fluid that develops in your brain is the same fluid that develops in your intestines. Did you know that almost 80% of our immune system can be found in this area? Our stomach has become well known as our emotional brain or our second brain. Think of the feeling of having butterflies in your tummy when you are in love or anxious before an exam.

Looking at the horse, you can see how large his intestinal tract is – a huge emotional centre. The intestines can be up to 22m long. I believe this huge belly area is why horses make such great therapists. The vagus nerve forms part of the horse’s parasympathetic nervous system. Their emotional centre is the largest part of their body. For this reason, every horse owner dreads colic. Colic affects the digestive tract of a horse. This is a very sacred, pedantic part of the horse, often overlooked. Horses can display the following behaviour when they are not in balance: fear, fighting, freezing and fleeing. By working with the parasympathetic nervous system, we can change the horse into a balanced, thinking horse. This can be further enhanced by working with the horse’s endocrine system to release oxytocin (the trust and love hormone).