By Stephanie Robson MSW, RCSW, CPT, TITC-CT
I have heard over the last number of years the comment, “horses are like mirrors.” Quite simply, I disagree. As someone who was first introduced to horses at the age of four, has ridden horses for decades, and, after an 18-year career in mental health, incorporated equine partnered psychotherapy and equine partnered play therapy for the last decade, into a trauma-focused private practice, I think describing horses as mirrors is just plain wrong.
If a person approaches a horse, stomping their feet, huffing, puffing – clearly showing signs of agitation or anger, the horse being approached is not going to huff, puff, and stomp in an attempt to reflect the behaviour back to the person like a mirror. That horse is likely going to respond in one of the following ways: freeze, retreat slightly, or run away. None of those responses mimics a mirror. My experience as a seasoned horsewoman and mental health practitioner illustrates that horses are what I call intuitive responders.
The horse responds to human behaviour, but they will not mirror it. The term I have coined, “Intuitive Responder”, more accurately illustrates the intricacies of how the horse will observe a person assessing their body language as they approach. Based on this information, the equine will formulate their response.
To further illustrate this point, the horse sees the person referenced in the above-mentioned example, enters their paddock. The horse is watchful and present, reading and evaluating the angry person’s body cues and emotional state (equine intuition) as the person approaches, the horse then freezes or moves away (equine response). This response is based on the horse’s intuition and evaluation of the person’s behaviour in conjunction with its own (the horse’s) survival instincts. It is through the horse’s innate role as an “Intuitive Responder” that the approaching person is essentially gifted the space to observe the horse’s response. This, in turn, provides an opportunity for the person to reflect on their actions and develop an understanding of why the horse responded in the way they did. An invaluable learning interaction has been created by the horse’s natural response, allowing the person to embark on their own process of self-reflection.
Due to a horse’s keen sense of hearing and sight, they have the ability to assess objects, including people, from quite a distance away. The National Equine Resource Network has reported that “horses can hear a human heartbeat from 4 feet away” (National Equine Resource Network, n.d.). Based on this information, it is most likely that our equine partners have established a good sense of how we are feeling and what to expect from us before we have even made physical contact with them.
While horses do have the ability to align with us, for example, some studies have found that when horses are in contact with a person, they can adjust their heart rate to become synchronized with a human’s heart rate (Lanata et al., 2016). This has been labeled as heart rate coherence or coupling, leading some to argue that a response such as this proves the ability of horses to act as mirrors. I would posit that this is evidence of attunement, not mirroring.
Attunement can be defined as a more in-depth process of creating an authentic or meaningful connection with someone, while also having an understanding of their current emotional state. Mirroring, on the other hand, would be considered a more superficial action with a transactional outcome. The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines mirroring as” the reflection or replication of something” (Oxford Languages, n.d.). Mirroring does not take into account the deeper process of understanding or an authentic level of connection while interacting with an equine partner, whereas attunement does.
When a horse is adjusting their heart rate to align with a person or cocking their back leg, to achieve a more relaxed stance in the presence of a person who is also in a relaxed state, the horse is displaying a level of attunement as an intuitive responder. The horse has adjusted themselves on a physiological and emotional level in order to fully align with the human-horse interaction.
The blanket statement that “horses act as mirrors”, on the surface, presents as a relatable comparison, as most people are familiar with the term and have experienced using a mirror. There is no malicious intent in using this comparison; however, in its simplicity, it is the equivalent of a misnomer, an inaccurate statement that underscores and devalues the innate instincts of our equine partners’ unique skills. It is through these instincts, horses model their own natural ability to intuitively attune to individuals in a way that facilitates an openness for people to begin an exploration into their own reflective journey, leading us to become the mirror for ourselves.
Stephanie Robson MSW, RCSW, CPT, TITC-CT, has 28 years of experience in the field of mental health. Stephanie has a private practice. Dragonfly Therapeutics of Calgary Inc. that specializes in trauma and mental heath for all ages and abilities working with a variety of modalities including; (ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy), Play Therapy, Equine Partnered Psychotherapy and Equine Partnered Play Therapy. Stephanie is accredited through the Alberta College of Social Workers, Canadian Association for Play Therapy, and has active membership with IS-ART and The Alberta Equine Federation.
Works Cited
Henderson, A. J. Z. (2024, February 8). Human/horse heart math: Does it add up? Horse Sport. Retrieved August 2025, from https://horsesport.com/magazine/behaviour/human-horse-heart-math-does-it-add-up/
Lanata, A., Guidi, A., Valenza, G., Baragli, P., & Scilingo, E. P. (2016, August). Quantitative heartbeat coupling measures in human-horse interaction. In Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC) (pp. 2696–2699). https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC.2016.7591286
National Equine Resource Network. (n.d.). National Equine Resource Network. Retrieved August 2025, from http://www.nationalequine.org
Oxford Languages. (n.d.). Oxford English dictionary. In Oxford Languages. Retrieved August 2025, from https://www.oxfordlanguages.com
Rosenberg, H. (2020, December 16). Two bodies, one heart: Horses and your heartbeat. Jumper Nation. Retrieved August 2025 from https://jumpernation.com/two-bodies-one-heart-horses-and-your-heartbeat/
