When I started my Hoof Care Practice, cell phones were a relatively new technology. Especially compared to where we are now. My first one was a Motorola flip phone with an antenna, the second one was a Nokia with an antenna and a tiny screen that showed the number you were often, “trying”, to call. Text messaging, without the benefit of a typewriter like key pad, was generally short like a Y, or N for yes or no. That was only possible if the person you were sending the message to had a cell phone that could respond in the same manner. At the time, the digital infrastructure in rural upstate NY was still in grade school. Making a connection was akin to approaching several red lights in a row and occasionally a green one in your travels. I kept a Rand McNally Road Map in the car when needed. And yes, they still print them!
Now, we have a litany of digital devices to communicate with just about everywhere and at any time. Cars are now equipped with computer screens, and your car corrects you when you stray off the route. We stay connected throughout the day, and for some, at night too. Some people never turn them off.
In the 1960’s, my youngest sister was diagnosed as “hyperactive” and sent home from school because she didn’t fit in with the current paradigm of teaching. Years later, I worked in Mental Health for New York State. Four years at Wassaic Developmental Center and four years at the Regional Behavior Treatment Unit. It was also a time when the phrase, “attention deficit disorder” began to be used to describe children whose attention spans were becoming shorter or non existent. It has been boiled down to ADD, and later ADHD (the H for hyperactivity).
The reason I am telling this story, is that I see a parallel with “attention” issues due to cell phone use that sort of “rhyme” with my past work. It is so common now that it is literally unseen.
I began to notice, while I was trimming a horse, that the person holding him/her was not even paying attention to the horse, me or anything else in our “space” while I was working. They were deeply involved with their cell phone. When someone does that, they are not “present”. It sends an attention deficit signal to their horse and can put my safety in jeopardy. I generally request that they please put it away or on airplane mode until we are done.
Horses are acutely aware of everything around them at all times. That is hard wired. Being a prey species, they run and ask questions later. When they can’t run because they are held or tied, they brace and feel trapped. That’s when people can get hurt. It’s not the horses fault. Our shared connection was interrupted.
The digital age has given us gifts, but it also has taken away our sense of honoring time spent with physical relationships. Try it. It’s hard at first. Do it again. Make it longer next time.
If what I am saying here has perked your interest, I am including a link to a "Discover Healing” article, “How Digital Overload Is Impacting Your Emotional Energy”. Perhaps some issues you may be having with your horse are a reflection of inconsistent energy signals. Energy is their language with each other, and a sense of survival. They speak without words. Are you listening to him/her or your phone?
What do you see in this picture? I welcome your comments…
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