For horses, a Mind Fitness session is about connection, stress release, a level head, and the positive release of endorphins. Horses willingly give over their hyper-vigilant, hyper-aware states to leaders who demonstrate focused awareness and communicate with clear and assertive language, without passiveness or aggression. For horses new to Snowslip Farm, this release of stress may happen for the first time in years, or in their lives. It is an emotional moment to see their bodies relax and bend after years stoically holding themselves in a rigid frame of constant stress.
Why Do Our Horses Yawn?
A yawn is the ultimate release of stress for a horse and it usually happens at the end of a
Mind Fitness session when participants establish connection with their horses. Connection is a signal
that our knowledge of their behavior and body language, and our appropriate leadership has had a profound effect.
Mind Fitness and PEER Train the Trainer
For Law Enforcement, First Responders, & Veterans.
The mission of Snowslip Retreats is the well-being
of humans and horses in service to others, with
emphasis on law enforcement and communities,
education and health. Mind Fitness for Law Enforcement
is a hands-on, wellness-based program to address
and manage issues of operational stress.
Snowslip Retreats offer non-profit Mind Fitness programs
through Homeward Bound Adirondacks:Snowslip Retreats.
Our Certified PEER Trainers offer one-on-one
Officer-on-Call programs, small group Mind Fitness
programs, and large group program demonstrations.
Assertiveness vs. Aggression. How we move and what we project through our body language
is an important lesson in Mind Fitness exercises. Horses are prey animals that communicate
through body language, and observe every nuance of our movements. A shoulder, hip, or footstep
can send a signal of aggression, danger, or fear, in the language of their world as well as
in ours. Their response to our movements teaches us how to harness our own predator and prey
energies to signal assertive leadership, instead of aggression or passiveness.
Through Mind Fitness, we learn how to become natural
leaders and become the change horses need to see in us.
'Recognizing stress and how it affects the horses is
something that must not only be explained but experienced
through hands-on participation.' Mind Fitness Participant
