The Indigenous Insight-Indigenous Horse Healing, Majestic Spirits

    Horses have always been a part of my life. In the Native American culture, horses are a part of our family. They bring so much into our lives and have for generations upon generations. My ancestors had horses and used them for many purposes including hunting, migration, ceremonies, and war. In the 1920s and 1930s, my great grandpa, Kenneth Goodeagle, worked for Pawnee Bill as his horse trainer and a trick rider for his Wild West Shows. My grandpa, Ronnie Goodeagle, trained and broke horses for himself and for the Cushing and Pawnee community. While pregnant with me, my mom continued the family tradition riding in horse shows and going to rodeos. Consequently, it was always inevitable that I would be into horse culture. 
    Our ancestors made an everlasting relationship with the horse by calling them brother or sister. The connection that the horse brings into my life is spiritual and healing to the soul. They have a sense of understanding and somehow just instinctively understand how you feel and what you are going through in your life.   Horses are mysterious and also bring an abundance of medicine. They are powerful, loving, strong, kind, trusting, gentle, and patient. The friendship with a horse is never ending, and they will always love you if you show love to them. When my grandpa was still with us, we shared the love of horses and the culture it brings to our family and friends. He helped me understand them and their demeanor towards humans. They bring you both a sense of fear and at the same time, compassion. My grandpa taught me as much as he could about the horse and how the spirit of the horse is healing my own spirit.
    When my grandpa passed away in 2009, we gave all his horses away and we put that behind us.  That is what Pawnees do when a loved one passes away. It symbolizes a healing process in our tribal culture and traditions. Moving forward many years, my mom was given a horse named “Babe” and since then she and I have brought horse life and culture back into our lives. I bought myself a “green” horse. He had started his training, but no one had spent much time riding him.  I have learned so much from him mostly about myself and the things I want out of life. When I first got him, he had trust issues and spooked easily, but also possessed a tremendous amount of energy. I have been working with him for a couple years.  Now we have progressed to the point of entering barrel races and jackpots; maybe we will even enter rodeos in the near future. 
    The goals I have set for myself and him have grown, and we are now working towards new goals. Having horses is a job, and they require a lot of attention from their caregivers. I live a busy life raising a five year old son as a full time working mom. I have learned to balance this life out for myself and my family. Although it gets difficult, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to have what you want in the future. I feel blessed to have my horse as part of my daily “therapy.”  I have sacrificed many things in life, and the outcome of the sacrifice was hundred percent worthwhile. 

written by Alicia Renee Chaino-Ahkeahbo