How horses promote connection | Cat Caldwell Myers | TEDxSpokane

Key Concepts

• Coregulation: A mutual exchange of calm between two beings (human-to-human or human-to-horse).
• Horse Sense: Practical, intuitive wisdom gained through real-world experience rather than theoretical or digital information.
• HI (Horse Intelligence): The intuitive, living intelligence of horses, contrasted with the artificial intelligence (AI) of machines.
• Prey vs. Predator Dynamics: The biological distinction between horses (prey, eyes on the side of the head) and humans (predators, eyes in the front).
• Living Connection: The prioritization of biological, sentient relationships over material or mechanical efficiency.

1. The Philosophy of "The Cart Before the Horse"

The speaker reinterprets the idiom "putting the cart before the horse" not just as a sequence of events, but as a societal failure to prioritize living connections over material assets. Historically, people prioritized keeping their carts when acquiring new horses, rather than prioritizing the horse-to-human bond. This reflects a broader modern trend of valuing "material over the living connection."

2. Historical Context and the Shift to Mechanization

• The 9-to-5 Standard: The modern workday is rooted in the physical limitations of a horse, which could work at 3 mph before reaching "halting fatigue." The speaker argues that humans are currently treating themselves like machines, ignoring the biological rhythms that were once respected when working alongside horses.
• Economic Transition: In 1900, there were 21 million horses and only 8,000 cars. By 1930, this shifted to 18 million horses and 27 million cars. The speaker notes that the Bureau of the Census identified this rapid transition as a contributing factor to the economic instability of the Great Depression.

3. Coregulation and Interspecies Communication

The speaker emphasizes that horses act as a "portal to face-to-face communication."

• Methodology: Teaching children to drive a cart involves sitting side-by-side, fostering a natural, shared learning environment.
• Coregulation: Drawing on the Child Mind Institute, the speaker explains that working with horses requires the human to control their own energy to calm the horse. This "heartbeat to hoof beat" connection is a form of interspecies coregulation that has existed for over 5,000 years.
• Sensory Awareness: Unlike digital interactions, working with a horse requires being physically present, using voice, hands, and seat to communicate.

4. The Crisis of Disconnection

The speaker highlights a significant decline in human social interaction:

• Statistics: Face-to-face socializing among American adults has dropped by 30% since 2003, with a 45% decline among teenagers.
• The "Real" vs. "Pixels": The speaker argues that we are losing essential social skills that can only be developed in "real space." The constant reliance on screens and AI has led to a state where people struggle to distinguish between what is real and what is manufactured.

5. Notable Quotes

• Dolly Parton: "Just having good horse sense, you can make more money and get more done than all the people who got to fumble around in their books trying to find an answer to something."
• Ray Hunt: "There is one other thing that makes it all work, and I do not know what that is." (Referring to the intangible, spiritual connection between horse and human).
• Great-great-grandfather: "When tractors entered the field, I didn't want to farm anymore. It just wasn't the same without a horse. We were a team."

6. Synthesis and Conclusion

The main takeaway is that modern society has traded a vital, living connection for mechanical efficiency, leading to widespread isolation and a loss of "horse sense." The speaker advocates for a return to "HI" (Horse Intelligence) and the prioritization of living, breathing relationships. By engaging with horses, humans can reclaim the ability to coregulate, communicate face-to-face, and recognize that some of the most important aspects of life are not programmable or digital, but are found in the intangible connection between species.