Horse Horses
There is not so much difference between the horse and the dog. They are both domesticated animals, and so represent urges and drives in ourselves we have learned to harness or direct. The big difference is that the horse can carry us and serve us in our labours much more powerfully than a dog.
For myself I feel the horse is the most beautiful and loved herbivore.
The dream horse also depicts or expresses our pleasurable energy and exuberance, the sort of enthusiasm or feelings of well-being that can ‘carry’ one through the day easily; dynamic sexual drive; the physical energy and life processes that ‘carry’ us around. As such it may also link with the life processe. Horses like other animals are quick to respond to love and danger. So they can be panicked and you can feel the effect of this part of you. See Mammal Brain
The energy that carry – or pull – us through growth and ageing, as happens when we dream of a horse drawn carriage or cart. Therefore in old age the unbidden processes which move us toward death may be depicted as the horse in a threatening or helpful role. The horse depicts human instincts that have been harnessed or socialised for generations, but have perhaps been let slide into non-use or crushed. It is also survival drive, sexuality, love, all yearning toward service, toward metamorphosis, all that has powerful energy to move us.
A horse or a man on a horse can sometimes signify a messenger or a message.
In his book Dreams and Dreaming, Norman MacKenzie says the horse ‘… is dynamic power and a means of locomotion; it carries one away like a surge or instinct. It is subject to panics like all instinctive creatures which lack higher consciousness. Also it has to do with sorcery and magic spells, especially the black, night horse, which heralds death.’ In a woman’s dream the horse can sometimes represent her relationship with a man and the power and strength she gets from that, as in the following dream.
Example: As I talked to the pale golden horse it felt more and more as if I was talking to a male companion who was in union with me. As I talked about my mother, she was standing before me in full anger and blaming me for bringing out the witch in her. H.
Example: A rather shadowy man in a building opposite to where I used to live as a teenager was introducing me to a new job. I seemed to understand that I was to do a milk-round. He led a small horse from out of the building. It was to draw a cart. When the horse saw me it ran to me and become very excited and loving, rubbing against me and licking me with a very long tongue. I was both pleased and slightly threatened. Threatened because it was so intense. At one point though we rubbed against each other with a degree of sexual pleasure.
I believe many young girls feel totally as if they are fully connected and loved as the photo illustrates.
But our dream horse can be a wonderful guide and mirror for us.
Example: I love horses too and they are great teachers, for they mirror what goes on inside us. I used to ride horses for many years and when I was not convinced about what I asked the horse to do, it would not consider me as its leader and was more likely to refuse to do what I had asked. Their sensing is perfectly developed. Anna, A few weeks ago I saw a documentation about Buck Brannaman. He says –
“Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see. Sometimes, you will.” So says Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy and sage on horseback who travels the country for nine grueling months a year helping horses with people problems.
Black or dark horse: Unaccepted passions; threat of death. The unknown parts of your tremendous energy arising out of unconscious processes. The dream horse represents the very long history we have had with horses, through peace and terrible wars there are very long associations we have with them. It shares all that with us and so can be realisations emerging from our long past. Or it can represent threatening changes. Riding a black horse can represent the amazing energy used to bring awareness of things that had been unconscious into consciousness.
Blinkered horse: Not allowing oneself to see what is happening around you; anxiety about life, or an attempt to control ones natural anxiety or panics.
Controlling the horse or fear of it: Trying to control, or fear of, feelings of love and sexuality, of our own natural drives and emotions that are powerful enough either to give us motivation in our activities, or drag us along unwillingly.
Dead horse: Serious loss of energy or motivation which could lead to illness or depression; an old and dying set of habits and motivations or way of life.
Falling off horse: Relating badly to ones urges and needs. This could result in tension, breakdown or illness.
Grooming a horse: Taking care of ones basic needs such as food, shelter, sex.
Horse and carriage: The natural processes of life that move us through youth to old age; forces that can move us, either from within or as natural events, but which, if we are relating well to the horse, we can guide in some measure. It can also indicate the inner power which brings thoughts to awareness, things you might be blocking to think about. The horses represent the power which draws the mind.
Horse dragging the dreamer along: Impetuosity of feelings; feelings dragged along by natural urges.
Horse loving you or expressing sexual feelings: The flow of positive and natural sexuality and warmth from within.
Horse race: The events of everyday life, and your relationship with people; everyday competition and where you rate yourself in it; what happens in the race shows how you are relating to opportunity, or how you feel about your accomplishments and being part of the ‘human race’.
Horse running freely: Allowing ones emotions or sexuality free reign; love of life.
Horse unwilling to move or carry: Your inner natural reaction is against the action or direction you are trying to go. Sometimes this is a warning that you should not go in that direction.
Horseshoe: Good luck, receptivity if prongs upwards; bad luck or lack of receptiveness if prongs downwards.
Large horse: Enormous energy.
New born horse: Emerging energy or new motivations.
Old or worn out horse: State of your feelings, perhaps worn out from overwork; may refer to a member of the family.
Riderless horse: Sometimes represents the death of someone, as in the following example.
Example: “I dreamed that I was awakened by the sound of a horse’s hooves in the street. I saw a white horse, with no rider, stopping at midnight in front of our house. I knew it came for my younger sister. I went to the door and opened it to call her, when suddenly I saw her coming down the stairs, all dressed in white. She did not say a word to me, but walked with stately steps down the stairs, through the hall, and out of the door. She mounted the horse and rode away. I woke up crying.” The woman’s sister died a month later.
Riding or leading horse easily: Good relationship with inner drives and emotions; the harmony between instinctive drives and personality.
Running away from a horse or horsemen: Fear of sexuality, which includes responsibility for parenthood and relationship. Fear of ones own strong desires or urges; avoiding the responsibility of directing ones own feelings and desires.
Sick or dying horse: Loss of health, energy, enthusiasm. Have a physical check.
Speaking horse: Realisation of what you are feeling but have not been aware of; expression of levels of feeling or body processes usually unconscious.
Strange or unknown horseman/woman: Message from the unconscious; a new opportunity or event.
Struggling to control the horse: Fighting with ones urges and natural drives; difficulty in controlling ones emotions or sexuality.
The mare: femininity, receptiveness, fertility or a woman.
The stallion: masculinity, power and virility or a man.
This energy wave rises, but in fulfilling itself in genital sex the wave falls again, self-awareness with it. However, if the energy is released, and yet not allowed to spill out in the full sexual release, the energy keeps on rising – flying in fact – lifting awareness with it, until it becomes a vast awareness of life and death. The white horse can have a similar meaning. For instance a woman turning her love of her children into social caring suggests a way of expression that goes beyond personal drives or the instinctive urges toward personal survival. She ‘flies up’ into a wider social context. See: Cayce, Edgar.
In mythology Pegasus was born from the blood when Perseus cut off Medusa’s head. Pegasus then lived roaming freely until Bellerophon caught him with a golden bridle given him by Athena. Bellerophon went through adventures such as the slaying of chimera with the help of Pegasus. But Bellerophon tried to ride Pegasus to Mount Olympus (Heaven) but Zeus caused Pegasus to throw him off and fall back to Earth.
However Pegasus arrived at Mount Olympus where he served Zeus. The symbolic meaning of this is that when the uncontrolled and undirected processes of thought and intellect are stilled a new level of experience or energy is released. This new way of relating to sexuality or life energy can uplift or expand consciousness to the point where we arrive at cosmic consciousness. But the old human personality cannot manage this and falls away as a new being emerges. Chimera, the destructive and illusory view of life arising from a purely sensory view of life is killed in the process. See: cosmic consciousness.
Thrown from horse: It depends on who is thrown from the horse and why. In general though it suggests that the instinctive or spontaneous life force has cast off an attitude that is restraining it, or not dealing with it well. One dreamer who saw a man thrown from a white horse realised that it showed how, “The forces of restraint, moral, sexual, worldly active that I have been imposing on myself have been thrown off.”
Tied up horse: Inhibition; need for release of feelings and allowing freedom of expression to feelings and creativity.
Training a horse: Developing new habits; directing your energies in a socially acceptable way; learning to direct sexual and emotional energy.
Uneasy on ride: being taken for a ride; feeling ones emotions or natural urges are dominating.
White horse: Changing sexual drive into love and wider awareness; a meeting with expanded awareness of yourself.
Wild horse: Undirected energy; sexuality which might not take care of personal or interpersonal needs.
Working horse: The energy or motivation needed to work; how you feel about yourself, that you are only a work-horse, or perhaps treated as such.
The astrological sign of Sagittarius is depicted by the half human half horse. Sagittarius, the Archer, is a ‘Mutable’ ‘Fire’ sign. In it the free, unrestrained activities of Aries which became ‘fixed’ qualities in Leo, now become balanced and harmonised, and work toward high aims. It is represented in the Zodiac as a Centaur-like being, half human, half animal, turning to shoot an arrow at the ‘Scorpion.’ The Sagittarian is said to have high ideals and philosophy, prophetic insight, and the power that overcomes sin and death. |
In this sign the animal nature is ruled and directed by the human spiritual nature. The symbol of Sagittarius – half beast and half man represents this new emergence. The emergence of the human out of the animal, and the different sense that human beings have of themselves. It suggests a new type of human being in fact. If we look at the Zodiac from there on – Capricorn, we have the half goat half man figure – until we arrive at Aquarius, a fully fledged human figure. The human faculty is to transcend, to make that change. To switch across seasons, physiological changes, to actually attain consciousness. This allows us to look at the seasons, to adjust to them in a completely new way than the animal.
Example: ‘As I talked to the pale golden horse it felt more and more as if I were talking to a male companion who was in union with me.’ Alison B.
Alison’s horse is obviously portraying her feelings for a man, but also that motivating and active power in herself. The dream shows how easy and integrated she is with this.
Example: I was driving along Tottenham Court Road with my wife and my youngest son. As we neared Euston Road I saw the magnificent sight of hundreds of horses coming full gallop toward me. I knew it was a great horse race – something like the Grand National. There was every sort of horse – many riderless, all surging in a mass so thick there seemed no space between them. Then we were walking in the Covent Garden area, and it was still a market. I was crying openly at the wonder of what I had seen. Edward.
Edward’s tears are because his dream brought him a glimpse of something much bigger than his own small life. He touched the amazing flow of the energy behind the human race in its infinity of forms. Perhaps just lightly he experienced cosmic consciousness, the state of awareness that transcends ones own limitations of body and mind. But the dream also has elements of the competitive drive we feel as humans, and the struggle to know where we stand in relationship with others and the mass of other people we exist within.
Idioms: Back the wrong horse; from the horse’s mouth; don’t look a gift horse in the mouth; horse sense; you can lead a horse to water; wild horses; workhorse; horsing about; getting on your high horse; eat like a horse; back the wrong horse; beating a dead horse. See: spiritual life in dreams .
Useful Questions and Hints:
What is your relationship with the horse and what does this say about how you relate to your own motivating and energising drives?
Where is the horse taking you, or where are you directing the horse – this gives you clues to your direction in life?
Is the horse decidedly male or female – if so is there a connection with how you are relating to someone or yourself?
See Talking to Inner Self – Summing Up – Techniques for Exploring your Dreams – Martial Art of the Mind
Comments
i just had a dream a few hours ago, and when i woke up i found myself with a feeling that i needed to know what it ment atlest what i rememeber.
i was in the woods in a cabin, snow on the ground outside, i saw 2 or 3 horses run past a window or sliding glass door (i cant remember color or is they where saddled) then an elk came to the window and i remember being right at the door and our eyes locked and just got a weird feeling from that, then i hear a knock and its a man looking for his horses, i told him to come in a warm up for he looks really cold, and i tell him i saw his horses run past my window……please i need to know what this might mean
Hiya, I dreamt of a friend leading a black stallion up to my window and he jumps in, running around kicking and im scared he’ll hit me
I cannot interpret or understand this dream.I dream about being invite to ride a black or grey by one man…cant remember the horse colour n the face of the man…what does it mean?Is it just a normal dream?Just asking because it keep on coming to my head.The dream is already past 2 or 3 years.I just found this site.
Here is my recent and very clear horsedream: I got the assignment to lead a big, black horse with a wild temper. The reins were poor and there was nowhere to really grip, but I manned up and tried to show it how I was confident enough. It turned out that the trick was being clear but definitely giving it some own space. I soon handled the horse really well, mostly through verbal communication that the horse understood very well. I was aware of that this was a very special horse, and so did the horse. I feel like we connected very good. After a few minutes we reach the place where I was told to lead the horse to, but it seemed to be a trap for the horse. It seemed like they wanted to kill it or at least use it in some bad way. We ran away, I was riding the horse down the street but not sure where to go. The entire dream was pleasant and at a good pace, even when I was challenged and threatened.
No idea what it means but I am facing a lot of life changes soon. I wish I had a strong horse by my side to help and guide me.
In my dream I was standing with my friend in front of two horses harnessed up with blinkers on. They were pulling a carriage of some sort for an army. We were secretly trying to set them free. And my other friends untacked other horses too. The horses ran off but wouldn’t go into the woods unless I ran with them, so I lead them in. And we came across an old blue house with a stables so I was leading one of the injured horses in when I saw a little boy in the stall. Then his mother welcomed us and said she would help he horses. The horse I was leading was palomino.
Jackie – I get from your dream that you are going through inner changes – which usually means making changes in your outer activities. You appear to have been dealing with conflict – the war – and your instinctive or natural feelings are being given more freedom – horses unharnessed. This would make a very big difference in how you feel and react to things.
Leading the horses into the wood suggests you are taking control of your inner life and healing the hurts to your natural self and feelings. The stables are the more secure environment which our feelings need to heal. And the little boy is the part of you that is the most unspoilt part of you, the mother is the mothering that you have offered to your inner self – the horses – and you are leading beauty – the palomino.
See http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/inner-world/
Tony
i was sitting on a horse backwards and moving forwards.
WOW, I had the same dream, only a friend was doing it, and I think it was the same night! I came here today because I finally got a chance to look for the meaning.
I had a very vivid dream last night and I would like some help understanding it. I was walking to the beach with my dog from my house where I knew a resort had horses that they let run free for a little while before sunset. My intention was to go down to the water and ride one of the horses until sunset unbeknown to the resort because I felt like if the horses were running free then I could borrow one for a little bit. I went down to the water and saw a black horse which I jumped on bare back and rose down the beach in the water. It was easy and felt great. The horse was tame and we bonded right away. Then I got off the horse for a little while and was talking to over people on the beach about the horse as thu were intrigued I was riding bareback. Suddenly I realized the sun was almost setting and when I looked back for the horse it was way out in the water and I ha to swim out to get it and bring her back. We had to ride fast back to the hotel before the sunset so I would not get caught. When I arrived back at the resort I said good bye to the horse and walked inside where a group of older men were sitting at a table and they were impressed by my horse riding skills. We began talking and I felt they were charmed by me. One of the men’s grandson sat down at the table and when i looked up it was a man i grew up with but haven’t seen in a few years. He was also my first crush. We were both pleasantly surprised to see each other and I felt a little bit of an attraction to him. Then a bunch of people I grew up with started showing up and I realized that they were a there for a wedding of one of the girls in the group who was also pregnant. The older men where the grandfather’s of some of the people in the group. I was so surprised and happy to see everyone and they were happy to see me too. I stayed and hung out for a bit and then left and walked home with my dog.
I dreamt last nite about crossing a river holding my daughter. There were a lot of people doing this with us. Some seemed very familiar and others were strangers. All around us were horses swimming in the water. At first I was scared, worried for our safety and that the horses were drowning, but as one, a russet colored mare, came closer, it seemed like she was smiling at me and kept swimming past. It was right after that that we reached the other side. What could this possibly mean?
BJ – Your dream suggests you are in the middle of a great change, and there are some worries attached to it – “I was scared.” But in fact your dream goes on to show that despite your worries you reach a good conclusion to the changes in your life.
Also you have a good and healthy inner life that gives you confidence – shown by the mare smiling at you.
Tony
I had a dream a couple of months ago that my dad took me outside to show me something and he sounded really excited. We went to our old barn in our backyard, and he had gotten me a goal. I think it was a boy, but I’m not sure. It was still knock kneed and little. I was playing with it and all the sudden a bear came out of nowhere and was going to eat my horse. (Which is kind of odd because we live in Illinois and there are no bears here) I was NOT going to let it kill my horse because I have wanted a horse for a long time. So I beat the bear up and kicked it and punched it until it was lying on the ground groaning. I felt so bad that I had hurt the bear, and now it was in a lot of pain, so I kneeled down and stroke his head. I was crying and I kept saying to myself, over and over, “I had to protect my horse, I had to protect my horse, I’m so sorry.” (My dad was gone from the dream before the bear came.) I woke up crying, which is the first time I had ever done that. I barely ever even wake up after dreams or nightmares. I still even get emotional TALKING about the dream, which is really weird. I hope you can tell you what this dream means because my dreams are usually total gibberish that I can’t remember, but this one has stayed clear in my mind even after a month or two.
Melvin – Well your horse in a dream is your natural instincts that have been socialised and can help you in many ways. But a bear is also your instincts, but not socialised, so can do their own things.
What I mean is that as a baby you were a little knock kneed mammal, but gradually you were taught to control your instinctive reactions such as anger, taking what you want, expressing your emotions and so on. So in your dream the bear represents the release of feelings that might injure you control – the horse.
But please read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/questions-2/#RealDog
Also read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/brain-levels-and-dreams/
Tony
The dream started off with me cleaning a specific object and speaking to someone I know. I saw that person head out of the house and I thought I’d follow them to what turned out to be an exotic market, somewhere like North Africa. I lost track of this person and so I was trying to find them in different market stalls. Before I know it, I found a beautiful sunny spot outside the market. It was a mound or sand dune of the finest white sand. It was son inviting that I lay on my side on the sand to rest, I looked up to see these tall lush trees with the sun shining through them. I then look back down and saw a white horse running freely to the top of the dune with its mane blowing in the wind, right in front of me. It disappeared for a while and then it appeared again. I’m not sure how or what happened next (it almost felt that I was levitating), but I then find myself with a group of people worshipping or listening to a preacher outdoors (I’m almost sure that it’s not of a Christian faith, likely to be Islam in a North African setting). Please help me, I know this has significant meaning in my life right now. But I just need some guidance to what it all means.
Jo – The person you knew that you followed, I wonder if it was someone you know in waking life. If it was, then it seems to me he/she is someone whose views of life you wanted to follow. But in the dream it isn’t him/her but your feelings about them that interest you. So much so you look in all the exotic places in yourself and around you but you fail to find what you are looking for. If it was a dream character see – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/characters-or-people-in-dreams/
You obviously have been interested in an active way in the inner life and want to experience it not to look and look for it.
Then you climb in consciousness and begin meeting what you have been seeking. The white sand is the purified experience of many seasons; and the sun is the source of Life. The trees are what have grown in you through many previous sojourns. The wonderful white horse is the work you have done in uplifting your instinctive self and freeing it so you can rise – levitate – to meet your teacher – your core self.
The preacher wasn’t Christian or Islamic but from the Mother Church. See Mother Church
Please read http://dreamhawk.com/inner-life/jesse-watkins-experience-of-enlightenment/ ¬ and http://dreamhawk.com/interesting-people/edgar-cayce-and-the-cosmic-mind-superminds/
Tony
I had a dream last night that I was in a pet store/zoo. There were bears there that I wanted to pet so badly, but was told I couldn’t as they were wild animals. At one point as I was talking to my companion ( I couldn’t see her, but we were friends) a younger bear suddenly appeared by my left side and sniffed my arm. I petted it and gave it a kiss on the muzzle before stepping outside. Once outside I heard a commotion and saw a young dark horse pulling a cart and running away from a group of people with a mule (also pulling a cart). I waited until they went away and then managed to slowly approach and catch the horse, even though the poor thing was terrified. I took off the cart and walked the horse back to the barn and made a rope halter. I was taking the harness off of the horse (the horse had somehow changed from a dark almost black to a light reddish brown) when I woke up.
I dreamt of a mare with a colt, and it was in my Mother’s yard. The mare appeared to charge at me as if to protect the colt, but as I ran away, and the mare gained on me, she bypassed me, and simply ran off. She and the colt were brown.
Thomas – I feel this is about fear you developed in relationship with your mother. The mare is a symbol of the mother, and I think the dream is telling you that what scared you was the result of her attempts to care for you.
I know that may sound strange, but I had such a mother who sowed seeds of fear in me that grew into adult life fears. Mothers have such a great anxiety to protect their young that they can do some very strange things.
Tony
I had this dream last night.
I was walking with my younger cousin brother on a known street. And then suddenly two white horses come and one of them starts to hit my younger brother. I try to hit the horse again. There is also a three wheeler vehicle parked.
I Have enjoyed researching your interpretations. I feel that you are very gifted in this area.
Maybe you could put your spin on this dream last night.
” A Black Spotted white Horse always escaping from my Parents House. I was living there at the time. I was trying all night to bring it back home and refrain it from escaping. I tried to make it comfortable to sleep but eventually after 3 or 4 attempts it got away and I couldn’t find it again.
Alec – I know this may sound strange, but I think this is about a talent that you lost.
The horse and your parent’s house are the clues. The parents house means that the dream reminds you of the influences of your parents still active in your life of today. The horse is a wayward side of you with a lot of spirit that was lost after being returned to the old influences.
Try imagining yourself back in the dream and instead of taking the horse back to your parents house, ride it and let it go its own direction. See – http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/secrets-power-dreaming/
Tony
Hi Alec, thanks for your site. I had a dream where I was leading a magnificent black horse along a beach but as we moved along I found that I had led the horse to a dead end where the ocean and a sand bank met. I then had to try and turn the horse around in a very small area and I was afraid for the horse…afraid it may fall in the water. Then I remembered that horse can swim. Ultimately, we managed to get back to where it was safe. At some point I was sitting on the horse on a tandem saddle. I was at the back but there was no one on the front of the saddle but I felt patient and contented.
Would you be so kind as to offer some insight on my fear and anxiety for the horse and the leading it into a dead end. Thanks so much. moi
Moi – The black horse is your instincts, or unwilled impulses, that are very powerful and helpful. The horse is also semi socialised and does not try to be wayward, but it is black, suggesting that it is only barely conscious for you.
It leads you to the edge of the meeting with the unconscious Life forces – see http://dreamhawk.com/dream-encyclopedia/collective-unconscious/ which is usually represented by the sea. You were afraid of this meeting to start with, but then realise the horse can swim. I need to occasionally point you to links in order to get the message across, so please read http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/what-we-need-to-remember-about-us-3/#Unconscious
The tandem saddle suggests you have an invisible companion who is actually working with the horse and you. If you manage to explore the dream you ma get a lot more information from it, so please try http://dreamhawk.com/dream-dictionary/practical-techniques-for-understanding-your-dreams/
Tony
Could interpret a dream for me please.
I dreamt that a black horse pulling an open top carriage that was gold and black. There was a young boy and a man in the carriage. The boy was trying to help someone but the man was deceptively trying to stop him. During the journey the horse fell into a mud puddle twice, bith times were a struggle but it managed to get out. the dream stopped when the horse reached a field with some other horses in it. both passengers were safe and got out of the carriage.
Thanks