03/24/2025
Tourniquet didn’t just survive the wild—he survived people. His body remembers every moment of uncertainty, every forced interaction, every time escape wasn’t an option. Even now, when the halter comes out, when I step just a little too close, I see the flicker in his eyes—his nervous system deciding: Am I safe?
And then there’s me.
For so long, I thought his reactions were just his—his fears, his past, his lessons to learn. But when he’d leave, when he’d brace, when he’d hesitate… something inside me did too. It was more than frustration.
Neuroception is the subconscious process of detecting safety or danger. And the truth is, both Tourniquet and I were scanning for the same thing.
Because, like him, I grew up bracing.
Like him, I learned to endure when I couldn’t escape.
Like him, I held on too tightly to survive.
The irony is, I thought I was teaching him to trust. But maybe, all along, he’s been teaching me.
Horses don’t just respond to what we do. They respond to what we are. And the moment I stop gripping, stop forcing, stop bracing for something that isn’t even here anymore—he notices. And he stays.
I shared the full depth of this journey in my latest blog post. If this resonated, you might want to read it. 📖
