Is this what people mean when they say they have an animal guide?

I have been running (jogging) a lot over the past few years. I used to have the idea that it was something I should be able to do for a short time and get the results, and then I could quit (ha ha). During the past year, my attitude has really changed, to where I now run, or work out if it is too hot to run, as a habit, because I NEED it to keep my stress level from work down, and maintain my health and sanity.

When I first started, I used to try to keep up with my husband, who has been a runner all his life, and consequently, I was always struggling with it, and often caused myself unnecessary injuries. I was SO frustrated, because he just seemed to float along, while I was laboring and struggling and usually in pain in one area or another. I gave up trying to keep up, and now we just walk to our starting point together, then he takes off and I go my own pace. I run about 5.2 miles in 50 minutes, on average. He runs the same route in 39 minutes -WOW!

At any rate, while I was really struggling, and wearing knee wraps to keep the pain down, I had been doing a lot of energy work and yoga, and one day when I was running into a headwind, I kept feeling like there was a herd of horses running with me. Horse, the leader, was running right beside me and would put his nose against my back and gently nudge me on. There was a female horse waiting up ahead, at the turn in to my neighborhood, and we were all running to greet her. It really helped me keep going that day.

Since then, I have thought of Horse when I have needed an extra push while running, but also more recently, now that I run for myself and don't worry about trying to keep up with my hubby, I still feel the herd around me, tossing their heads and whinnying and Horse gives me the extra nudge or sometimes lays his head across my back like a hug.

Today, I was having a lovely run and I started having the same feeling and I could picture Horse and the rest of the herd with me, and it suddenly dawned on me that I have been quite attracted to horse art in the past few years, even to where I purchased some amazing black and white photos of horses facing into approaching storms, one of the times when I was up in Flagstaff last year, and had them framed professionally and hung them in my front hallway. I love living in the American Southwest, but I have never been one to like Country music or Country kitsch, but I love these photos, they are anything but kitschy.

Thinking about this made me remember how when I was a lonely little kid without many friends, going to elementary school, I used to love riding on the "Horsey Swings" - swings that were like merry go round horses. I named my favorite one "Blueberry" (guess what color it was) and I used to try go get a turn swinging on him at recess, whenever I could.

I live in a big city and do not own horses. I have ridden, when my friends and I used to go wash cars for the money to rent horses for trail rides, back when the Air Force Academy stables, in Pine Valley, used to have horses you could pay to ride by the hour. Horses aren't on my mind often, it just struck me today, when I was running, that there seems to be a common thread here, and it made me think - could this be a "guide" or "totem" such as people talk about? When I envision the herd running with me, and especially Horse, I can really feel a strong sense of energy, to the point I can practically hear snorting and chuffing and feel the pounding hooves. It is an interesting thought, at any rate.

Thanks,
Gwynn

Sounds good to me, a spirit 'guide' is exactly what seems to be described - guiding you along a good path.

It could be a subconscious thing you're associating with nature, out doors and your like of horses. Id say it's a given there is a connection.

Either way, don't analyse it.. just accept it, let it guide you when you need it. Sometimes if we try to embrace completely the things we feel so strong, the feelings can withdraw or lessen...

reply to post by winofiend


Thanks for your reply, winofiend - you are probably right that I shouldn't analyze too much. It was just a stray thought that took me by surprise today. How cool to discover a possible connection that I never thought of as important before! I am in my mid forties and some days I feel very cynical, like nothing can surprise me and I'm ready to deal with the worst no matter what happens. So, to not only be surprised, but to be surprised with something extremely positive was a very pleasant turn of thoughts, today!

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar
Thats quite amazing, and thanks for posting it.
I myself have always been a bit puzzled about animal guides, especially when people claim really exotic ones. I then think, whats that animal got to do with the life you are leading now?
Yours however makes sense and is relevent for you.

I have some good friends who are Lakota Sioux. A few years ago I was visiting Pine Ridge, and I met a young girl (she was about 25) whose grandmother had been quite ill. The girl prayed and undertook a vision quest. While praying, she saw a wolf pup run up to her grandmother's bed and grab something in it's teeth. It began shaking it violently and growling ferociously. (You know how puppies will shake a toy back and forth? It's like they just go crazy!)

She said a medicine man told her it was a guardian animal. It took the sickness away. The grandmother healed.

On that visit, my nephew (who was about 9 years old then) and I were sitting outside on a picnic table. A huge hawk landed on an adjacent table about 10 feet from my nephew and just flat-out stared at him for about 30 seconds, then took a couple hops and flew away. I don't know if that was "significant", but it was very cool.

reply to post by gwynnhwyfar


Very cool. Sounds like animal spirit to me! I agree with people above, don't over analyze, but do be open to the feelings and what your heart tells you. Running with wild horses sounds like a spiritual experience indeed!

There are loads of stories, myths, etc. about horses. Maybe you want to check some out and feel what resonates?

This is just one site: Horse symbolism

Your story is wonderful. It sounds like you may have a spirit horse helping you.
While we were at Pine Ridge, we went to the Red Cloud school. A sculptor
named Sam 2 Bulls carved this 'spirit horse' for me.

reply to post by ColeYounger


What a beautiful sculpture, I love it!!!

Yes, I have four dogs, so I can totally picture the way the wolf cub would have shaken whatever it got a hold of. Your stories are really cool, and seem to be more clear signs. Or maybe it is that the Lakota culture is more open to such things, and so picks up on them more easily, whereas I have taken a long time to "clue in" that something might be going on here...

At any rate, thank you for telling these stories! I appreciate the insight!

reply to post by ns9504

Thank you! I have started looking around on the web for horse related spiritual info ever since I made the connection yesterday. I'm just surprised - it kind of came out of left field for me. When I was a kid I always had cats and dogs around. I never lived on a farm or had horses and I pretty much mentally related horses with the Country music culture, even though I always liked to ride when my friends and I could save up enough to go riding. I associate Country music, although I do enjoy some of it, with a kind of "goodie two shoes" Christian religiosity (probably unfair of me) and that is definitely not me.

Although...now that I think of it - I used to volunteer with the North American Riding for the Handicapped (NARHA) - dang - maybe my roots with horses go deeper than I thought. Funny how I haven't thought about all this in years.

Originally posted by ColeYounger
I have some good friends who are Lakota Sioux. A few years ago I was visiting Pine Ridge, and I met a young girl (she was about 25) whose grandmother had been quite ill. The girl prayed and undertook a vision quest. While praying, she saw a wolf pup run up to her grandmother's bed and grab something in it's teeth. It began shaking it violently and growling ferociously. (You know how puppies will shake a toy back and forth? It's like they just go crazy!)

She said a medicine man told her it was a guardian animal. It took the sickness away. The grandmother healed.

On that visit, my nephew (who was about 9 years old then) and I were sitting outside on a picnic table. A huge hawk landed on an adjacent table about 10 feet from my nephew and just flat-out stared at him for about 30 seconds, then took a couple hops and flew away. I don't know if that was "significant", but it was very cool.

I just wanted to make a note about those "hops" here - very standard way that theae large birds move.

Thank you! I wanted to call that out.

I think your story makes complete sense in my view of what guides really are and what they represent. I have read a lot and have personal experience with this subject. Ok so a guide in most cases like this is a trade off. Horses run and thats part of what they do naturally so a horse as a guide in your case is correct in that you get the energy somewhat of the horse but more than that you get the spirit of a running animal which gives you the drive and understanding of what it is to be a powerfull creature. The other side of it is and this is where most have no idea is the fact that the horse spirit gets to live through YOU. They are actual living ents with thought process and motivations. This is advanced shamanism, on a level of understanding but not deed, because there are many out there who dabble in this occult feild and make contracts with entities that are binding because of soul association. The longer and deeper a person mingles with other life force the stronger the bond. Anyway its not a scary thing mostly, it works in my case. I have a wolf guide that appeared to me years ago when I was studying ken jutsu and batto jutsu, samurai arts. Once I accepted the wolf spirit my skill level went up exponentially. It gives me greater understanding of battle and fighting and also fighting strength, which coincides with many native american attributes of the wolf. It works for me and I have an ally in life that gives me strength.

Mine are blackbird, wolf and bald eagle. The first is about being curious, the second one is about strength and the third one is the spiritual connection with the universe. Sometimes I see a blackbird and it tells me to be happy, inquisitive. I can sometimes hear the bald eagle, time to listen to what the spirit world has to say. Wolf is in the background, always watching me.

www.moondragon.org...

This is for you OP. But you can also check other animals.

OP what animal is in that picture. Is it a dog? If it is, then what breed?

reply to post by RhinestoneCowboy

Hi there. Do you mean my avatar pic? It is a drawing I did of one of my mini-dachshunds. She was laying down napping, with her chin across my leg, when I sketched her.

Originally posted by QueenofWeird
www.moondragon.org...

This is for you OP. But you can also check other animals.

Thank you, lots of good information on that site!

your OP was a satisifying read


indeed, horse as an animal spirit guide is probably correct... since horse made itelf available to you and you in turn accepted horse spirit

in ordinary reality Owl & Turtle came to m, or at least i recognised them as making their spirit availabe to me
and i chose to follow their 'advice'... now 'cave-bear' is extinct so the only explaination i have is that Cave-bear animal guide came to me in one of my non-ordinary reality journeys


the wolf & the martial arts post is a real world testimony that the anima l spirit guide prowess... can be emulated by a person...if they really believe and practice that determination in modern world circumstances, situations


sorta like Zen --- become 'horse' and jogging will become an enjoyment & less of a labor or task thing


Owl...in my case shows up all over the place...as if owl were a ghost always around me but only being visible on occasion

Originally posted by St Udio
your OP was a satisifying read


indeed, horse as an animal spirit guide is probably correct... since horse made itelf available to you and you in turn accepted horse spirit

in ordinary reality Owl & Turtle came to m, or at least i recognised them as making their spirit availabe to me
and i chose to follow their 'advice'... now 'cave-bear' is extinct so the only explaination i have is that Cave-bear animal guide came to me in one of my non-ordinary reality journeys


the wolf & the martial arts post is a real world testimony that the anima l spirit guide prowess... can be emulated by a person...if they really believe and practice that determination in modern world circumstances, situations


sorta like Zen --- become 'horse' and jogging will become an enjoyment & less of a labor or task thing


Owl...in my case shows up all over the place...as if owl were a ghost always around me but only being visible on occasion

I like this explanation - so in your opinion, there is an offer and an acceptance between the human and spirit entities? Very interesting, and that does seem to fit in my case.

Further on to this... I accept pretty much any and all spiritual help that I am offered, on principal.

Thanks!
Gwynn

I found mine out by paying attention to how i behave in animal like instances.
Running, fight or flight, hunting, defense. etc are moments when your animal spirit comes through to help you, much like you described.
I had a similar situation and discovered mine was a snake.