At Connections through horses, we thrive on the daily opportunities to enrich the lives of others through sharing the magic of horses with students. What is this magic? Well, it is special to the horse. Other pets are amazing and great to be around but what makes the horse different? Horses are prey and herd animals, they are accustomed to fleeing from anything that threatens them. Things that threaten them in our world could be as small as a plastic bag flying around in the wind. The response from the horse is the same as if they were fleeing from a mountain lion. How do you get the horse to realize the plastic bag is not a threat? You have to be calm. You have to have built a relationship of trust with your horse so that if you are calm, your horse will be calm.