In a previous blog post, I warned against anthropomorphizing when dealing with, training, and developing relationships with horses. Recently, I read Coming Home on the Wind, Stories of Kinship and Healing in Nature, by Deborah Frances, aka Dancing Crow, a naturopath whose writing draws on her heritage as a Native American. The directness and familiarity with which she communicates with horses and other creatures struck me. To better appreciate her stories, I explored the difference between anthropomorphizing and personifying, believing the way Native American stories that feature animals as main characters and teachers was where my understanding faltered. My comprehension improved, but as I share in this piece, I have much to learn.
When I shared my thoughts with Deborah (I am now honored to call her Dancing Crow); she pushed me further.
(Re your discussion of anthropomorphizing versus personifying).
For me, it’s more about recognizing what is, and in Native America, we don’t see ourselves as separate, which is very different than the predominant culture. We’re animals too, and we find a way to communicate that’s from the heart. So, from my perspective, it’s neither personifying nor anthropomorphizing; it just is.
And this blurb from her book’s description caught my eye:
Spirit is not separate from the mundane aspects of our lives. Our Divine Creator is infused through each moment and throughout all creation. What makes it seem otherwise is no more than an error of perception.
I hope you’ll join me in 2026, to seek fresh perspectives that will enhance our understanding of horses and the world we share with them. I’m grateful to Deborah for enriching my perspective. Consider the following thoughts and let me know what you think.
Understanding the Distinction
Anthropomorphizing involves projecting human characteristics, emotions, and motivations onto animals in a way that diminishes or misrepresents their true nature. When we anthropomorphize, we're making animals “human-like” to make them more relatable or understandable to us. This leads to misreading animal behavior and applying inappropriate expectations—like assuming a horse is being “stubborn” when they’re confused or afraid.
Personification, especially within Indigenous storytelling traditions, operates from a different worldview. Rather than making animals human-like, it recognizes that animals already possess intelligence, wisdom, and agency. The stories don’t diminish the animal’s nature but suggest that different beings communicate and share wisdom across species boundaries.
In Lakota and other Native traditions, animals in stories serve as teachers because of their perspectives and abilities, not despite them. Horse teaches about freedom and partnership; Eagle, about vision and connection to the sacred—these teachings emerge from their essential nature, not from their becoming human surrogates.
The Problem with “Stupid”
The difference becomes even clearer when we examine how we talk about horses who seem slow to learn or show a lack of desire to cooperate.
Anthropomorphizing creates stories like: “My horse is so stupid. I’ve shown him this jump a hundred times, and he still doesn’t get it. He can’t to figure out what I want. Look at him standing there with that blank expression—there’s nothing going on upstairs. Some horses are just dumb, and I got stuck with one of them.”
This judges the horse by human standards of learning and comprehension, dismissing his natural ways of processing information.
Personification might tell it this way: “Horse came as my teacher today about patience and different ways of knowing. When I thought he ‘didn’t understand’ the jump, I realized Horse was teaching me to slow down and listen. His hesitation was wisdom. When I stopped pushing and started paying attention to what he was telling me, we found our way together.”
Oneness notices: “My chest tightened. He hesitated. I breathed. He moved forward. Which came first? Does it matter? The sensation of dissolving cause-and-effect felt like a soft breeze merging all elements, revealing that we weren’t separate issues to resolve, but a single action unfolding.”
What “It Just Is” Means in Practice
When Dancing Crow says, “it just is,” she’s pointing to something that happens before language, before labels. Here’s what I’m beginning to understand:
This isn't mystical. It’s what happens when we stop talking to ourselves about the horse and start being with the horse.
The Heart of the Matter
The key difference might be this:
What This Means for How We Work with Horses
I’m still absorbing how to practice from this place of understanding. Most of the time, I catch myself somewhere between personification and oneness—aspiring to dissolve separation while still experiencing it. Experiencing oneness can seem alien, causing me to revert to the familiar patterns of my rational mind, which, despite its illusory safety, offers a sense of security.
What's shifting for me:
An Ongoing Journey
Dancing Crow’s words opened a door I’m still learning to walk through because the oneness she describes isn’t something I can grasp with my mind or practice as a technique. It’s more like a remembering—a return to what my body already knows when my mind stops insisting on separation, and that will not come without a struggle for me.
The distinction between anthropomorphizing, personification, and oneness isn’t just philosophical. It shapes everything: how we interpret behavior, how we respond to challenges, whether we approach our horses as problems to solve or as mirrors showing us where we’ve forgotten our connection to the larger web of life.
When we personify rather than anthropomorphize, we open ourselves to learning from our horses rather than imposing our will upon them. We respect their intelligence while honoring their horse-ness.
When we move toward oneness, we discover something even more profound: there is no “them” and “us” to bridge. There is only the relationship itself, arising fresh in each moment, teaching us that separation was always an illusion.
Spirit is not separate from the mundane aspects of our lives. Our Divine Creator is infused through each moment and throughout all creation. What makes it seem otherwise is no more than an error of perception.
May we continue correcting that error, one breath, one moment of presence, one honest encounter with our horses at a time.
When I shared my thoughts with Deborah (I am now honored to call her Dancing Crow); she pushed me further.
(Re your discussion of anthropomorphizing versus personifying).
For me, it’s more about recognizing what is, and in Native America, we don’t see ourselves as separate, which is very different than the predominant culture. We’re animals too, and we find a way to communicate that’s from the heart. So, from my perspective, it’s neither personifying nor anthropomorphizing; it just is.
And this blurb from her book’s description caught my eye:
Spirit is not separate from the mundane aspects of our lives. Our Divine Creator is infused through each moment and throughout all creation. What makes it seem otherwise is no more than an error of perception.
I hope you’ll join me in 2026, to seek fresh perspectives that will enhance our understanding of horses and the world we share with them. I’m grateful to Deborah for enriching my perspective. Consider the following thoughts and let me know what you think.
Understanding the Distinction
Anthropomorphizing involves projecting human characteristics, emotions, and motivations onto animals in a way that diminishes or misrepresents their true nature. When we anthropomorphize, we're making animals “human-like” to make them more relatable or understandable to us. This leads to misreading animal behavior and applying inappropriate expectations—like assuming a horse is being “stubborn” when they’re confused or afraid.
Personification, especially within Indigenous storytelling traditions, operates from a different worldview. Rather than making animals human-like, it recognizes that animals already possess intelligence, wisdom, and agency. The stories don’t diminish the animal’s nature but suggest that different beings communicate and share wisdom across species boundaries.
In Lakota and other Native traditions, animals in stories serve as teachers because of their perspectives and abilities, not despite them. Horse teaches about freedom and partnership; Eagle, about vision and connection to the sacred—these teachings emerge from their essential nature, not from their becoming human surrogates.
The Problem with “Stupid”
The difference becomes even clearer when we examine how we talk about horses who seem slow to learn or show a lack of desire to cooperate.
Anthropomorphizing creates stories like: “My horse is so stupid. I’ve shown him this jump a hundred times, and he still doesn’t get it. He can’t to figure out what I want. Look at him standing there with that blank expression—there’s nothing going on upstairs. Some horses are just dumb, and I got stuck with one of them.”
This judges the horse by human standards of learning and comprehension, dismissing his natural ways of processing information.
Personification might tell it this way: “Horse came as my teacher today about patience and different ways of knowing. When I thought he ‘didn’t understand’ the jump, I realized Horse was teaching me to slow down and listen. His hesitation was wisdom. When I stopped pushing and started paying attention to what he was telling me, we found our way together.”
Oneness notices: “My chest tightened. He hesitated. I breathed. He moved forward. Which came first? Does it matter? The sensation of dissolving cause-and-effect felt like a soft breeze merging all elements, revealing that we weren’t separate issues to resolve, but a single action unfolding.”
What “It Just Is” Means in Practice
When Dancing Crow says, “it just is,” she’s pointing to something that happens before language, before labels. Here’s what I’m beginning to understand:
- Anthropomorphizing requires me to translate: “What is my horse thinking?” (as if he thinks like me).
- Personification requires me to respect: “What is Horse teaching?” (honoring him as a being with his own wisdom).
- Oneness notices that by letting go of the question and just focusing on what unfolds between us, without assigning blame, we honor our interconnected natures.
This isn't mystical. It’s what happens when we stop talking to ourselves about the horse and start being with the horse.
The Heart of the Matter
The key difference might be this:
- Anthropomorphizing says: “Animals are like humans”
- Personification says: “Humans and animals are all persons in their own right, each with gifts to share”
- Oneness says: “The separation between human and animal is an error of perception.”
What This Means for How We Work with Horses
I’m still absorbing how to practice from this place of understanding. Most of the time, I catch myself somewhere between personification and oneness—aspiring to dissolve separation while still experiencing it. Experiencing oneness can seem alien, causing me to revert to the familiar patterns of my rational mind, which, despite its illusory safety, offers a sense of security.
What's shifting for me:
- Less: Analyzing what my horse “means” by his behavior - More: Noticing what’s happening in my body when he does that behavior.
- Less: Trying to “communicate clearly” with aids and cues - More: Breathing together, matching energy, waiting for alignment.
- Less: Problem-solving his resistance - More: Feeling where I’m creating the resistance through my tension, agenda, or disconnection.
- Less: Training him to understand me - More: Learning his language, which is spoken through physicality and presence.
An Ongoing Journey
Dancing Crow’s words opened a door I’m still learning to walk through because the oneness she describes isn’t something I can grasp with my mind or practice as a technique. It’s more like a remembering—a return to what my body already knows when my mind stops insisting on separation, and that will not come without a struggle for me.
The distinction between anthropomorphizing, personification, and oneness isn’t just philosophical. It shapes everything: how we interpret behavior, how we respond to challenges, whether we approach our horses as problems to solve or as mirrors showing us where we’ve forgotten our connection to the larger web of life.
When we personify rather than anthropomorphize, we open ourselves to learning from our horses rather than imposing our will upon them. We respect their intelligence while honoring their horse-ness.
When we move toward oneness, we discover something even more profound: there is no “them” and “us” to bridge. There is only the relationship itself, arising fresh in each moment, teaching us that separation was always an illusion.
Spirit is not separate from the mundane aspects of our lives. Our Divine Creator is infused through each moment and throughout all creation. What makes it seem otherwise is no more than an error of perception.
May we continue correcting that error, one breath, one moment of presence, one honest encounter with our horses at a time.
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