I was recently asked this very question by a new client. Her horse really made me look like a genius! After a few minutes of getting to know each other, he settled right into the session and just went for it.

I barely had to touch him and he let it all hang out!

Yawning - licking and chewing - the whole body shake and shimmy - tongue contortions - eye rolls - weight shifting - passing gas (yes, that's also useful in letting tension go!) - big snorts

You name it, he did it, unfettered by our astonishment and laughter at his expressiveness.

But not every horse releases the same way. Some of them:

• hold it in until I give a break or walk away
• are quite stoic throughout the entire session and release when I am done
• show it in much more subtle ways

So what ARE some of the more subtle ways a horse releases tension? 

• deep sighs
• shifting weight
• deeper breaths
• stomach gurgling

The most important thing is to be tuned in, to stay with them even if it seems like you are watching paint dry.  

Nothing gets a horse to trust you faster than when you are tuned in, and that means you also need to accept that not every horse will give you big and spectacular releases. But that doesn't mean he is letting go of less tension! 

Restriction and tension held deeply and for along time are best released in a slow and gentle way. 

Just as each of us is unique in our response to life, so are our horses. And every horse has something new to teach us if we are willing to listen and connect.