Horse is a dominant figure in this dreamer’s story. Humanity made a huge leap forward when horses were tamed. Many cultures see the domestication of the horse as instrumental and important as fire. In shamanic practices throughout the world, horses stood for the dreamtime, releasing heavy burdens, power, freedom, stamina and adaptability.

The horse ‘figure’ in astrology is Sagittarius: the centaur, half man half horse. Briefly the sign represents the pursuit of freedom, philosophical ideas, adventure, friendliness and travel. In Chinese astrology horse is likewise designated (within its positive attributes), as being witty, loving travel, honest and good with money. But with both signs the challenge is to unravel their own psyche to find what nourishes and sustains them, for they each long for intimacy but also find it fetters them.

Native Americans speak of shamans on flying horses that could access information in the heavens. They were often referred to as ‘god dogs’ and for them, the horse embodied power, freedom and authority. According to one of my personal teachers, the horse carries the “decree of responsibility.” The tribes that possessed horses were better prepared for battle. (Aside: in this dream you will see how horse represents the battle one wages within the Self.)

The Celts linked horses to Epona and Rhiannon, harbingers of good luck and protectors of the earth and fertility. For the Greeks and Romans, horses represented wealth and status and the gods and goddesses that created the horse connected those who owned them with those divine and special powers. And then there is Pegasus, the mythical winged horse that could fly to the sky realms and the Trojan Horse, who could hide our own demise.

In the Hindu culture the Sun God traveled across the sky on seven horses and was regarded as Lord Vishnu’s last incarnation. Although the horse arrived too late to ancient Egypt to become part of its pantheon, it signified wealth, status and speed. The horse was seen as precious by the Pharaohs and used cautiously in battle as they liberated fighters with the chariot.

So the overarching symbol in this dream for the dreamer to consider, is how one seeks freedom from self-imposed burdens, by illuminating and liberating, the personal battle that holds one from emotional intimacy. 

The Dream:
I am traveling with a group of people. We are on horses. We have stopped for a break. I am on a palomino tan horse. I am thanking my horse and trying to get him some water but the horse doesn’t want to stay with the other horses. I direct my horse to another place and I am petting him and thanking him. A few minutes later a train comes through and kills the other horses. The bodies of the dead horses are laying there. I feel frightened and grateful that my horse had taken me to another place.

I am traveling with a group of people. We are on horses.
The group of people you are traveling with, can be people who influenced you or were related to you in your earlier life. Or they can represent aspects of the Self that have traveled with you as you’ve developed over the years as the voice of your ‘inner pantheon’, be they helpers, distractors and/or nurturers.

We have stopped for a break. I am on a palomino tan horse.

You are on a Palomino horse. Palominos are pale yellow tan in color. As such they combine the influences of the Wisdom Wheels, which include how you need to organize and focus on knowing your personal truth, while working in tandem with overcoming the obstacles that stand in the way of you loving yourself.

In some explanations Palomino horses are seen to represent spiritual awareness and warmth (due to their golden color). In Native stories, they represent the Eastgate, where one goes to seek illumination and practices the discipline it takes to find it. Do you have the discipline and trust within yourself to reach new goals and replace old beliefs? Can you allow yourself the freedom to love yourself, when you feel others didn’t, or that their actions betrayed you?

One of the attributes of horses, as I shared above, is that they are known as ‘the burden carriers’, but they also stand for responsibility. The personal responsibility we each have to release whatever isn’t bringing strength to our authentic self. To accomplish this, you may need to stop and assess how you have, or have not, been addressing how your old stories continue to hold you back.

I am thanking my horse and trying to get him some water but the horse doesn’t want to stay with the other horses. I direct my horse to another place and I am petting him and thanking him.

I see part of what you need to focus on is nurturing yourself and finding gratitude (maybe despite the past difficulties) to know you have adapted to come this far. As well as reminding yourself (thanking the horse) for all the ways you have already taken responsibility for yourself over the years, with the awareness that you have developed about yourself within that process.

You are trying to get the horse some water; water represents emotions and in dreams suggests cleansing and renewal. We cannot live without renewal, any more than we can live life fully without nurturing our changing needs. To do that, you cannot stay the way you have been, the horse doesn’t want to stay with the other ‘horses.’ It is only your ‘direction’ that can take you to another, new, more gratifying place. It is one thing to acknowledge our past stories, it is another to shift their impact.

A few minutes later a train comes through and kills the other horses. The bodies of the dead horses are laying there. I feel frightened and grateful that my horse had taken me to another place.

Trains can have many meanings in the dreamtime, and you need to assess the context in which they appear. You are not on the train; the train is not driven by you; it does not crash, although it hits all the other horses. This indicates that you may feel events in your life are out of control, especially your emotional freedom. But are you using your emotional past in ways that don’t empower you to fully move forward and create a new storyline for yourself. Awareness can become an excuse as easily as it can liberate us. Given that your horse left the group, it might imply that you are ready to let the past way of doing, feeling, emoting, and judging yourself, die to itself, so it no longer controls your emotional response to things.

Trains can also mean standing in your own power. It is only you who has the power to release the past (the other group on the horses) and find what defines your personal power moving forward. It may feel frightening sometimes to commit to that, yet you have the momentum given you are still on your horse.

The death of the other horses in your dream indicates it is time to give up the power or strength you allotted others in your life. Are there old ‘stories’ that you still need to let go of? True wisdom is found when we remember and honor our entire journey but don’t use that script to define us. Motivation is your key. Self-nurturing is your need. Freedom from the emotional past is your gift.