How opposite sides of the same coin can help you connect with your horse

Since I’ve started writing these weekly blogs, I am so enjoying getting to know you and I love reading your comments.

Some of you have known and been exchanging messages with me for a while and others for just a short time, but I’d like to think we have become (virtual) friends nonetheless.

My life and my passion for horses has always been about being centered and incorporating the mind, body, and the spirit.

There are so many different interpretations of those words, but generally they refer to: Mind –> thoughts, Body –> physical, and Spirit –> emotions.

If you’ve read any of my blog posts or watched any of my videos you will probably be familiar with the mind/thoughts aspect of my work such as the scientific research and psychology behind what I think about horses and their training.

Recently I have gone a bit deeper into the more personal side of my life touching on the body/physical aspect and I received such a warm response to these as well as learning more about you at a deeper level too.

If you have seen my Masterclass training, you will also know how emotional I get about horses and today I want to share a personal story to reveal to you my spirit aspect.

Although many people would describe me as practical, detailed, scientific, and organized, they might not realize that I have been trained in Reiki, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, healing massage techniques, meditation, and other types of energy work and spiritual training.

For some people, science and spirit are complete opposites but for me they are opposite sides of the same coin and they compliment each other perfectly.

I have been a passionate student of the spirit for many years and feel that this is the true secret to connecting with horses.

I see connection with horses as being both physical and metaphysical, and using mind, body, and the spirit together accelerates this process.

Let me give an example…

Recently my youngest horse, D’Artagnan became suddenly lethargic, developed a runny nose, started coughing and didn’t want to eat as much as he usually does. I could tell he wasn’t feeling well by just looking at him, I could see it in his eyes and I could feel it. All he wanted to do was put his head in my chest let me hold him.

You know that feeling when your horse is sick, your heart just sinks and you do anything you can to make him feel better.

The practical side of me immediately called the vet who said that D’Artagnan had a cold but nothing more. I told him about the newly arrived rescue horses on my neighbor’s property next door and he said that they might well have been the source as that often happens when outsiders arrive.

The vet put D’Artagnan on stall rest so I could keep him warm and pamper him for a while as he said the cold would just have to run its course.

So after the practical stuff had been taken care of my spiritual side stepped in to help heal my sweet D’Artagnan and get him back to optimal health as quickly as possible.

The practical side said:

• give him bute and banamine as the vet prescribed
• keep him dry and warm with the right blankets
• make him as comfortable as possible with lots of shavings to sleep in
• give him electrolytes, minerals, and vitamins to help his body get balanced
• add water to his hay and give him softened grain just in case he had a sore throat
• watch his food and water intake as well as what came out to make sure it was all normal

The spiritual side said:

• take him soft treats to brighten his day and make him happy
• spend lots of time with him just brushing him and keep his nostrils clean
• talk to him to remind him that he’s loved and reassure him that I’m there for him
• take time to just “be” with him so he feels protected and that I’m physically not going to let anything come into the stall to harm him since he is in a weakened condition
• massage him to relieve any sore spots, loosen the mucus, and ease any pain
• do energy work, Reiki, to help heal his sickness as well as ease any discomfort

By combining mind, body, and spirit I soon began to see an improvement in D’Artagnan.

His first day sick was Thursday, the vet came out on Friday and all day Saturday he was curled up next to me napping.

However, come Sunday he was already unlatching his door to sneak out for a quick bite of grass and by Monday he was talking to the other horses as per usual. So hopefully just a few more days and he will be back to normal.

At the top of the post there is a photo of him sound asleep next to me in the stall on Saturday. This was right after our Reiki session and he just felt so relaxed that he curled up in the soft clean shavings and put his head right next to me.

Side Note: Safety is always important, so I wasn’t curled up with him like I would have loved to have been despite knowing that he would have let me. Instead I stayed as close as I could but still at a safe distance in case he got up quickly.  I didn’t want him to accidentally clip me with a hoof.

Oh, talking of the barn, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our Tiger, our feral barn cat who showed up just after we first moved in.

He loves it when I do Reiki and he curled up right outside the stall door with us and took a nap as well. You may have seen him in some of my videos as he really likes to hang out with me and the horses – close, but not too close.

Words of wisdom I was taught growing up that I thought about in dealing with this situation:

• Always look at the whole picture and try to do your best for you and your horse in every situation.
• Every horse and every person is different and their situations and needs will be different, not everything is black and white.
• There are a lot of grey areas in the world and we should learn to work within them.
• Be positive, but be smart.
• And always work from the heart!

Hope you enjoyed today’s story and as always I look forward to hearing from you in the Comments below too.

Until next time.. Happy Horses!