Energy work on horses
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Equine Reiki healing is becoming more widely recognized and accepted as a complementary therapy to assist conventional medicine.
Most Veterinarians are coming to the conclusion that the need to treat the horse as a whole, is of the upmost importance. It is not just the physical problems that we need to look at but also the mental/ emotional aspects of the illness or injury.
Horses are passive animals; they are very genuine and want to give you their trust. The instincts of the horse tell him to flee from danger – it is unusual for a horse to show aggressiveness towards humans, unless he has been mistreated, or his trust in human has been challenged.
Cally was a very nervous pony, she had been very harshly treated by humans in the past, although a sweet natured pony underneath, her nervous nature meant that she was unsettled and would react to the slightest change in her regime; losing weight, becoming stressed and acting unpredictably when being ridden. I carried out three Reiki treatments in total on Cally. After the first treatment her owner already noticed a difference, she had stopped running around the stable when her owner moved another horse, instead she stayed quiet and carried on eating hay. After the third treatment Cally was a different pony, she became more confident, keeping her head over the stable door when someone new was on the yard, instead of running to hide in the back of her stable. She no longer becomes stressed when her owner needs to change her routine slightly and her owner feels much more connected with her, Cally now trusts her owner to lead her and keep her safe on the ground and whilst being ridden.
When I channel Reiki to a horse which has lost some, if not all trust in humans, the horses first, instant, impression of me is of great importance. My first usual move towards a horse of this type is to pay him no attention whatsoever. Having a quick chat with his owner about previous history and filling out consent forms and there we have it – I have achieved the first step; The horse is interested in me.
He has had time to weigh me up, he sees that I am no threat as I stand calmly and passively, yet with a certain air of confidence about me, which is some how familiar to him. He wonders why this human is not flapping around him, trying to look at his ‘bad’ behaviour. How can he react, when I give him nothing to react to?
The next step is to enter his stable. Although I do enter the stables or turnout areas of challenging and perhaps dangerous horses on a fairly regular basis, I would not recommend others do this unless they feel they have adequate experience and can remain safe by reading the horses body language and having a thorough knowledge of equines.
My aim is to enter the horses stable without causing a major panic to the horse (or major injury to myself!). I move towards the stable door slowly but with purpose, often I’ll hum a tune. I must say that before entering the stable I usually ask the owner to leave or stand away where the horse cannot see him/her. If the horses owner is panicking in the slightest about me going into the stable/ turnout area then the horse will pick up on this and act accordingly! Again, I pay no particular attention to the horse, avoid eye contact and enter the stable.
Standing quietly in the stable, I connect to Reiki, I let the energy build within me and say to the horse by thought or out loud “take as much or as little as you would like”. At this point the horse will probably be standing away from you, on the opposite side of the stable, let the energy flow. See the energy filling the stable and going to the horse. In the next few minutes he will probably come over to you and sniff or snort at the energy coming from your palms and then go back to where he was standing in his stable.
There is no need to put your hands on the horse unless he gestures or asks. Most horses will, after a time of Reiki being channeled to them, come over to the energy and put the area of themselves that is in most need of Reiki next to or near your hands. Keep your hands still when he does this. He may just want to be closer to the energy and if you suddenly touch him he may well jump away. If he does want your hands on him he will let you know, generally by either moving closer still, or nudging your hand.
Some horses who have not had Reiki sessions before may be slightly fidgety at first with the unfamiliar feeling, they may start to relax and fall asleep and then quickly snap back to the ‘here and now’, knowing that being in this relaxed state is NOT part of their usual regime – especially with a ‘human’ in their stable! After a time which could be anywhere from five minutes to forty five minutes the horse tends to relax and enjoy the pleasant feeling, he will start to lick his lips, maybe chew, lower his head, breathe more heavily, relax his ears and most probably pass wind.
The first time I gave Reiki to our stallion ‘Oceano’ was an incredible experience for me and for him. Oceano had become very stressed, excitable and het up in the stable; due to his high testosterone levels - his mares were in season and ready to be covered. Oceano was cantering around his stable, knocking into the walls and neighing for his mares.
I entered his stable, immediately putting a very strong aura around me that he was not to come into. He carried on cantering around the stable missing me by the exact size of the aura/ bubble I had created. I drew the SHK symbol in the stable above him and flooded the energy all around the stable and into Oceano. From the second that I saw the energy touch Oceano, he immediately stopped and looked at me, took a huge sigh and fell asleep. When I had finished sending Reiki to him he woke up with a calm and easy energy about him and was rather chilled out.
The change in mistreated and overly stressed equines that I have treated with Reiki is truly amazing. Reiki has given them a new lease of life, where they can be happy and be true to their wonderful natures. I love channeling Reiki to horses; it is such rewarding and joyful work. Horses have no preconceptions, they are not feeling or reacting to the energy because of what you have told them or their beliefs, you know that their reactions are true, and the results can be unbelievable and yet undeniable.
Sarah Berrisford
Train in Equine Reiki
Sarah runs regular Equine Reiki courses from her base near Spalding, Lincolnshire. You can read about the course here Equine Reiki course and book your place here: Equine Reiki course dates.
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