Category Archives: herd dynamics

The Horse Who Stopped Eating

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Horse health is such a broad topic, it cannot be limited to what we do in terms of providing hands-on bodywork, or diet or exercise. It also includes emotional, psychological and psychic health, activities to create communication and increase curiosity  and the way we ride.

In February, I conducted a Q&A session where one of the questions was about a horse who had stopped eating, and discussing what to do to get the horse eating again. The practitioner with the issue said the horse had just lost his owner and regular stablemates due to death. He had been moved to a new barn with new horses and people.

We were dealing with more than simple refusal to eat, though that can become complex in itself. We were dealing with a grief process. The answer to the question – what to do about a horse who stopped eating – took on another dimension, as the horse would need more emotional and psychic support in addition to basic dietary needs and bodywork to get the gut functioning properly.

The horse needed a bridge to his new life, where there are very good things available. He just can’t reach for them right now. A horse in this state can go unnoticed in traditional circumstances where people will focus on the lack of appetite but not think about or know how to address the grief.

What does this horse need? I ask myself.  He may shun connection, though bodywork, a simple laying on of hands, could be very helpful and give valuable information too. Grief makes the body tight and dry, flaky, unresponsive. To loosen up those areas – particularly around the heart – would help the horse feel better in himself, and lo and behold, he may eat.

Time spent just being with the horse can be invaluable. Maybe he can’t think of anything he wants to do, but you can do things for him. Show him things, talk to him, walk with him.

When we as humans are going through a grieving process, it’s sometimes hard to put one foot in front of the other. It’s hard to talk to others. Imagine what that’s like for the horse. He doesn’t even have the distractions of bills that need paying or job concerns. If he has been left alone with no companions, it can be even more devastating.

It’s really up to us to set the tone as the horse is not very resourced at this time. If the owner is also grieving, he or she can be honest about the sadness felt, but be careful to remain soft and in memory mode of the lost loved one.

Just being, one of the hardest things for us to do, is probably the best thing you can do. Some horses really enjoy you talking to them, keeping up a conversation, perhaps recounting stories about the departed ones, if you knew the family. Some just want you there, grooming, taking care and talking about their specialness perhaps, bring them back into their bodies. Setting up situations to engage a horse’s curiosity, providing comfort, will all help that horse come around. Walks together are immensely helpful, especially if there are other animals in the neighborhood to visit.

Think in terms of what we all are as mammals – gut, brain, heart, and not necessarily in that order. There are more nerve cells in the gut than anywhere other than the brain. The nerve cells of the gut are part of the enteric nervous system, a separate nervous system that sends messages to the brain. It plays an important role in the emotional health in all of us.

Make sure the horse has companions. Not all horses grieve the same way. Some are sad but they are more able to go through their days as they have a more developed understanding of their stablemate or owners’ passing. That understanding can be supportive to the grieving horse.

This is why we look further than digestion and learn the rest of the story, or as much as we can. Sometimes the horse not eating can be a simple dietary change and sometimes it requires more research. Your ability to just be and bring out the presence in the horse will be key.

We are accustomed to extending condolences to bereaved human families. Grief is part of life, not a postscript, tacked on as “oh by the way, this person or horse lost his family.” It is the beginning, the jumping off place, for all else to happen going forward. It may feel that nothing is happening or changing for awhile, but gradually it will.

No Pain – Lots of Gain!

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We hear a lot about fear-based horse training. We don’t hear much about how bodywork can raise a horse’s fear threshold if done without regard to his/her feelings.

It’s very common for horses to be afraid of bodywork, especially if they have received fear-based training or a number of unpleasant veterinary procedures. Of course, veterinary procedures and surgeries are often non-negotiable. When I have a procedure personally, I can only imagine what that feels like to the horse who doesn’t understand why it’s being done to him or her.

The number of horses who have huge built in resistance is astronomical, and also some of those horses have shut down emotionally to be able to tolerate what has been done to them. Just look at the overflowing horse shelters. A huge number of these horses have arrived at the shelter abused, malnourished and neglected. Many come in afraid of the farrier, the vet, being caught, needles, lifting their hooves, being ridden – the list is endless. They may be in a lot of pain as well. They have an elaborate network of resistances holding them together, yet they are fragile, reactive or shut down, stuck in their flight/fright/freeze mode. In order to receive basic veterinary and farrier care, some may need to be sedated.

The inquiry phase of bodywork.

If you come to one of those horses with intrusive bodywork techniques, and that horse isn’t happy to see you, don’t take it personally. I see many of these horses who are overly cautious about what I might do to them. How do I work with them, relax them? First of all, I work on being as unthreatening as I possibly can be. And I don’t mean acting like I’m unthreatening, I mean really being unthreatening. I check in with myself – where are my resistances? Where might a horse pick up something that makes them nervous? I make sure I’m centered, that I’m not distracted, that I am just being. I have had a lot of practice doing this, but I think it’s practice worth investing in. Just be, chat with the horse a little. Lay your hand in front of the withers and talk softly. You may need to touch sore spots just to get information, but that part can wait until the horse is more relaxed.

As horse people, we can make countless decisions for our horses. One decision we can make is to hire only people who will treat our horse kindly. Of course, we need to have vets doing things that are unpleasant, as those procedures are designed to save lives. Vets are fundamentally kind, in my opinion. They are not the subject of this article.

If your horse is continually miserable or reactive during a visit from any practitioner, it may be worthwhile to re-evaluate that professional relationship.

If it takes me half a session to get a horse relaxed enough to accept and absorb the work I’m doing, I want to look at the whole picture. Is the horse in a lot of pain? What is the horse’s trauma history? Who else works with this horse and how?

Some horses have received so much abuse that they need a lot of work emotionally and psychically. They may be in their forever home, but their trauma is very deep rooted and challenging to change. Hopefully, owners will invest in this rehabilitative process. Some horses may be enduring ongoing veterinary treatments that are stressing them out.

I worked consistently with a horse who would get better after the session but the next week, would be angry and upset again. I learned later that she was being abused by a trainer in the time in between. It is similar  to when a child is being continually abused in the home, and gets better with various programs offered at school. But the child can’t move forward in development and remains in a holding pattern because the parental abuse brings the child right back to the origin of the problem, reinforcing it as other positive influences are trying to heal it. This is the agony of all child protective services as well.

I cannot move forward with the healing work if the animal is going to go back into the abusive situation.

Sometimes I find that the owner isn’t aware of what other professionals are doing with their horses.

Finding the right professionals requires moving out of our comfort zone sometimes, where we are not expecting pain to be part of the healing process unless it is a veterinary procedure. Humans are accustomed to expecting pain – even exercise programs are designed around the “no pain – no gain” principle. When bodybuilders come for a human bodywork session, very often they want to push against me with brute force when I ask for an isometric exercise. I will then ask them to just “think it.” This can be a new concept to those who are accustomed to leaving the gym like limp noodles.

There is a time and place for everything. The work at the gym is exercise. I break it down this way – bodywork, stretching and then exercise. The bodywork should prepare or rehabilitate the body without expecting anything of it and allow it to self-correct. The stretching keeps muscles and fascia supple so the body doesn’t seize up when it gets to the exercise part. The exercise keeps the body moving, encourages circulation and therefore nourishes the blood supply and all the organs, soft tissue and structure. It’s best to have all three, but if the body is injured and can’t exercise, then the other two must be employed before we can expect more from the body. We must give the body the right information to set it on its path for healing.

If the bodywork is too vigorous and sets the individual back, then it will take days to recover from it. Many people don’t know if the bodywork their animal is receiving is doing any good, but they keep paying for it because others at the barn are using the same person. It’s a routine, sort of like getting the teeth floated, vaccinations or using the same trainer. In their minds, if they continue to do it, they are doing a good thing for their horse. Or there is peer pressure and they may be afraid to change. Important information about healthy options needs to be made available.

Bodywork that causes beings to go into recoil and not want to engage is not allowing the body to find its own self-corrective response. Why is this important? Because when we engage the self-corrective response, ask the body which way it likes to go, what’s its preference, it comes forward and there is life and change in its response. Otherwise, the body is not a participant. It’s plain and simple. The body is being “done to” rather than engaged with.

A lot of people think of bodywork as a “spa” treatment only, unaware of the vast therapeutic benefits of a good session. A session should encompass mental and spirit well-being as well as deep musculoskeletal, fascia and visceral. I say “spirit” well-being instead of spiritual because I don’t mean it to be a religious experience, I mean that we are working with the very unique, individual spirit of the animal, on a level it can absorb and embrace.

Fortunately, awareness of animals’ voices is increasing. There are fewer people thumping on horses without regard to how they are receiving therapeutic work and more people eager to take the time to really be with the horse for however short time they have to make a difference. Without burning bridges, it’s up to us to build a team of worthwhile professionals who reflect the goals we have for our equines.

What changes should you look for in your horse during or after a bodywork session?

Certified Equine Body Balance Practitioner Kelly Reed works intuitively and gently to achieve full relaxation and engagement.

• In most cases, the horse should have better flexibility after the session, the tissue moving under the skin fluidly, topline relaxed.
• The limbs and joints should move better, and in cases of lameness, the horse should stride better if not be free of signs of lameness. These are individual cases.
• The horse should have improved respiration.
• Any horse should have a softer or brighter look in his/her eye and be less worried, if he/she was a worried one before. The horse should be more engaged.
• A horse who is immobile due to stall rest or laminitis will have some tissue changes and perhaps improvement in small movement.
• Organic changes will also result in relaxation, dropping of tension, better overall movement; in some cases, better digestion, greater energy.

Emerge from the Winter Doldrums with Equines

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Over the winter, I feel challenged to provide quality time with my horses. I want to make sure they don’t get bored and prone to injury. I also want to maintain my connection with them.

Recently the question arose about how to provide “behavioral enrichment” for a mare who was recovering from recent illness. The ideas presented here are good for that situation as well as for navigating the uncertainty of winter weather and footing. Horses don’t know how long we spend with them, they only remember the time spent and can think on it when we’re not there. If you notice, if you spend time with them for half an hour, the next day they are generally more interested in you and what you might have to offer.

What you can offer will depend on where you live, your energy levels and what you have to deal with weather-wise in your location.

The person who asked about behavioral enrichment realized she had to get very creative. Yes! Exactly right! There are liberty exercises that can be done in muddy footing, which she and her mare had remembered from classes they took with me.

In this case, I also suggest bodywork as maintenance recovering from any injury or illness.

At our place, we put down shavings to create a small space to do groundwork and ride, and have horses who are not so fresh after all the bad weather. The footing is good for walking and trotting a small circle, in-hand work, or lateral work along the fence on good days. If there is any pattern at all during winter, it is snow plus cold, then sun and mud then a couple of days of dry ground so you can work.

A gelding I worked with years ago was going through a patch of being unridden and the owner was wondering what to do with him because he had become dull and uninterested in activity. We worked with playing the drum which perked him up. He loved the deep sound of it. This of course, did not work all the time, as he wanted to know, what next? But it piqued his curiosity so that he could go on to other liberty activities and groundwork, connecting more fully with his owner.

On a deeper level, making a sensory connection with horses is something we can do while standing in mud up to our eyeballs. We can sit on a feed trough and consider the horse’s world – the sights, smells and sounds of the barn, the chatter of ravens, the feel and smell of the cold air that may prickle against our faces. Horses are sensory beings, so this type of connection is truly valued by them as they live with this world 24/7. It may contrast to our constant doing, but it puts us in alignment with horses. It brings us into ourselves and who we truly are.

I have always been a “lick and a promise” type groomer, but recently I have noticed how much my horses enjoy being groomed. And I enjoy talking to them while grooming, and seeing the mud come off, even for a short time!

This type of engagement carries over, increases our mutual enjoyment of one another, so that when we actual do “work” again, there is more curiosity, engagement, a feeling of anticipation of what is to come.

Horses Don’t Know It’s Christmas

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Or maybe they do. Maybe they know that it’s a quiet time, that people may be more aware of their hearts, hold each other, eat special food and celebrate. It is not just Christmas but any manmade holiday.

My vet Dr. Larry Nolen said this when he came out Christmas Day to see my horse Patches. I knew Patches was dying, and I knew that it didn’t matter what day it was, how many people I needed to disturb to help him, it was his time. He was just a month shy of his 27th birthday. I never dreamed he would live as long as he did, given various health challenges, but he did. He was amazing.

We were surrounded by wonderful supportive ones. Dying for horses requires knowing where to put the horse down in order to easily access the body, calling the person who is going to pick up the body, making decisions as to cremation or burial, etc. The person facing the loss of their horse is not always prepared. But those that needed to be there for us – the vet, the livestock removal person, friends, were all summoned and ready.

I didn’t start out to talk about this because it’s usually the part no one wants to think or talk about. We usually want to consider the release of pain for the beloved horse because that’s highly important, and we want to envision a place in the afterlife our animal can go to where there are friends, they are free from pain and able to run in green pastures as they did as foals.

Interwoven with these painful realities were the stories told, of the Patches other people knew. Before I knew him: Patches the ribbon-winning show horse, Patches the therapeutic riding horse who lost his job because at some point he became uncomfortable in his body and needed to transition to another life. He was my granddaughter, Ariana’s, horse. These are stories that talk about accomplishments that people mostly identify with. The horse’s worth. Our friends recalled stories of him – how he would free lunge around the horse I was lunging, how he loved a good party. How he danced with a plastic barrel – he leapt in the air and pushed the barrel with his nose, and loved liberty dancing. He had a great sense of humor.

In the last few weeks of his life, Patches and his stablemate, Barroco, became close friends. They would eat from the same hay bag or pile of hay. They would eat leaves together quietly. Barroco was the perfect companion for him, because he didn’t push Patches as his other stablemates had always done. Patches was always low horse in any herd, and it was difficult for him to gain the self-esteem he deserved. He usually caved to pressure.

Patches and Barroco pushed each other gently, but mostly just hung out together. The soft flow of their time together had a rhythm and pace that seemed to quiet the high-strung Barroco. Patches was naturally a quiet horse so I felt that was what was happening – Patches was quieting Barroco’s nervous system.

But after Patches passed on Christmas Day, I realized more was going on there. Patches was also teaching Barroco things that he knew, preparing him for the next stage of his life. He was passing on the torch – valuable information.

Patches has always been very tuned into the universe as all horses are but differently. Walking with him I could sense the earth, stones, birds, planets. He was a very deep horse but also very soft and kind. As he aged and was no longer ridden, I saw more of this in him, I saw him more clearly, the prism of his thinking that crossed continents, felt the world beyond his corrals, the drumbeat of horses’ hooves running across plains somewhere, the rhythm of days that we humans are often too busy to notice.

I feel so much more than the loss of my dear friend and partner, Patches. In the days since his passing, I have moved from shock to grief to relief to loss, mixed with the necessary arrangements made, to gratitude for the many years I have been blessed with to know and love Patches, to explore his world with him. He, perhaps more than any horse, encourages me to look forward to the next chapter, and what comes from him into that next chapter, so that I will always feel his presence everywhere and in the horses who come after him.

I’m also so grateful for the students and teachers who came and worked with Patches, those who took care of him, who I’m know extended his quality of life with their special attention to him. I know he feels the same.

With each animal, there is always a thread that holds you to them, that helps guide you. That is what the love you built on earth does, binds you together eternally. In that I find comfort, as daily now I feel him in his new iteration, weightless and free of his earthly body.

Rehabbing and Getting Ready for Spring

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Years ago, when I was riding endurance, many rider/horse teams would head to El Paso during the winter months to ride. Horses had not had much riding time in the colder climates so one had to be careful as they traveled in the deep desert sand. Often the injuries that went unnoticed from the winter riding would appear in the spring.

Horses not working can also have injuries during the spring. Perhaps over the winter the horse has had a pasture injury or slipped in the mud, or been started back to work too vigorously.

In the wild it is said that horses will travel about 20-25 miles per day, seeking forage and water. It’s hard for us to duplicate that for the domestic horse unless we have a very large pasture. Even so, domestic horses are provided with food and water, so they may have space but not the motivation of a wild horse. In the Southwest U.S., while we have a lot of open land, very little of that space is large pasture for horses. Mostly they live in dirt lots or stalls.

It’s important to choose a regimen that will work well for the horse you’re working with, taking into account his/her abilities and the amount of time off the horse has had. Since I work with rehabilitating horses, I am gauging what they are physically and emotionally capable of doing and choosing activities accordingly.

The exercise of being able to move around freely is different than the measured, focused exercise we ask of a horse in daily work. Both are very important.

Here are some tips:

Walking on different types of terrain for horses who can manage it is vital.

Evaluate that the horse is okay with the level of movement we are asking of them. I recommend supporting them with bodywork where needed. If they have trouble lifting their legs or have sore feet, we begin with walks on soft flat ground, then add thin ground poles as they get stronger. We can also use a row of traffic cones and weave in and out of them.

The other day I was working with a non-ridden mare who has been really fussy about being touched. I know she has arthritis and is sometimes uncomfortable in her body. I tried some Ortho-Bionomy “post-techniques” with her – techniques where I engage her in an activity that also helps her posture and loosening her spine. She began to move with more purpose. Then we walked and found an area with railroad ties for her to step over. She became very animated and enjoyed the whole idea of stepping over something in a rhythmic fashion. I was able to touch and work with her everywhere I needed to in this session because of this approach.

I retired my current senior Patches at age 23 from riding, as he showed he wasn’t

comfortable being ridden anymore. He’s now 26. He enjoys walks and arena activities. He is also teaching our young mare Red to be more curious than she already is. I think this is an excellent way for him to spend his golden years.

The types of exercises and techniques I use with him are useful for all aged horses but especially those with arthritis, in rehab or even young horses starting out. You don’t need a bunch of expensive machines or a swimming pool to do this, though of course those items would be nice. All you really need is a nice area to take walks, and a space to set up some cones and ground poles. A big inflatable ball interests some horses as well. Patches enjoys pushing plastic barrels around.

It’s important to remember that a little bit goes a long way. These are not “strength exercises.” These are “toning” and “stretching exercises” that support the natural rhythm and movement of the body. The horse gains strength from them without the lifting weights approach. If the stretching leads to more aerobic and anaerobic activities naturally, without strain or injury, then it will be the right way to go for that animal.

In rehab, sometimes there is a great move forward, then a few steps backward, sometimes a plateau, just like when we humans are recovering from an injury. It’s impossible to keep pushing forward at one steady pace when the body is changing, readjusting, becoming stronger in some areas more quickly while other areas may lag behind or may appear as not on board with the program.

For horses getting back to work after a lay-off or hard winter, ride at the walk and gradually move up to a trot or canter. Lunging is also useful and can show you if the horse has any unevenness of stride that you need to be aware of for ridden work.

Ground poles and cones also lighten up arena work for these horses and allow some variety.

When working with a young performance gelding lately, while he has been ridden and cross-trained all winter, still, the shifting cold-to-warm weather ups and downs can cause muscles to tighten after his workouts. Since he’s very supple otherwise, he doesn’t need the slow spring start but rather, bodywork to maintain suppleness as he continues to train and meet new challenges.

An obstacle course is another fun thing to do with horses at all levels. You can take each horse through it, tailoring the obstacles to their individual abilities.

Liberty work is excellent for engaging with horses so they can be exercised without tack and build a stronger bond.

Above all, provide variety.  Some horses require more variety than others.

A horse who comes to the gate with anticipation is a lot more fun than one who runs away and doesn’t want to be caught. I want to see that cute face looking at me with curiosity, “Hi, so what are we doing today?”

 

A Message for the New Year

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Jazzie and Red together.

In October we lost my mare Jazzie, who was just shy of her 19th birthday. It has been emotionally tough to live without her huge presence in our lives. She is irreplaceable, and yet I draw some comfort knowing she is watching over us and will continue to be a powerful influence.

I adopted a young grade Arabian mare, whom I named Red (or she named herself), four years old. She came from a wonderful rehab and rescue center in Santa Fe, which provided a loving respite from previous traumatic  experiences.

Red isn’t a replacement, she is her own horse. She is young and curious about everything, and especially her interactions with humans and her training. She loves her training. What I’m seeing in her is that everything is an adventure. While her first years were fraught with uncertainty, fear and mistreatment, when she didn’t want anyone to catch or touch her, she has now landed somewhere where everyone listens to her and she wants to listen.

The loss of Jazzie and the introduction of Red are changing my teaching. I relied so heavily on Jazzie’s intelligence in terms of teaching; her sixth sense as far as knowing what a student needed to know, or even what was needed in a teaching video. Now I seek to find out what innate intelligence is available in the new herd. I come into awareness of their changing relationships, and how they relied on each other for certain strengths and roles. They have reorganized since Jazzie’s passing. They make it work.

The new configuration.

This experience with Red is also showing me the interface between training and bodywork. I can see that when Red doesn’t respond to something I want her to do, it has been when she has felt unable to do it. She has either frozen in place or felt her body imbalance stick her somewhere that makes it impossible to turn or lower her head, or turn to the right.

It has been a learning process for me, asking questions, where is she stuck, where is the brace in her body? And then going in and softening, loosening, however that looks. Some days have been all about that, softening, finding the connection in the body so it could ease its defensive posture. How many defensive postures could a young mare hold?

Red has come to the place where she can position her body where she wants me to work. This is something I love to see in horses I work with, as it demonstrates a recognition of what I can offer and their connection to it, at the same time, recognizing that they can use the stimulus given and self-correct.

Primarily with everything we’re doing, it takes the time it takes. If the resistance isn’t removed then there is nowhere to go, there is no pushing through it to the other side. If there is no physical resistance there may sometimes be emotional resistance because an avoidance habit was formed in the past or she was taught something that wasn’t useful. I need to manage my energy so as not fall into Red’s stuff, ask in the right way, to remind her of what she is capable of.

This is not a horse that you would put the traditional “30 days” on and then think all was good to go. Probably that doesn’t work for 99% of the horses out there, but given economics and the way people perceive training and horses, it’s a norm, though not a very sustainable one.

I’m seeing more bridges between bodywork and training. We work with the nervous system in each of these practices, if we do it right. Where the horse is excitable (flight/fright), we calm it. Where it is too sluggish (rest/relaxation), we enliven it.  With good work on the nervous system, a horse can usually self-regulate and not immediately go into high alert and react over everything.

I have been fortunate enough to have a few “horses of a lifetime,” not just one. Each one has different gifts and teaches me something new. When they feel comfortable in their home, they feel heard and seen, then they will show their gifts. Many horses go through life without showing their true gifts to people, because there are many people who won’t see the gifts even if hit in the face with them. Horses don’t “throw pearls before swine,” as the saying goes. Some of mine have been horses of a lifetime in spite of me and my agendas at the time. I listen better now. I’m not so driven.

What is the purpose of this message, you might ask? Is it about the new horse, mourning the loss of a deceased horse, training or bodywork?

It’s about everything. It’s about the changes that we make to accommodate the new, while mourning the loss of the old. It’s about the evolution of body and training, and how training is absorbed and perceived by each individual being.

I’m reminded of how Jazzie would raised her leg and made sure a student was holding it correctly and compressing into the perfect place that would initiate change for her. I will remember how she positioned herself so that the student or I would get the hint of where to work next. And her incredible intuition with bodywork in the saddle comes to me each time I climb in the saddle, creating a valuable change for both horse and rider.

Jazzie was very good at what she did; she was patient and impatient simultaneously, and perhaps so because on some level, she knew she didn’t have a long time on this earth. Humans needed to get it right quickly. Such a well-adjusted, sensible mare was valuable for those who were less well-adjusted and sensible and pure joy for everyone else.

I work with performance horses, race horses, horses in training, geriatric horses, injured horses, traumatized horses, pregnant mares and newborn foals, horses who are getting ready to pass from this world and those passed.  I work with the people who love them. They are all on different paths, at their own tempos.

With the dawning of the new year, I feel a shift in the work I do. I may work with deepening the links between people and horses, or bodywork as a more integral support for training. Very often what isn’t working for a horse isn’t working for the people either.

My wish is that you will deepen your experience in 2023, either on your own, in practice, with or without horses, or in classes. Whatever moves you. This quiet, cold time of winter (and not for those in the southern hemisphere, of course!) is open to introspection and weaving together a new beginning, not a replacement for what was, but a lengthening of “being” into the coming months.

Meditation for a New Year

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As I have received so many Happy New Year messages from so many, I feel compelled to write one too. There is an eagerness, a hopefulness that this year will be better than the last. New year’s resolutions are made and discarded at the first temptation to do otherwise. Perhaps because they put more expectations on us.

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come,

Whispering ‘it will be happier’.” Alfred Lord Tennyson

So maybe we talk about something else – how it’s possible to reach out to people and animals across the planet, not just in our backyard? That while in some parts of the world you might be snowed in or otherwise unable to go minister to somebody who needs it, you can send a message. Not just ‘I’m thinking of you, hearts and prayers,’ but a message from my heart to yours.  They may live five thousand miles away. Or if the body is not responding well at all, how about just sitting with the person or animal, being with them? If you can’t sit still for whatever reason, do something.

One morning recently I could not take care of someone’s animal physically, and so I decided to make bread. I decided then to make the bread in honor of that animal, and lo and behold the animal got up and started moving. In a way, taking the pressure off, just doing stuff, may have made a difference.

The message sent does not carry any baggage; it’s not a pushing or moving of energy, it’s  just an inquiry, or a sitting with a situation, not influencing a particular outcome.

With one animal I worked with at distance over the holidays, at first she couldn’t bear my making contact. I said in that case, I’ll just be over here, and sit with you but not too close. After that, she began to inch closer and began to share herself. It was completely her decision.

How do we work without expectation to embody a sense of well-being in ourselves and others?

A way to begin this may be as follows:

Hold a meditation for the new year. I strongly suggest getting comfortable, with a cup of your favorite tea or coffee.

Begin with the body, your body and include your animal bodies. Begin with the space between the big and next toe and just hold it and see what you feel. Do you feel a connection to another part of you? Does it hold a memory? If so, just remember that but move on to another part – the lower leg, the knee, the hips, the buttocks. Some of these areas may hold a memory of pain, a surgery, a fall. If you feel you’re getting plugged up there for some reason, or the body doesn’t want you there, leave it and move on up the body. If you’re working with an animal at the same time, the animal may have areas it feels at the same time as you, or different ones that pull at you, areas it wants to avoid or becomes sad with upon contact.

So acknowledge those sensitive areas and move on. Move on to the midsection, remember you pass through various chakras at the same time, where different energies are held. You don’t have to identify those now, you can simply know that you have a root chakra, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye and crown. At any one of those places along the midline and the band surrounding it laterally on both sides (heart will include shoulders, for example), you may hold energies of either good or bad things. Just the recognition may bring a certain peace. If it doesn’t, move on to a new location.

You can hold your hands upturned at your sides and feel warmth grow in your hands. These are the hands that can touch or simply hold energy for others, and for yourself.

Moving up through the heart area – what do you feel? During this colder season, sometimes the chest area becomes compressed, warding off cold, and the heart becomes squashed in there. It needs room to feel everything it can feel.

Then move further up to the throat, the third eye above your eyebrows, and crown at the center of the top of your head.

Check now and see what parts of you feel lit up, alive. Which are they? Connect one of them to an area that doesn’t feel so alive or is in pain or emotional turmoil, and see what happens.

Sometimes just gently cupping the face area can relax the tension collected by frowns, tense jaws, concentration, worries. Once recognized, you may move to a place of seeing differently, quietly, letting peace drape around you like a soft blanket.

To come out of the meditation when ready, retrace your journey from head to feet, slowly, checking in with each area. See how it feels. Is there still tension or disturbance there or has it gone? Is a painful place less troubled? Does another area call you? Check with your animals as you retrace the journey with them.

In this small meditation, your body and/or your animal’s body gets to have a voice. It is given space to move and decide, or not.

This is what I want for my new year – to enter a realm of possibility for healing without a list of expectations.

 

Horses Take the World Stage

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The Tokyo Olympics 2021 pentathlon event, which involves participants who are proficient in fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross-country running, resulted in mishaps and angry, abusive people at the equestrian segment. Why is that?

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The course, up to 1.20 m, flooded the equine and other media, and some Olympic medalists say that the reason the horses balked at jumps, reared, and dumped their riders in the competition was because they only had 20 minutes to “get to know” their riders before performing. These are horses that are well schooled, provided especially for this event and riders select horses from a random draw. The people riding are also not necessarily good riders – one article said that some don’t even know how to do a rising trot! They may be excellent at swimming, fencing, pistol shooting, but not at the riding part, which would then indicate that they can’t manage a horse well under normal circumstances but particularly when it goes into stress mode.

The whole event is stressful, let’s face it. That horses can and do perform under such conditions is quite phenomenal.

Horses don’t think as humans do. The coach who punched a horse and instructed her rider to whip the horse was obviously completely out of line, pulled along by anger and frustration. While the horse napped, the rider was seen hitting and kicking the horse. As he neared the fence, the coach leaned over and struck him with her fist. The horse wasn’t doing well physically to begin with or he wouldn’t have been trying to sleep.

Many complained about horses’ performance overall. Other horses resisted the jumps too. But the horse is always right. So whatever was going on here started with the humans and their lack of understanding and concern for the horses’ needs.

Basically the absence of a relationship built with the horse over a longer period of time, plus disregard for the horse and rider’s mental well being, contributed to the breakdown in the first place. Physical violence added to that created chaos, and that chaos rippled through the horsie-verse like a bolt of lightning. Shared consciousness. We’re outta here. The horses bonded in a universally panicked response. Some held their ground and did okay. But too many horses who weren’t smacked around responded with resistance and fear.

Once that chaos and fear zoomed through the other horses, they reverted to their herd instinct. I have a mental image of them all running from the arena together. That didn’t happen of course because there is a cast of thousands in that arena managing the horses.

These are horses who have no relationship with their riders. They are ridden by many different riders in preparation for this event and considered “schoolmasters.” But to go through an event at this high level of stress, they need the relationship. When things get scary it’s not enough to simply know how to ride, you need to know the way that animal thinks, moves, it’s preferences, what frightens it, know it deep down so that you can set up the best possible outcome. If introducing a horse to new things, it’s best if he has a familiar, much loved person to help him or her through it all.

Horses don’t think like humans, they don’t have a pre-frontal cortex like we do, so we can figure out how to pay bills and how to write articles about horses, etc. But what they do have is a motor cortex, and the motor cortex allows them to learn patterns and behaviors. They learn good ones just as easily as bad ones. They have the ability to form deep relationships. But they are going to operate instinctively if frightened, and in some cases forget everything they know in an instant.

They will be able to recover from upset much easier if they and their person are bonded, fused in a way that may not be visible to the outside casual observer. When I watched some of the really bonded Olympic pairs, such as Charlotte DeJardin and her new horse, I feel that they enjoy each other. Some others are operating on automatic.

This is not to say that all horses need their special person all the time. There are some people who can come into the presence of a horse they don’t know and the horse is immediately comforted and there is no question. The horse wants an immediate bond, without the preparation of years. Some trainers have this ability to infuse confidence in a horse right away. Even in these cases, the riding relationship is different than the on-the-ground relationship. The horse may not want the person he has just met to climb on his back, in spite of feeling happy in their presence.

I have ridden horses on endurance rides whom I didn’t know, but was fortunate enough to ride them the night before, brush and play with them a little bit, and everything turned out alright. I was also riding alongside the owner so she could advise me as to how to manage her, her preferences, how much contact, etc. I was acutely aware of how the horse moved differently from my own, and but relied on my general knowledge for that part of the journey. By the end of the ride, I always wanted to buy the horse (not for sale!), because we had had such a great time together.

Keep in mind this is over 50 or so miles, about 6-10 hours in the saddle, not a short stint in an Olympic arena that involves maybe 5-10 minutes of connection! Plus the stress level is way down on the meter. We were riding to win a t-shirt, not an Olympic gold medal.

I’m so glad to hear that the German Olympic federation has called for a rule change to address the excessive demands on the horse-rider teams.

The fact that so many horses lost their cookies at this event affirms their strength in numbers, their wonderful herd instinct that can sometimes  get them into trouble. They also exposed some human cruelty and ego. In this case, horses took the world stage, if not the medals. Well done, horses!

 

Reach Out and Don’t Touch Someone

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We are all in this together, and yet we are to remain apart. There is stress about social distancing, our new norm, worldwide. Why is that? We can reach out and call people, thankfully we also have social media, but I still hear from friends, colleagues and clients that they feel isolated.

As a bodyworker for people and horses and the occasional dog, I feel it intensely. Ortho-Bionomy is a form of bodywork that is not just a spa treatment that you receive when you get a gift certificate and you feel better for a couple of days and forget about it. Ortho-Bionomy is transformative, it deepens your own body’s understanding of itself, it reaches inward and brings health and balance to all your systems. Each level of the body – bone, muscle, sinew – each system – circulatory, lymph, visceral – is affected by an Ortho-Bionomy session. It invites the body to come meet itself and have a conversation. And that conversation can continue on long after the session is over, well into the next week or months, depending upon your body’s ability to correct itself and stay corrected.

The possibility of a “conversation with a body” was the hook for me when I was first finding out about bodywork modalities. What is that like? Is that possible? I wondered. Years later, I realize my body seeks that. If I cannot afford the time or money to get a session, then I feel the need. I gravitate towards self-care, and other exercises of course. They are immensely helpful.

I will talk about the importance of touch. What I learned recently is that the skin and brain are developed from the exact same primitive cells. So you could say the skin is the outer surface of the brain, or view the brain as the deepest layer of the skin. When you think of it this way, it is no wonder that we are troubled by the lack of human physical contact. There is much more about this but this is food for thought. With animals we have the fur factor – fur closely attached to skin.

According to the anatomy book, Job’s Body, by Deane Juhan, studies done by Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1915 in orphanages revealed the infant mortality rate within one year of admission was 99%. This led to further studies of all orphanages, finding that they were severely understaffed and consequently the infants lacked human cuddling. There was only enough time, to clean, feed and take care of their basic needs. Once more staff were added in a major overhaul of the system, the children received much needed cuddling, and they thrived in all ways. Great increases in energy, height, weight and mental well-being were seen – and the death rate decreased exponentially.

So when we must deprive ourselves, even as adults, of this very primal need for touch communication, where do we go next? When we’re advised to curtail all “non-essential” activities, I and my clients don’t consider Ortho-Bionomy non-essential. But since it is not an essential such as going to the grocery store (far more dangerous!), we comply with the rules that are intended to save our lives.

As a bodyworker, working on any body is never a one-way conversation. I’m not just doing techniques to or on someone. I’m asking questions, the body or being is speaking back to me in numerous ways. It’s not always something I can verbalize.

Today we are dealing with a deadly virus that is shaping the social structure of our lives. We must not touch, except those in your own household, period. Stay a safe distance away.

Fortunately, Ortho-Bionomy has a number of “phases,” unlike some modalities where the only option is touch. I can take the conversation off the body and have that conversation a little farther away, over the phone maybe, or in space, because the conversation has an energetic quality. I know some people are scared off by the mention of “energy,” but we are all energy, everything possesses energy. So it really isn’t frightening. It might seem frightening to imagine someone tinkering around with your energy.

But that’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the energy of the conversation that can remain alive without the physical touch, without any force or intrusion into the person or animal’s consciousness. I can work with the body without the body being anywhere nearby. It’s a part of Ortho-Bionomy and it is only done with consent of the individual.

There is a collective consciousness right now that has everyone on edge, trying to find balance but getting knocked off balance daily, in some cases hourly, by some new grisly news report. Is that collective consciousness something you can see or is it something you feel? Think about it. It’s all energetic, rippling through the global community.

Horses have a herd mentality. Part of that is communicating without touching – flattening their ears or moving toward another horse  across the pasture to get them to move, just twitching an ear in some cases. I only wish I had ears that talented. They also communicate with other species like birds. They can keep each other healthy and safe by moving the least among them. Their finely tuned energetic sense of what they need to have happen means everything.

Before the pandemic took such a tight hold of us, (just a couple of weeks ago, perhaps?) I did an Energetic Healing Communication session with a dog who was limping. She had been expecting the session. The owner asked that I take her own injured finger into consideration too if I had time. I worked with the areas the owner had said she felt the dog needed work. I felt the session was very concrete, meaning very mechanical for her, but that was what she was asking for. She even became impatient with me at times.

Then she said: “guarding causes you to lock out, then fear, then lose the ability to take in good things.”

This was very huge, not only for the dog but for the owner, and for me. We are all guarded right now. We have to be but we will be wise to remember what that does to our nervous system. It makes us less able to notice or receive good things.

And then, the dog wove her owner’s physical injury into her own healing. I worked with the area between the nails of the paws. The owner reported her finger feeling 75% better. The dog ended her session on her own, satisfied, and went to lie down and rest.

That will probably never happen again in exactly that way or even close to it. That is the beauty of Ortho-Bionomy bodywork. It is special, it is for you personally, or for you and your dog or horse or cat and it is tailored to your needs. It is not a panacea, a pill or a blanket solution.

So, while this may sound farfetched to some and right at home to others, I will leave you with this: we need communication. We need the conversation, and if it isn’t physical, then energetic. We communicate in some different ways than horses or dogs. We have the higher intellect, or so I’m told.

Yet, we aren’t as good at taking care of ourselves energetically as animals are. We have to be conscious of making sure to keep ourselves open to good things, like the wise dog said, while we are in these oppressive times.

So reach out and don’t touch someone, but do  – energetically – across time and hold space for them and their healing. In that small way, I hope we can make a significant difference.

P.S. You may touch your horse, dog or cat!

 

Winter Walking with Sabio

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We walk down the road, vehicle tracks as rigid deep veins in the frozen mud, sheets of ice glistening in the pale winter sun. It’s treacherous footing but we have to get out.

Our usual stop is to visit two young mares in a pasture, who are always excited to see another horse coming down the road. Today, Sabio stops and looks at them, but he doesn’t ask to go over and visit. Often he has gone over and sniffed noses and taken in their muzzles exploring his face and neck as though it was a special treat. But today, he looked and he decided he wanted to continue walking with me and didn’t give them a backward glance.

This demonstrated to me that he had gotten accustomed to their presence and that he was perfectly happy walking with me. At that point he made that decision not to visit with them, I felt a deep connection come from him, him matching my stride, us walking together. I often feel this with him while in the saddle too, but when I am on the ground next to him, I’m then like another horse. Horses walk side by side, they walk one behind the other. There is a rhythm to this, different from the rhythm of us being on their backs. I want all those rhythms. I want to feel all of it.

The other part of the walk is observing together. If he takes an interest in the mares, so do I. If he takes interest in some far off call of a coyote, I turn my head in the same direction. I often can’t hear and see what he has going on in his world, but it doesn’t matter. I want to know. I want to be more horse than I am. I want the senses he was born with, the broader knowledge of his world. He is my entry into that world, whether I will ever hear or see what he can or not.

Winter can be bleak here in the Southwest, with snow blowing across frozen stalks of wild grasses, tree trunks gone rigid and cracking from the cold. Once when it was warmer, a dust devil lifted dried horse poop into a swirl and hit me full in the face. It is not a romantic setting, yet there is something wild and beautiful about it all. It is a time for hibernation and yet I’m out here in the muck and cold walking a horse before the sun disappears.

We share this with the crows cawing, lighting on clawlike branches and taking flight when we come near. We share it with the coyotes who are the same color as the land and sunlight, fleets of yellow-brown fur hunkering low to the ground at a trot in hopes of not being noticed, stealthy, cunning.

On the way back, I tossed the leadrope over his back to see what he would do. He grazed on what was available, finds something tasty hidden under the snow; sticks with me. At times I led the way, other times he moved ahead, just as though we were two horses exploring. The only difference is I’m a human. He has the ability to move away and come back but I don’t really feel him leave. He looks at me, wants to know which direction at times, or even suggest a direction. Occasionally, I point or lead the way.

I feel his connection without the leadrope, with only his attention moving between his curiosity and staying close, a leadrope tethered to my heart, not my hand.