The Healing Nature Of Horses
By Annette Price
I would like to share a simple and profound example of the healing nature of horses.
During the first exercise of the morning, a simple grooming exercise, I observed my horse, Lakota, nuzzling the young man’s right jaw and collar bone area. She came back to it several times in a matter of a few minutes. I silently made sure that the young fellow was okay with her examination and he seemed very much at ease. I checked the foot placement of both human and horse to keep everyone safe. Then I stood back and watched my horse clear energy from her willing, albeit unsuspecting, client.
Later in the day, we were sitting in a circle under the cool shade of tall trees and were discussing where in our body we hold tension (?) is that different from where we hold joy (?) etc. I listened when the young man spoke and when he did not mention it, I questioned him about holding tension in his jaw. He looked at me with a puzzled look. His wife quickly interjected that he did sometimes grind his teeth at night.
“Actually I wear a mouth guard every night to protect my teeth”, he said hesitantly, “how, did you know?”
“Because Miss Lakota appeared to be working on your jaw this morning. That was her main target area and I wondered if that was a place you hold tension?”
“Oh Wow! You know it totally is … but it isn’t bothering me right now and I forgot all about it. That’s incredible. Yeah, my jaw feels great. I forgot I even had one.”
Later that afternoon the young man and his wife teamed up with Lakota again to do a piece of “gestalt work” and the results were amazing. These two young people, just starting a family and with very little horse experience, shared an incredible day together and finished the workshop in a wonderful place. They were marvelous people when they arrived in the morning and they were absolutely radiant when they left.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed it; one of the other workshop attendees mentioned it as well and I just nodded my head in agreement. It is an amazing thing to watch these horses “work” or “do their thing” with us two legged ones. In the past two years I have witnessed wondrous healing occur and no pieces ever look alike. How could they? We are all so different, our childhood and life experiences are different, and the baggage we carry around comes in every shape and color. Horses are only interested in what is in front of them NOW and they sense it all in the blink of an eye. They read our energy ~ from the inside out ~ it is an intrinsic part of their survival mechanism.
Their ability to read energy is part of the reason they have survived to become the magnificent creature that we know today. They are experts and they can be our teachers. They are willing and able to help us become the best creatures that we can be. After all, they have a vested interest in us humans getting our act together as we all share this magnificent planet together.
Annette Price, founder of On The Wings of a Horse, Equine Gestalt Coaching. For more information….
