Project Horse?
August 5, 2015
A new client text messaged me the other day. She wanted me to talk to her horse. She called him a project horse. We set up an appointment. I didn’t hear from him until the day before we had our session.
“I don’t like to be called a project horse,” he informed me. “I just want to be a horse,” he added. Then he added that he’d tell me more when we had our session. We met up yesterday. This horse had a lot to say.
When I arrived for our session yesterday, I was met by bright-eyed owner, Cassie, and her soft-eyed and troublesome gelding Roadie. He had a lot to say. The first thing he wanted her to know was that he had issues. No surprise here. When I looked at him his entire energy said I feel sorry for myself. He felt like a victim but didn’t really know why.
When someone says project horse to me, I think of a horse that has been rescued from slaughter, was abandoned, needs a tremendous amount of healing or is a horse that no one can handle or has time for. This is not Roadie’s case. He has a very sensitive loving owner who just needed insight as to why he has acted out the way he has. He bucked her off and also kicked a very experienced rider who made him do all the right things. After this rider got off of Roadie, he lashed out. “You weren’t listening to me,” Roadie offered. This explains why he behaved this way.
I explained that when horses do certain things they are telling their handlers something. If the handler doesn’t listen, they speak louder. If the handler still doesn’t listen, they shout with their body language. Kicking and bucking equals shouting, “Don’t do that!” Usually a sensitive, tuned-in rider can feel that something is off. The horse is not responding, or is beginning to shift, fidget, and show that he is uncomfortable with whatever is going on with that human being who is kind of in charge.
Roadie explained that when Cassie asked him to move into a trot, he didn’t know how to do that with a rider. He felt very uncomfortable and so when she moved him into that uncomfortable gait and position with a rider, he was saying NO THANK YOU. I don’t know how to do that yet. I explained that he felt like there was a lot going on for him. He was very comfortable with both leads and all gaits on a lunge line but add a saddle and a rider and it was information overload. Take your time with him wanting to move into a trot. It is a gait that he has to offer when he feels it is time I told her. He showed me what he felt like when he was running. He felt like one of those gangly kids who runs with his feet splayed out to the side. It was kind of funny and very awkward movement that he showed me.
Roadie is a very curious horse and wants to know anything. He liked to be involved. He bonded beautifully with Cassie but when she left to go to school and leased him out for six months Roadie was confused and felt abandoned. He explained that it is difficult for her to catch him because it’s payback time. How badly do you want to catch me he asked? He said he felt confused because when she left him, he thought she was never coming back. When she did, he didn’t really know what role he had in her life. Horses hear everything we think and say I explained. All you have to do is tell him that his place is with you. Roadie is a very nervous horse. He was thin he explained, because he is so nervous. His body had difficulty absorbing minerals from his food because it moved through him so quickly.
At the end of our session, I asked if I could take their picture and blog about them. Not everyone agrees which is why at times I do not have a lot to blog about. Cassie agreed. When I took a few pictures, and the pics were not good, Cassie suggested she move to the other side of him. Roadie wanted this too. "It’s my good side," he added.
The picture was perfect and is the one I used for this blog post. Before I left I explained that sometimes the horses ask for a follow up distance healing session. Roadie asked for one that night and one the next day. I agreed explaining that my horse clients make a request and I always say yes. They have something they need help with. Because it’s easy for me to connect with them through a meditation session I often offer this to the ones who seem to need it and of course to those who ask.
In our distance session last night Roadie showed me black spots in his withers. This indicates an energy block. With Reiki or any form of energy work, this can be removed. I watched this area fill with white light. I knew Roadie was healing. These black energy spots had helped him buck when asked to move into a trot. As a rider our seat and weight distribution changes and this is what sent Roadie over the edge.
Also in our session last night, Roadie showed me a picture of him walking down a dirt lane with puddles. He was all alone and this is how he felt most of his life. Since our session yesterday his idea of who he is and what his life is like has now changed. He had a very low opinion of who he was. His session and our discussion changed that. When I left we all noticed how his no longer looked so sad. His energy field had cleared and he felt more just like a normal horse, which is who he wants to be. Just a horse.
A new client text messaged me the other day. She wanted me to talk to her horse. She called him a project horse. We set up an appointment. I didn’t hear from him until the day before we had our session.
“I don’t like to be called a project horse,” he informed me. “I just want to be a horse,” he added. Then he added that he’d tell me more when we had our session. We met up yesterday. This horse had a lot to say.
When I arrived for our session yesterday, I was met by bright-eyed owner, Cassie, and her soft-eyed and troublesome gelding Roadie. He had a lot to say. The first thing he wanted her to know was that he had issues. No surprise here. When I looked at him his entire energy said I feel sorry for myself. He felt like a victim but didn’t really know why.
When someone says project horse to me, I think of a horse that has been rescued from slaughter, was abandoned, needs a tremendous amount of healing or is a horse that no one can handle or has time for. This is not Roadie’s case. He has a very sensitive loving owner who just needed insight as to why he has acted out the way he has. He bucked her off and also kicked a very experienced rider who made him do all the right things. After this rider got off of Roadie, he lashed out. “You weren’t listening to me,” Roadie offered. This explains why he behaved this way.
I explained that when horses do certain things they are telling their handlers something. If the handler doesn’t listen, they speak louder. If the handler still doesn’t listen, they shout with their body language. Kicking and bucking equals shouting, “Don’t do that!” Usually a sensitive, tuned-in rider can feel that something is off. The horse is not responding, or is beginning to shift, fidget, and show that he is uncomfortable with whatever is going on with that human being who is kind of in charge.
Roadie explained that when Cassie asked him to move into a trot, he didn’t know how to do that with a rider. He felt very uncomfortable and so when she moved him into that uncomfortable gait and position with a rider, he was saying NO THANK YOU. I don’t know how to do that yet. I explained that he felt like there was a lot going on for him. He was very comfortable with both leads and all gaits on a lunge line but add a saddle and a rider and it was information overload. Take your time with him wanting to move into a trot. It is a gait that he has to offer when he feels it is time I told her. He showed me what he felt like when he was running. He felt like one of those gangly kids who runs with his feet splayed out to the side. It was kind of funny and very awkward movement that he showed me.
Roadie is a very curious horse and wants to know anything. He liked to be involved. He bonded beautifully with Cassie but when she left to go to school and leased him out for six months Roadie was confused and felt abandoned. He explained that it is difficult for her to catch him because it’s payback time. How badly do you want to catch me he asked? He said he felt confused because when she left him, he thought she was never coming back. When she did, he didn’t really know what role he had in her life. Horses hear everything we think and say I explained. All you have to do is tell him that his place is with you. Roadie is a very nervous horse. He was thin he explained, because he is so nervous. His body had difficulty absorbing minerals from his food because it moved through him so quickly.
At the end of our session, I asked if I could take their picture and blog about them. Not everyone agrees which is why at times I do not have a lot to blog about. Cassie agreed. When I took a few pictures, and the pics were not good, Cassie suggested she move to the other side of him. Roadie wanted this too. "It’s my good side," he added.
The picture was perfect and is the one I used for this blog post. Before I left I explained that sometimes the horses ask for a follow up distance healing session. Roadie asked for one that night and one the next day. I agreed explaining that my horse clients make a request and I always say yes. They have something they need help with. Because it’s easy for me to connect with them through a meditation session I often offer this to the ones who seem to need it and of course to those who ask.
In our distance session last night Roadie showed me black spots in his withers. This indicates an energy block. With Reiki or any form of energy work, this can be removed. I watched this area fill with white light. I knew Roadie was healing. These black energy spots had helped him buck when asked to move into a trot. As a rider our seat and weight distribution changes and this is what sent Roadie over the edge.
Also in our session last night, Roadie showed me a picture of him walking down a dirt lane with puddles. He was all alone and this is how he felt most of his life. Since our session yesterday his idea of who he is and what his life is like has now changed. He had a very low opinion of who he was. His session and our discussion changed that. When I left we all noticed how his no longer looked so sad. His energy field had cleared and he felt more just like a normal horse, which is who he wants to be. Just a horse.