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Horse Energy Work
Val Hampson, MA
When energy is flowing, it’s a
magical thing.
Jay, a beautiful black Arab Paint
cross gelding, had bug bites. Lots of them. Tiny gnats had gnawed the
skin between his back legs and along his belly into a bumpy, itchy mass.
Jay had a reaction to them and they became infected. The result was ugly
oozing sores and an ever growing hot hard swelling of his whole
underside.
....
It was right then that his person
needed to go away. Isn’t that always the way? She asked me to horse sit
and care for her horse, including cleaning and rubbing vet recommended
ointment on the bites.
Jay’s got some spirit to him and can
also be a little anxious at times. We didn’t know each other too well.
He wasn’t too keen on a near stranger spending a couple of hours a day
carefully cleaning all his sores, especially in delicate places. So, he
danced and shuffled and kicked. I wasn’t too keen on getting kicked,
either.
I spent a lot of time
‘horsewhispering’ with him, I mean really whispering, in my most
calm and soothing voice. I also did loving kindness meditation with him.
In loving kindness meditation, you don’t fight or force away the
difficult feelings. You make space for them in the spaciousness of your
open heart. You invite them in with your breath, a slow deep breath,
drawing the fear, pain, hurt all the way into the expansion of your soft
belly. Then, send loving feelings and thoughts- in this case soothing
comfort, love and health- on your outbreath allowing your belly to
flatten. Send your whole long breath outwards with these loving, kind
thoughts.
I held and breathed in his anxiety,
irritation and annoyance. I released with my breath calming, soothing,
loving intent and health. We got through the cleaning and ointment
sessions for the day.
The next day was worse. He was
feistier, in more discomfort and frustration and showed it. His sores
were worse and the hard swelling was noticeably bigger. He looked a
little bit pregnant. We went through the same routine. It took a long
time to clean and salve him as he had a hard time tolerating it. I
whispered and meditated with him. I offered him reiki and qi gong
energy. He was eating, drinking and moving normally. I kept in close
contact with his person and followed her care instructions.
On the third day, he was not better
and it was decided that the vet might need to be called if he didn’t
start showing some improvement by the next day. We entered our routine.
I whispered and did loving kindness. Now, he stood calmly for nearly all
of his session. I stood there with him carefully cleaning and rubbing
ointment onto his sores. I was relaxed and I began thinking about the
little biting gnats and how it felt to have them swarming around. I
thought about the itchy bites I myself have had and how incredibly good
it felt rub them with soothing salve. I was so deep into this tactile
visualization I could just about feel it myself. I began to feel a
certain merging of our energy fields. Jay leaned into me and was still.
In this unified space, the reiki and qi gong flowed without resistance.
In a way, the energy, he, and I became one. He was calm and peaceful
afterwards. We did this again that evening. He was decidedly more
settled and the swelling had stopped worsening.
The next morning there was quite a
noticeable improvement in the swelling and the size and oozing of the
sores. We continued these sessions. He stood quietly for them and seemed
to offer his participation and even liked most of the rubbing.
When his person arrived home a couple
of days later, both the swelling and the sores were minor and
disappeared shortly.
How much of this process was the
cleaning and ointment, how much the energy and visualization and how
much nature’s wise course? I cannot tell, probably some of each. I do
know for sure that both he and I felt emotionally better, we formed a
positive bond in a difficult situation and the cleaning/ointment
sessions went easier with the energy work and meditation. At the very
least, we created a space that encouraged healing to happen.
As a sweet bonus, Jay now had a new
human friend and I an equine one.
Val Hampson, MA,
is an energy worker, qi gong practitioner and Reiki Master specializing
in equines and other animals. EAGALA certified, Val is an experienced psychotherapist
with a master's degree in counseling psychology. She is an author and
the editor of Equus Spirit. Contact her at
valh@equusspirit.com
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Note:
Reiki and qi gong are wellness supporting spiritual energies. They are
not to be considered diagnostics or disease treatments and are not
substitutes for veterinary care. Always see your veterinarian for any
health concerns for your animals.
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