service

The way I look at any domestic animal is they were here originally to serve us … the cat was to kill mice in the barn and protect our food supply from rodents .. the dog had to guard and also provide transport .. while the horse provided us with food, transport and was our early farm machinery … If you want to put a religious aspect on it, God gave them to us to help us survive in a harsh world …

Since the industrial revolution, and improved living conditions, these service roles no longer exist. So our animals have taken on or basically been left with one service … a very valuable one .. they are guides or indicators as to what we need to address in our own lives …

Often a physical symptom is a reflection of an emotional imbalance … this was the foundation of Dr Bach’s flower essences, he saw the cause of all dis-ease in the body a reflection of an emotion that the soul was trying to call the person’s attention to …

These ideas have been expanded upon in books such as Louise Hay’s Heal Your Body and Annette Noontil’s The Body is the Barometer of the soul (so be your own doctor)….

Annette does in her book what I do with a horse … she sees even your car reflecting back to you what you need to address in your life … for example .. a flat battery is ‘need to rejuvenate yourself with new plans’ or running out of petrol is a fear of success, and suggests to feel abundant always keep your tank above half full …

With horses I often find I may be treating the owner and not the horse … often their emotional needs are not being met and this is reflected in their horse …

One friend had a festering saddle sore on her horse … it just wouldn’t clear up … she had asked me for help … so we gave him mineral salts and he progressed to point … it was frustrating … so I began to listen more closely to what she said as we talked … she was a happy go lucky person on the surface but when you held a conversation with her .. there was often a well hidden underlying resentment … so we decided to use bach flowers for her resentment … we kept the mineral salts up tot he horse … and had her apply the essences to his neck … but … I really think the real key was her taking the essences as well …. as she took the essences the festering sore healed .. and some of the resentments she had been carrying and festering inside her… came up for her to acknowledge, which she did .. so her horse didn’t have to carry her wounds any longer …

When it comes to balance .. the reflection is more obvious .. A rider with a sore left shoulder usually ends up with a horse with a sore nearside shoulder … ok the horse could be reflecting this back as a service … but the horse’s balance is probably thrown off by how the rider’s riding is affected by their own discomfort … really a great teaching tool if you take notice of it …

So sometimes we can draw the emotional reason – sometimes we can draw a physical reason ….. both are valid as they are still showing how the horse is serving us …

One book written by two sisters who are psychotherapists and its titled ‘Horse Sense and the Human Heart, what horses can teach us about trust, bonding, creativity and spirituality’ (Adele von Rust McCormick and Marlena Deborah McCormick). Some sections I skimmed as but the essence of the book was uplifting. From the back cover "reveals how horses can take us on a deeper journey – on a path to healing, awareness and spiritual and emotional growth … by reconnecting with our intuitive core and with our natural origins, horses can teach us what nutures creativity and point us to unity with all life and with God. …. "they are more analytical in their approach than I am … as I focus more on a metaphysical angle. But some of their stuff is invaluable .

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