This article appeared in the November 2002 edition of the BCA (British Community Association) Cairo Magazine.

Reiki & Horses

You know that feeling of really, really needing a hug and the great feeling that comes when you finally get one? This will give you some idea of the profound relationship between therapeutic touch and the emotional release that accompanies it. We have all at some time experienced this and know how deeply soothing it can be.

This is true for other species such as the horse, as well as for humans. The therapeutic benefits of touch for horses is vast - mutual grooming between horses for instance will lower their heart rate and blood pressure. It follows then that an energy therapy like Reiki when applied to a horse can have a profound and long lasting effect.

One of the beauties of working with Reiki on horses, as with other animals, is that they have no preconceptions about what to expect and they can't pretend that they don't feel it! Horses are ultimately enthusiastic and willing recipients of Reiki treatments.

The important thing for a Reiki practitioner to bear in mind when working on a horse, as with humans, is to have clarity in their intention. Reiki can soothe nervous, spooky, tense or stressed horses. It can even be used when loading a young horse for the first time and during the breaking in process, as well as a part of the handling and training process when a horse might have a remedial problem that needs to be released. It can of course be used in the treatment of all manner of physical problems in speeding up the healing process. For the practitioner however, the primary goal must be to maintain a state of unconditional compassion to bring the body back into balance and not simply to aim for bringing about specific results, which may be for the principle benefit of the rider.

A horse will soon guide you to where on the body to give a treatment. By the use of head swings, twitches, stamping and moving its body to greet your hands, a horse will show you exactly where it needs treatment. But what if the horse is difficult and you just can't get near it? This happens frequently with horses, who have been 're-schooled' and repeat their old problematic behaviour at a later date simply because the root of the problem has never been tackled. At the 2 nd degree level within the Reiki system, it is possible to project the energy at a distance. It is this method which can be employed to work on the more troublesome horses until they have reached a sufficient state of relaxation to place hands on. Another beneficial method that is often employed, though somewhat less effective, is to simply charge the horses drinking water with energy.

Jenny, the daughter of a somewhat temperamental jumping stallion, arrived at her stables with a big reputation. She was an extremely sensitive, athletic and powerful horse. She was also full of fear through mishandling and from being channelled in the wrong direction. A horse full of fear makes people very fearful. In Jenny's case this vicious cycle had left everyone with a sense of helplessness. Twenty sessions of Reiki later, the fear had gone and Jenny went onto a promising career as she began to explore her true potential.

Another horse, Christo, was so jittery that he wouldn't let anyone ride him. After his first 30 minute Reiki session, he was tacked up and allowed the practitioner to take him for a gentle walk and trot, though at first he was difficult to get moving at all, as he was so relaxed. After his second session he allowed himself to be ridden across fields, and by the third session he was in the school with other horses, walking, trotting, cantering, well balanced, calm and relaxed.

There is no room for the traditional 'if a horse is resistant, work it' approach in Reiki. It is this ignorant and all too human attitude that leads to most of the troubles that horses suffer from. The method here is to uncover the reason behind the horses resistance and work to heal the cause of the problem. This can be as much of a healing process for the owner or trainer as it is for the horse as they begin to learn new ways to work with their horse in a much more compassionate way. As one noted writer, Clare Wilde has pointed out "working to heal the bodies of both people and horses is an ancient practice. Horses have been treated as companions, totems, guardians and givers of strength since man has had a relationship with them." By working to heal our equine companions we generate a profound and symbiotic relationship with them. As the horse is surrounded by this energy of compassion it willingly gives more and more of itself in return for its own and our benefit.

Ultimately Reiki will give a horse more of itself, enhancing and developing its true potential: a better racing horse or a better hacking horse. The result is a horse with a real passion for its work.

Horses are incredibly spiritual beings and in many ways quite altruistic. They can teach us so much about how to behave. If we could learn from these lessons and apply that understanding to the way that we treat people, human society might be a less stressful and much more compassionate place.