Learning to listen to your horse is one of the most important aspects in both your work with horses as well as their health care. Yet it is probably the single most common part of their interaction that people don’t do. It’s hard. It requires a change of mind set, a change of your heart. But if you want the best for and from your horse, it’s essential. A system of natural horses health is totally dependent on this one important key.
I’m not necessarily talking about listening with your ears, important though this is. I’m talking about how your horse is constantly chattering to you through body language and feelings. Humans have moved so far away from these essential skills, few give them the importance they deserve. And it may take you time to get the hang of them, to re-discover them. That’s OK. Just make a start.
The best way I can illustrate what I mean is to give you some examples.
As a kid, I grew up in East Africa, mostly Kenya. I was lucky enough to have a horse. He was an ex-polo pony, and an ex-riding school pony. He’d been worked hard in his life. He was experienced in human ways. Sadly, he had been started at too young an age and his back was very sunken. This made a saddle impossible, even if my family could have afforded one.
This didn’t distract us from having great times together. And bareback riding did wonders for my seat. Mostly I rode him with no rein contact, or only a very light one.
As there were big cats around, everyone stabled their horses at night. While we had a stable built, we stabled him overnight in a neighbour’s outhouse. In return for this, I was obliged to offer the lady of the house a ride or too, at her request.
However, it quickly became apparent that she was insecure without a saddle. She hung on to the reins. The pony was obviously stressed. As a kid, I felt there was little I could do or say. So the pony took charge.
Walking away from home, he started to limp badly. She turned him back, and the limp disappeared. She turned to resume her ride and he started to limp again. This was amusing to watch and to gauge what he was doing. But it also gave me the courage to suggest he may have a problem and it would be better not to ride him.
Unfortunately, it also meant I couldn’t ride him for a while, to be authentic!
Let me give you another example.
Recently I was called out to see a horse who was very sick. She had been treated aggressively by a couple of vets, over several months to no avail. I took the case. Three homeopathic remedies came to mind. I offered her one after the other. She refused them all, turning her head away. I dug deeper, asking about her previous medical history.
She had reacted badly to a vaccine just a week before all this started. Now I offered her a couple of remedies which resolve vaccine damage. She ignored one and tried to eat the other bottle.
She was given this one, as she wanted it. A week later she was well, back to her normal happy, energetic self.
Humans are amazingly arrogant. We think we know best. However, once we connect with animals, we discover that we know very little in reality. It’s good to be humble and learn from them.
Homeopathic treatment is universally loved by animals because they like the effect it has.
