We got this request from a very nice lady in OH that had never tried Reiki before. She was requesting Reiki for her beautiful horse!
Hello! I am very excited for this! I live in Toledo, OH but but my horses are right over the border into MI (it’s quite close). I have two horses, Stella (an Appendix QH) and Willow (a Dutch Warmblood), you may have a chance to meet Stella in the future, but Willow’s issues are chronic and I have been struggling with them for a while.
I have known Willow since she was 6 months old and have owned her since she was two. Shortly after I bought her she was diagnosed with EPM – Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis. I don’t know if you are familiar with this, but I will give you a brief explanation in case you aren’t. It is a protozoan that invades the horses body and attacks the spinal cord starting at the hind end and working its way forward, often proving fatal because it is so hard for such a large animal to be without mobility.
This was a very sobering diagnosis because I had planned on Willow being my future competition horse. I did not realize it at the time but it was pretty severe. She relapsed as a 4 year old and I was afraid I was going to lose her but she recovered. She still to this day has quite a bit of weakness in her hind end…she turned 8 on the 7th =) and I would like to eventually be able to ride her.
I know it is a slow process and the horse’s body has a lot of healing to do. Due to the EPM, I know she struggles sometimes to get up from lying down and it has several times put her pelvis and cervical vertebrae completely out of alignment (I learned after the fact from a chiropractor). Along with this, either from the meds she needed for the EPM or since birth which I think is the case, she has had ulcers. She is a kind of nervous horse and this along with a poor appetite from the ulcers makes it very hard to keep weight on her. Her biggest thing is she doesn’t like to eat hay!!
I just want her to find peace and be calmer and know if there is anything I can do for her. She also suffers from mild EPSM (aka PSSM) which is where a horse ties up more easily than most horses. Tieing up is where the muscles in the hind end spasm and the horse cannot move. I have learned pretty well how to manage that, but just wanted to mention it. She gave me a beautiful foal in May of 2008 too! So… after that long explanation, I think I am looking for both mental and physical healing as I can see both are affecting her.
When we connected with Willow, we could sense she is such a sweet gentle soul. She said the hay tears open sores in her stomach. She said the hay pokes it because she can’t chew enough to make it mushy enough for her. She would like some oats. She said they have soft edges. She said she would eat if she could. She said she tries every day to do her best but because of the pain and sometimes her body just wont do what she tells it to. She said sorry and she she is trying. She did say she’s the prettiest horse there in the stable. Don’t you think so? She said sometimes she feels as pretty as she looks. We sent Reiki healing to her sores in her mouth. We coated them with Reiki healing. We also sent Reiki all down her spine and her back, and in her hind area. She was very open to the healing. Horses are so intuitive. In our past experience with horses we know we can get them to tap into their wellness center and they can start to heal themselves! Reiki helps us all do that. We can tap into our wellness centers!
The next day we got this email, we were so happy to hear that there was some difference. It even appeared that Willow was happy that Mom got her what she asked for!
I just got back from being with Willow! She seemed to be doing well today and she seemed more at peace…while I was grooming her, she actually stood with her head and neck very relaxed and even yawned!! Now that I think about it I don’t know if I have ever seen her yawn in my presence! And then a few minutes later she sighed. I will keep you updated about her eating, she was eating her hay for a while when I was there which is great, and I did get her the oats. She’s interesting to watch, I can see where foods make her nervous that they might hurt her because when I held some out to her, she sniffed tentatively at it, but when she realized what they were, she GOBBLED them down! She was even taking bigger bites out of apples than she usually does. She’ll get the oats with dinner starting tonight so I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks so much for following up with us! –Laura, Toledo, OH
