So thrilled to have another post from Reiki Master Diana Tootell. She has learned so much from the animals:

Willow is our retired racetrack thoroughbred. I got lost in her beautiful soul full eyes the first time I saw her and still do every day I spend with her. We were new to owning horses and riding when I heard that she was finished racing and needed a home. Immediately I said we would take her. When she got to the barn my husband took one look at her and said the same thing. She had a lot of health issues coming from such a different way of life. That is when I was first learning Reiki level 1. This is also when I began communicating with animals. She was named Sonic but she told me her name was Willow. Almost everyone we talked to said she would never be sound and would be a burden to us. As I grew in my Reiki training she grew perfectly healthy. All of the naysayers were perplexed at how well she was doing. She taught me endless life lessons. I wouldn’t ride her for the first year we had her because of fear. No one thought I would ever ride her. Until she taught me that I don’t have to live in fear. I began riding her regularly. Then one day she took off with me on her. She ran faster than any horse I had ever seen let alone rode! I learned that day about not giving up no matter how scared you are. She always wants to run, and can read my innermost thoughts and feelings from the moment she sees me. Through the months we worked together I learned how to quiet my soul, how to live in the moment, how to forget about problems and focus on us. She taught me that I can fly away from troubling thoughts by being in the moment with her, that no matter where I physically was she and I could fly away together. She had to live that way or she wouldn’t have survived the rough life of a race horse. Anxiety, fear, worry, distrust, low self confidence…all of those could not be a part of me if I was going to be a part of her. I learned how to thrive in a harsh world through an incredible horse Willow.