My Epic Journey Into Equine Energy Healing: Finding A Different Way

Once upon a time, I was a barn rat. I was one of those kids whose parents dropped them off at the local barn after school or on the weekends, and waited for a phone call to pick them up. Being without my own horse, I rode whatever anyone would let me, cleaning stalls to earn lessons and eventually getting a part lease 2 days a week on the world’s best OTTB. 

Not knowing any differently, my start seems average: lessons, reading books, riding at summer camp, and helping to teach those learning what I already knew. I rode Morgan Horses, ponies, Paints, TBs, and even dabbled in driving a friend’s show horse. I’d jump on English, Western, bareback, saddleseat, whatever, and go jump things, trail riding, barrel racing… you name it, I was game! Little did I know what my journey to equine energy healing was going to entail!

From what I remember, much of my education was that of “make them do it”. Be the alpha, the lead mare, negative reinforcement, release of pressure was the reward, eventually they’ll learn how to do what you want and not get kicked and yanked. I was a nice rider, but not always kind. I had an ego. 

Higher Education, and the Start of a Different Way

In college, I started off in pharmacy but very quickly changed my major to English, and then Equine Science. The equestrian team took up most of my free time, although I also did ballroom dance competitions.

I remember the satisfaction I felt the day I finally learned how to get along with the team’s most difficult horse, a quirky TB named Regal. He wanted stillness, softness, thinking of what was wanted rather than demanding it.

And I also remember being scolded for being rough with our very best beginner horse, who I was only riding because he was a potential draw in a competition, when he was spooking at the end of the tiny indoor where they processed livestock. Thinking back, sometimes with regret and tears, I learned more than just riding skills on those horses. 

I needed a senior project, so I took on a summer independent study with a professor at his training stable. It was there that I was first introduced to what I like to call “a different way”. A veterinarian came out to help diagnose a lameness in a horse, which other vets hadn’t been able to figure out.

She utilized muscle testing, where she used the horse’s own energy field to accurately find the area of discomfort and dysfunction. She had an assistant, who stood touching the horse’s shoulder with her other arm held out straight. The vet would touch a specific point on the horse, and then press down firmly on her assistant’s arm. The arm would hold steady, dropping a few inches, but strongly returning to neutral.

Until the vet touched the horse’s left hock. Then when the arm was pressed, it dropped without resistance to her hip. It was as though she had no strength in it! They continued checking other areas, and the assistant never knew what was being scanned. Coming back to the hock, once again, the arm dropped. 

It was the first link in the chain of my learning. The first glimpse of the path of the different way. 

Seeing Reiki In Action

The second link that I can remember was the “eccentric” father of a boarding stable owner. I kept my horses there, and was training horses. He was harmless, occasionally wandering down and petting the horses, or accompanying the owner to feed.

Then one day, a horse was colicking severely. She was laying down in pain, and wouldn’t get up. The vet was called and on the way, and we were just trying to keep her from rolling and thrashing. This man came quietly in, and held his hands near her barrel from a safe place.

“He’s doing reiki”, the barn owner said with a bit of an eye roll. It was seen as harmless, as long as he didn’t get hurt. He continued working there until the vet arrived, and with no drugs on board, that mare was calmly standing when he got there. I don’t recall how things went from there, but I know the mare survived. 

That was all decades ago, basically in another life. I got injured and left horse training for writing, working for publications and eventually my own clients until 2020. Things took a dive, as they did for many freelancers, my shadow dog Scuba died of cancer, and I was more than ready to start figuring out exactly what I was here to do.

Little did I know what that global pandemic had in store for me!

Quantum Leaping Into the Unknown

During Covid I began researching my heritage and delved into the histories of the traveling peoples of Europe. That was the beginning of my path into the mystical unknown, where every turn led to more that I didn’t know about, but wanted to!

I found that I am gifted in reading Tarot, and telling the messages and stories that a reading can bring to us. I found Lindsay Mack and their method of reading Tarot as medicine, honoring the lands on which we live and going beyond “fortune telling”. My daily pulls turned into yearly spreads and feeling into the energy of the timeline. 

As I kept wandering, I found videos of people doing reiki on others, including some trendy TikToks, as well as horses. After researching several lineages of Reiki, I was drawn to Quantum Reiki, learning on myself and becoming a Grandmaster so I could teach others.

It’s easy to write this in one or 2 sentences, but it was (and continues to be!) years of study and practice, which truly shifted my perspective on seeing everything as energy, being able to control it, feeling it in living (and non-living) beings, and learning my responses to working with it. I also quickly added crystals to my favorite tools.

After a while, I started doing reiki on horses which quickly turned into what I call intuitive energy healing, as I discovered my hands wanted to do things beyond what reiki teaches, and I wanted to honor the heritage of traditional reiki. My personal horses became my muses, energetic bodies that I could practice and learn on. I will be forever grateful to them!

Sometime after that, I began learning about posture and nerve release with Celeste Lazarus and saw huge shifts in the comfort of horses when I began applying those concepts to my own horses and my initial clients. As I’ve continued to learn and apply new treatments through this lens of the nervous system first, big things have happened!

It also reminded me to be aware of my own nervous system, and make sure I was taking care of it before trying to have a positive effect on an animal. This was the start of figuring out how to apply energy healing in specific ways to have a healing effect on animals!

Moving Into Traditional Chinese Medicine

Probably from a mindset of wanting to see more “real” rather than “just woowoo”, I added red and infrared light therapy treatments to energy sessions. The horses really seemed to appreciate the modality, and owners became partners in heping to get to the heart of the problems with their horse.

I discovered that more people wanted to know the specifics of what I was feeling, so I decided to get certified in acupressure to delve deeply into anatomy and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

I trained in Equine and Canine Acupressure at the Northwest School of Animal Massage and am Board Certified with the National Board of Certification for Animal Acupressure and Massage (NBCAAM). When it comes to feeling legitimate, the depth of education there was on par with a collegiate course! It was so much fun to be back in a classroom setting, even with the book learning being done online ahead of 2 hands-on weeks. 

Once again, I was blessed with generous horses who allowed us to learn what we were feeling, and to notice the effect it had on them. Some needed a softer and more patient approach, and I found myself drawn to those who needed more space, more time, to process.

I believe that was another doorway that I stepped through, to connect with those souls that needed a little more time to trust; the ones who carried baggage that they weren’t ready to put down just yet, but would let me take a brick out if I took my time. 

Further Education – Will It Ever End?

Fascia – The Body’s Spiderweb

Even with the depth of TCM education and anatomy, I felt I’d only scratched the surface of the body and its systems working together as a whole.

To enhance my understanding of what structures to check in with and help bring the horse’s awareness to, next up was fascia treatment with Animal Ease Therapies, LLC. This has helped to greatly inform my understanding of how an issue on one side of the horse might be related to something very far away on the body! 

The Nerves – The Body’s Information Highway

The Lazarus Nerve Release Technique came along and I was in one of the first cohorts to learn that method. I’ve not felt led to get certified in it yet, but nearly every horse who I get to lay my hands on receives at least one check in utilizing that method.

It’s incredible how much information the nervous system has, how it will talk to me, soften via fascia, allow for more space, shift a little, and allow the horse to move a bit more towards its own neutral. 

An Unexpected Turn Towards Darkness

While wintering in the Caribbean, I take advantage of not having horses to lay hands on and learn other things. One such winter I became a companion animal death doula through the University of Vermont.

My personal experiences with death growing up were not always healthy, and I felt that this course helped to heal some of my own trauma. I am honored when people invite me to take part in the preparation for and passing of a beloved animal. It’s not easy, but I can make it ceremonial, give it meaning, and hold space for whatever the animal and guardian need. 

Animal Communication and Human Design – The Perfect Match!

Another Caribbean training was a fascinating blend of Human Design and Animal Communication. Not only did I discover how many different ways there are to go about communicating with animals, but I also honed skills I didn’t know I had. The ongoing cohort of fellow healers and communicators has been so inspiring!

A Deep Dive – The Body’s Viscera

Most recently, I got to learn about applying energy healing techniques to the viscera of the horse. I’d seen this used on my personal horse during a session before, and I’ve never seen him enjoy bodywork quite like that! I knew I wanted to learn more, so I signed up as soon as it was offered at the NWSAM again.

My mind was blown: a veterinarian teaching how to run energy through the body? And moving organs with intention and feeling the body’s natural movement and rhythms? This was all stuff I’d been doing naturally, but now I have the method and reasons, and a deeper understanding of the anatomy. It is equine energy healing through a highly medical lens. And I love it!

What’s next? There will always be more to learn. As long as the horses keep teaching me, I will keep learning. I think the next workshop I’d like to attend will be a dissection: to see the inner anatomy in real life, and to honor an animal by learning how to help others. 

The Horses Who Have Taught Me

Luka 

The first horse I must thank is Luka. He is my homebred Morgan Horse, bred as a graduation gift from my late father. He has been on this whole journey with me, receiving the good and the bad, and now the very good and hopefully appreciated fruits of my educational labor.

He’s allowed me to learn pressure amounts, locate anatomical points, try new methods and tell me what he thought of them (trust me, there’s a few things I tried that weren’t for us that I haven’t included here!). He’s also taken me to many jumping championships, recognized eventing ribbons, and taught me the value of slow rehab work.

He’s now a lesson horse for kids, which he loves, and as soon as he tells me he doesn’t love it anymore, he’ll get to retire. 

Sabi

A close second is Sabi, my miniature horse. Bought as a companion for another mini who was bought as Luka’s companion (so yes, I bought my pet’s pet a pet but let’s not go there), she came into our lives relatively unhandled but willing to learn and is a friend to every living thing. She started out as a Craigslist purchase and turned into a champion show horse.

She’s joined me on this journey as well, and is even more opinionated than Luka. We are in the midst of a full makeover, taking the season off from showing and working on her nervous system and posture. 

Fishy

The client who has taught me the most, and been the most validating, is Fishy. A big dark mare, passed around when she would buck when ridden, she landed at a gentle horsemanship trainer’s barn where her life has changed.

Our first session together I think I could touch one shoulder. Everywhere else was off-limits and my efforts were met with CLEAR no’s, with teeth and back feet. So I agreed, and reached out with my energy from a foot away, then 5 feet away, until I found her comfort zone where I could intend to touch her from.

On days when I can touch her, she insists it be only with my right hand. When she gets antsy, I check which hand I’m using, and often I’ve switched without realizing. She’s more in tune with the energy coming from me than I am some days.

One time, I released some fascia from her chest to the underside of her pelvis, but I couldn’t touch her pelvis. I couldn’t intend to touch the underside of her pelvis. I couldn’t even tell the owner that I was working there without her kicking out and pinning her ears; I could only say “the other side of the top of her pelvis”.

She reminds me that not only is energy healing valid, but it works from great distances. I need not touch. Her body is happiest when she is bred, so I suspect she has significant ovarian pain. I’m grateful that she’s at a sport horse farm that breeds lovely Irish Draught WBs, where she will thrive and be comfortable in her body. 

Gratitude For Every Single Horse – Though Not Remembered By Name, The Lessons Have Carried On

I’m grateful to Cherry, the first horse I sat on at horse camp where my parents thought the hard work would fix me of my horse craziness. Spoiler alert – it did not.

I remember cantering for the first time on Lightning, also at camp. Tempe, the giant Morgan Horse who no one else wanted to ride because he was so big. Miles aka Roadem Out, the OTTB who taught me that we could jump absolutely anything with the patience of a saint. Aero, a little Paint horse who got to endure all the activities that a couple of barn rats could think up, like bareback double riding.

Regal, Artie, UC Harry H, Bucky, Holiday, Traveler, Doc Daniels, and even Victor, all the horses at UConn who patiently taught us all about riding and care and life and even death.

Leya, my first mini who taught me more about laminitis than I ever wanted to know, who I still grieve for.

And Scuba, my very best bud, who loved the horses like family, never left my side, and continues to meet me on spiritual journeys and in my dreams. 

Just a Few of the People

There are so many people who have shaped my methods and made a lasting impact on who I am today. A few of those I look to for inspiration on this Different Way include Dr. Susan Fay; Dr. Kris De Ceulaer, DVM, PhD; Lockie Phillips and Emotional Horsemanship; Kim Bauer of Animal Ease Therapies, LLC, who has encouraged me to keep on this path even when it is heartbreaking at times. 

Others who come to mind are Theresa Smithy, my camp counselor and horsemanship director for many years of my youth, who mentored me in ways I can’t thank enough, and taught me how to shoestring horse health care when needed; Harry Hartley, president emeritus of UConn, who invited me into a graduate level class and pushed me to understand; John Bennett and Janice Callahan at the UConn horse barn, who helped me figure out who I was as a horseperson and reminded me that we’re all human. 

Then there’s my fellow animal healers, who challenge me both to keep learning and also to see each other as collaborators and contemporaries, not competition. My partner Joe, who has never once doubted me or the path I’m sometimes pulling us both down. And every single one of my clients over the past 5 years, for allowing me into your life and your animal’s life, to learn from you both. I’m so grateful. 

I can’t wait to see where the journey takes me next!