A healing for Hearty was the first class project during the recent Healing with Horses workshop. Hearty is a pony mare utilized by our host, Mary Ann Brewer, for EAGALA sessions and natural horsemanship lessons for a young rider.
Mary Ann explained that Hearty has not felt right to her rider lately and that as a result Hearty had been the focus of a workshop with farrier Esco Buff two weeks prior. At the Esco Buff workshop Hearty had been evaluated and it was determined that her left leg shorter was than her right. Based on the farrier’s experience, he had suggested inserting a 5/8” wedge pad on the hoof of the shorter leg, along with hoof trimming for balance in the whole horse. He felt Hearty’s body possibly could, with the help of the wedge, work through the issue and become realigned evenly behind. At that point, in 4 to 6 weeks, the wedge could be removed and she would, most likely, retain the change and become even behind. Hearty is barefoot and Mary Ann chose to hold off and not shoe the mare or insert the wedge pad.
During the Healing with Horses workshop the class also did an evaluation of Hearty. Her unevenness and her discomfort behind were apparent. You can see in the before photo that, with repeated requests, she was unwilling to stand close to square. When Mary Ann did manage to have her to stand fairly close to square, the class pointed out that her left hip was significantly lower than her right. They observed Hearty while walking and remarked how she was uneven behind and clearly in pain.
The entire class was moved to contribute to the healing of Hearty and the after picture reflects the results. Hearty released patterns of holding in many different locations in her body where the healers were called to work; the flow of her energy became integrated as a whole and she chose to stand squarely behind. When Hearty was walked out everyone noticed she now was even across her hind end; and that she moved with more fluidity and comfort.
A week and a half after her healing, I visited Mary Ann and Hearty. Hearty greeted me with a loving acknowledgment when I arrived; she was more open in her self-expression. Mary Ann and I reflected on the dramatic shifts that we both observed in Hearty as a result of the class healing. She is brighter in appearance. She is more relaxed overall; she has a softer appearance and stands squarely behind. Wonderful work; thank you to all the class participants of the Healing with Horses workshop.