While he waited for me as I worked on another horse with Animal Reiki, Dealer became very restless, by repeatedly pacing in his stall, snickering, and kicking his door. As an animal communicator, I let him know that he could accept Reiki as well, even though I was focusing on another horse; but he just wanted out! I suggested for his person to walk him around the property while I worked on her first horse.
When I was ready to focus on Dealer, I asked his person how he was doing. She replied “antsy”. So we went to the indoor arena so he could have more room to walk around if he chose to do so. I felt Reiki flowing very slightly as I stood a short distance from him. Shortly after I began, I was drawn to walk up to him and lightly touch his right flank near his hipbone. He flinched as he shared that that particular touch triggered a memory that he was angry about. I acknowledged his sharing, and continued to offer Reiki from a short distance.
Instead of him calming down with the Reiki, he was becoming boisterous, which was an unusual behavior from Dealer. Because he was still interested in Reiki, I suggested to his person that we needed to change his environment; so the three of us went outside, and only then did he instantly calm down. During this time of him grazing the grass, he became fully opened and relaxed as he accepted Reiki. By his own choice, he released the physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual component of this memory of young boys throwing sharp pointy triangular-shaped rocks at him. He also shared that he wanted to be called “Buddha” by everyone, not just his person.
Several days later, his person reported he seemed much more content with himself, as well as enjoying his new name, Buddha!
Camille Pukay
One of the sweetest horses on the face of this earth is Momma, a fourteen year old Registered Thoroughbred. She was rescued from California in Oct 2009 by Kansas City, Missouri’s Changing Leads Equine Rescue which in turn rehabilitates horses for adoption.
Sure enough, by the next day Kodiak was head-bobbing lame. Really, really sore. My trainer palpated his hoof with her hoof tester, and sure enough, he was extremely painful in the area where the rock had been stuck as well as the whole bulb and back part of his hoof. He officially had a stone bruise. Having worked with many horses over the years I knew what that meant—weeks or perhaps months of soreness—in other words, a long road to healing.
I walked to the other side of the barn to a different pasture to see if Joe, a 21 year old Paint/Pinto, and/or Visa, an Arabian, would like some Animal Reiki. As I was walking towards the pasture, I noticed Joe was waiting for me close to the gate. As I approached, he lifted up his right forelock to show me that the flies were bothering him. I went to apply fly spray on him, and proceeded to offer him Animal Reiki with his permission.
I met Missy during my first month as a volunteer at Horse Haven of Tennessee. Following my volunteer shifts, I am able to do Reiki work with the horses that our barn manager feels would benefit. I had been primarily working with a Hackney pony, Napoleon, who had a severe mistrust of most people with the exception of our barn manager. He had been coming along nicely, so when a new group of rescue horses arrived, I began to work with them as well. The first horse I chose to work with was Missy. As I entered her stall, I realized that this was the type of moment I had most feared experiencing since starting my work at Horse Haven: she was severely emaciated, weak and blind in one eye. She openly welcomed me into her space. She had been munching on a large pile of hay, deeply contented. You could see some relief in her face to have clean water and probably what seemed to be a never ending supply of hay.
After a while, she stepped forward and leaned into me so I could place my hands on her chest and shoulder. She gradually repositioned herself, even actually turning around, so I could place my hands on the sharp prominent bones of her spine and hind quarters. It was in this very moment, while working with such a trusting and beautiful though severely neglected soul, that I realized that the Reiki was lifting me up and far away from my fear and sorrow. The Reiki was allowing me to hold the light for Missy, creating the healing space that she desperately needed. It was even more amazing in that I felt almost a forgiveness pouring out of her heart toward human kind and to those that had abused her. She could see so far beyond this, even in her weakened condition, to allow another human to share her space, remaining fully open to the experience that unfolded between us.
ts. The following Sunday when I arrived for my weekly shift, my heart dropped when I saw that her stall was empty. I frantically sought out my shift leader, who sadly informed me that Missy had colicked on Thursday night and despite all efforts to save her, she died around midnight that night. She was surrounded by the volunteers on duty that night that stayed on to assist the veterinary team. She died peacefully, surrounded with the love and caring that had been absent from her life for far too long. I still think of Missy to this day and feel so blessed to have known this beautiful spirit, even for such a short time. Her memory will remain with me always.
Crystal had rescued Faith the prior year in the spring of 2006. She came from a local sale barn where she was about to be put down. She was lying in a pen, not willing to stand up. She was delivered to Storybook Farm where treatment began immediately. They started trimming her feet properly which were long and contracted from a lifetime of neglect. They resembled soup cans. Her hoof x-rays showed severe chronic founder. Her coffin bone, the bone inside the hoof, was badly rotated. Faith responded very well to frequent trims, taking a small amount off each time. Her x-rays 6 months later showed huge improvements; she was walking much better and more freely.
I came out to Storybook Farm periodically to offer Reiki treatments to Faith and other donkeys and horses over the next several years. I also have gotten the opportunity to teach Reiki classes at the farm. I have always loved horses and donkeys but never really had much exposure to them prior to my work at Storybook Farm. This was a dream come true for me! Working with Faith gave me confidence in myself as a fledgling Reiki practitioner – teacher. She was so open and responsive to her treatments that Faith was teaching me how to be a better more confident animal Reiki practitioner. I understood early on that Faith was giving me “faith” in myself.