Before I share my experiences with you, I would like to describe my interpretation of communication. Communication refers to the intense study of facial expressions, ear movements and other signs of body language displayed during my sessions with horses.
When I speak about “communicate” - it refers to a physical experience – as described above.
During my journey of exploring fascia, it has become clear to me that not all horses react in the same manner when working on the gelding scar and that some horses react more intensely and “speak” more loudly than others.
These are a few of my case studies:
Case One:
The owner of a horse, an older horse in his 20’s, asked if I could do a session on him and focus primarily on his gelding scar. For some years the horse had struggled to load his left hind and I attributed this to the fact that he was getting on in years. At the end of the session, I started working on the gelding scar. As I proceeded to work, he stood dead still and the immense look of relief in his eyes was obvious. After his session, he was able to load both hind legs without having to rest one leg. Regrettably, this old boy has since passed on and crossed the rainbow ridge. Bless his soul for his teachings.
Case Two:
This case has affirmed my belief that horses recognise people and associate them with different experiences. This particular horse is based in Gauteng and therefore only seen on an infrequent on/off basis. On one particular visit, I had the inclination to work on the gelding scar. As I started to work in this area, he proceeded to lift his leg higher and higher for me to reach the area, causing him to almost fall over. A couple of months later, the owner booked some more horses for body work sessions. This particular horse was not first on the list and I did not see him go into his stable. My usual practise is to take a short break in between horses, to give my back a rest. After my break I found him in his stable being held by the groom. As I stood by the door, he must have immediately recognised me and lifted his leg - as if to communicate to me where I should start working on him! This horse has reportedly never acted this way with anybody else – once again confirming my belief that horses recognise humans and associate them with different experiences.
Case Three:
This specific incident occurred at the end of January 2019 with a horse known to me, whom I do see from time to time. This horse is rather fidgety and tends to give me a good cardiac work out during each session! This particular session was much the same as usual, until I started working on the hind end. As I started to work on the left gluteals, he swung his head in my direction and it appeared as if he wanted to scratch his stifle area. Usually if a horse does this during a session, I would assist to scratch the itchy area but when I scratched this area, there was no response. This was no reaction of enjoyment/intense expressive facial reaction I usually get when assisting to scratch an itchy spot -
This left me wondering if I had missed something. Within a minute the horse swung his head around - again in my direction, this time appearing as if he wanted me to scratch his trunk/last rib area – it then occurred to me that I may have missed this the first time. But upon scratching, there was once again no corresponding response from the horse. This left me totally flummoxed – what could I be missing? Shortly after, the horse once again swung his head around to me but this time he was very clear and lifted his hind leg, next to where I was standing. At almost a 90® angle, he “pointed” his nose right between his legs and that is when the penny dropped … directing me to the gelding scar. As I started to work on the gelding scar, he stopped walking around in the stable and stood still, as if in a trance – a very deep meditative state of trance. He continued to just stand, at times lifting his leg higher for me to be able to really have access to this area. After his session, he just stood in his stable fast asleep – not moving for more than 20 minutes.
Case four: (subject in photos)
On this particular day it was not my intention to work on this horse’s gelding scar but by now I have learnt to “listen” to what the horse wants. The bizarre thing about this case is that I was, in this instance, working on the horse’s neck and during such times I am focused on what is happening in front of me i.e. the horse’s neck and head. As I worked closer to the base of the neck, I felt a change in the horse’s posture but was not immediately aware of where it had come from. He once again changed his posture when I did spinal mobilisation and I then realised that he was lifting his hind leg – on the same side where I was working on his neck. I immediately knew what was expected of me….
With this horse his need was so intense, that I moved my “check-hand” away (the hand that usually warns me of an unplanned kick when working on the hind-end). This boy just wanted me to work on his scar without any threat to me whatsoever. He too, went into a deep trance, almost losing his balance whilst lifting his leg higher for me to work on the scar area. I decided to take a break and then conclude my neck work on him. Upon resuming work, I again had the same experience – he lifted his leg for me to work on the scar area. It will be interesting to see whether I will have the same experience with him during our next session!
Not taking away any credit from any of my human teachers, I am unbelievably blessed that many of my teachers are the horses themselves. And yes, I do believe that they communicate and that some “speak” louder than others. And yes I do believe they are intelligent enough to recognise different humans and associate them with different functions and experiences.
When I speak about “communicate” - it refers to a physical experience – as described above.
During my journey of exploring fascia, it has become clear to me that not all horses react in the same manner when working on the gelding scar and that some horses react more intensely and “speak” more loudly than others.
These are a few of my case studies:
Case One:
The owner of a horse, an older horse in his 20’s, asked if I could do a session on him and focus primarily on his gelding scar. For some years the horse had struggled to load his left hind and I attributed this to the fact that he was getting on in years. At the end of the session, I started working on the gelding scar. As I proceeded to work, he stood dead still and the immense look of relief in his eyes was obvious. After his session, he was able to load both hind legs without having to rest one leg. Regrettably, this old boy has since passed on and crossed the rainbow ridge. Bless his soul for his teachings.
Case Two:
This case has affirmed my belief that horses recognise people and associate them with different experiences. This particular horse is based in Gauteng and therefore only seen on an infrequent on/off basis. On one particular visit, I had the inclination to work on the gelding scar. As I started to work in this area, he proceeded to lift his leg higher and higher for me to reach the area, causing him to almost fall over. A couple of months later, the owner booked some more horses for body work sessions. This particular horse was not first on the list and I did not see him go into his stable. My usual practise is to take a short break in between horses, to give my back a rest. After my break I found him in his stable being held by the groom. As I stood by the door, he must have immediately recognised me and lifted his leg - as if to communicate to me where I should start working on him! This horse has reportedly never acted this way with anybody else – once again confirming my belief that horses recognise humans and associate them with different experiences.
Case Three:
This specific incident occurred at the end of January 2019 with a horse known to me, whom I do see from time to time. This horse is rather fidgety and tends to give me a good cardiac work out during each session! This particular session was much the same as usual, until I started working on the hind end. As I started to work on the left gluteals, he swung his head in my direction and it appeared as if he wanted to scratch his stifle area. Usually if a horse does this during a session, I would assist to scratch the itchy area but when I scratched this area, there was no response. This was no reaction of enjoyment/intense expressive facial reaction I usually get when assisting to scratch an itchy spot -
This left me wondering if I had missed something. Within a minute the horse swung his head around - again in my direction, this time appearing as if he wanted me to scratch his trunk/last rib area – it then occurred to me that I may have missed this the first time. But upon scratching, there was once again no corresponding response from the horse. This left me totally flummoxed – what could I be missing? Shortly after, the horse once again swung his head around to me but this time he was very clear and lifted his hind leg, next to where I was standing. At almost a 90® angle, he “pointed” his nose right between his legs and that is when the penny dropped … directing me to the gelding scar. As I started to work on the gelding scar, he stopped walking around in the stable and stood still, as if in a trance – a very deep meditative state of trance. He continued to just stand, at times lifting his leg higher for me to be able to really have access to this area. After his session, he just stood in his stable fast asleep – not moving for more than 20 minutes.
Case four: (subject in photos)
On this particular day it was not my intention to work on this horse’s gelding scar but by now I have learnt to “listen” to what the horse wants. The bizarre thing about this case is that I was, in this instance, working on the horse’s neck and during such times I am focused on what is happening in front of me i.e. the horse’s neck and head. As I worked closer to the base of the neck, I felt a change in the horse’s posture but was not immediately aware of where it had come from. He once again changed his posture when I did spinal mobilisation and I then realised that he was lifting his hind leg – on the same side where I was working on his neck. I immediately knew what was expected of me….
With this horse his need was so intense, that I moved my “check-hand” away (the hand that usually warns me of an unplanned kick when working on the hind-end). This boy just wanted me to work on his scar without any threat to me whatsoever. He too, went into a deep trance, almost losing his balance whilst lifting his leg higher for me to work on the scar area. I decided to take a break and then conclude my neck work on him. Upon resuming work, I again had the same experience – he lifted his leg for me to work on the scar area. It will be interesting to see whether I will have the same experience with him during our next session!
Not taking away any credit from any of my human teachers, I am unbelievably blessed that many of my teachers are the horses themselves. And yes, I do believe that they communicate and that some “speak” louder than others. And yes I do believe they are intelligent enough to recognise different humans and associate them with different functions and experiences.