Reiki For Floating                                       NZ Natural Equine magazine March 09
By Valee More

I’ve always wondered what horses think about being boxed in, not being able to see and then experiencing what can only be a very strange sensation as they travel at double their natural speed towards a blind destination – it is no wonder they revolt, have panic attacks, act up, sweat, call and spin out.

The horse is a miracle considering her sensitivity, alertness, gentleness, ability to learn and to please us in our world.  We can be part of that miracle and offer her a heightened sensitivity, our alertness, a quiet gentleness, openness to learning and a deep desire to love our horses for being horses, not our projected expectations of what we think they should be and do.

I would like to share with you what can happen when we are connected with the life force energy (Reiki) when being with our beloved friends.  It brings a quietening of the mind so that our awareness expands and tunes into the subtle levels of communication.  It opens our heart so that we are able to listen and connect with compassion.   As our minds quieten and our hearts open our horses quieten and as the trust between us grows we move more and more into the energy of oneness.

Here is a glimpse of what Reiki can do in the face of panic and trauma.  These sessions were carried out by correspondence student, Kerri Bell, during the second part of animal Reiki level 1.  Session times were 20-30 minutes and a chakra treatment and energy balance were given.

Floating History
Bear is a 9 yr old Gelding with a huge fear of float loading.  He was rescued and taken off his mother as an 8 month old foal and floated to his new home with a companion of the same age who died a few months later due to his poor state.  He has had other losses since.  All of his floating experiences have not been pleasant for horse or owner as the process could take 3 hours and 4—5 people with lots of blood, sweat and tears from all including the horse.  He has been fighting the floating experience for a long time now.  Some progress was made with the use of a round pen but it was still a long process taking up to an hour to get him with his front half in the float. 

Session 1—Bear was nervous before starting the treatment, fidgeting while tied up to his post and swinging body from side to side. 
Intention: To help him keep focused and stay calm. 
Within 10 minutes of receiving Reiki his attitude had changed and Bear was standing calmly and looking more relaxed with his head lower and a much calmer look in general.  He had stopped swinging his bum around and was resting his weight on 1 leg then the other. 
After the session, Bear was lead to the float, which can be an experience in its self and was happily tied to the float for 30 minutes and then was lead round to the ramp and walked willingly half way up the ramp before stopping and then slowly walking to half way inside.  Round pen wasn’t used this day. 

Session 2—Next session Bear was tied to the float and was relaxed but alert to surroundings.  He was happy to stand during the session.  At end of the session he was lead to the ramp and with a little encouragement from a lead rope end on his shoulder, he walked in the float with his chest almost on the chest bar. He was nervous and looking around to see what was happening around him.  He stayed inside a short time before backing out.  I worked with Bear in the float and within 3/4 hour he was standing in the float for longer times.   Still not overly happy to be there but he did stand until his paddock mate called out.

Session 3—Bear was tied to the float again during this session.  He was very relaxed and after the session was finished, he was nearly asleep on the ground.  He was lead up in to the float and stood there for 5 minutes before backing out.  He is not comfortable being left in the float yet.  He needs to see me while he stands there.  He is not happy to have the ramp closed yet.  

Kerri is still following up on this work in progress.  Bear needs to have time to heal the past traumas he has experienced and has started trusting the new way of floating.  I expect he has a deep fear of loss and abandonment. 

When we listen to the (Reiki) energy it will guide the process.  The Reiki energy flows through the person giving it and interacts with the recipient moving through the physical, emotional, mental, cellular and quantum levels, clearing out blockages, cellular and emotional memory and reorganizing the neuro patterning of the brain.

Valee More is continually inspired with the results working with Reiki that gets us connected with our inner wisdom and intuition.  Valee is a Reiki Master Teacher, Psychosynthesis & EFT Therapist for riders and her other web site is www.theoasisclinicltd.com  

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