I recently attended a workshop at the private ranch where my husband and I caretake in Goleta, California.The owners have 20 horses they own as pets; seven of which are lame. It was during this workshop that I experienced what I can only describe as a miracle. One of the horses living here had been in many accidents from birth; one of which had her break her tail and another damaged her neck.
As a result of all these injuries, Topaz was unable to turn or lift her head very far – her feeders had to be raised so she didn’t have to bend down. When on pasture, she would have to kneel down to reach food. Not to mention the inability to even flick flies away with her tail. Needless to say she was not able to take care of herself very well and she spent more time lying down or lame, than she did moving. And the other horses would just simply herd her, many times having her miss out on food. Whilst we did what we could to make her comfortable, it was sad to see such a wonderful being have so little movement or freedom in her life.
Now, this is where the miracle begins. It was during the workshop we attended, that we witnessed something truly extraordinary and will stay with me forever. Gary Douglas, who created Conscious Horse Conscious Rider, had invited us to observe him working with some of the owner’s lame horses. Topaz being one of the worst, was first to be handled.
At first, Gary asked the owner what had occurred for Topaz, what injuries did she have and he looked over Topaz whilst speaking with the workshop participants. Gary began laying his hands on various areas of Topaz’s body, running energy that he said could free up the horse's body and enable her to move with ease. As he worked, he invited other people from the group to assist and Topaz stood there with her head dropped and eyes closed; relaxing as they worked.
After about 15 minutes, we witnessed something extraordinary. Topaz went from limping into the arena to trotting around, tossing her head and what I could only describe as dancing; with absolutely no signs of limping. It was truly amazing. He worked on her again and after 10 more minutes she got down on the ground (unheard of) and rolled completely over from side to side – three times. It was as though she was adjusting her spine. After each adjustment ,she would jump up and run around some more. It was truly spectacular.
Everyone who witnessed this was in awe. There were tears of joy mixed with so much laughter it was just spectacular. There wasn’t a heart there that wasn’t bursting to see this beautiful being running freely. When she finished, she walked straight up to Gary - and there were 65 people watching this miracle - and head butted his hands to touch her again. Gary was working on another horse, however Topaz would have none of it. She wanted more work and put her head under Gary’s arm. It was truly awesome. Everyone was just in awe. Some were laughing with delight whilst others were just stunned by what they had just witnessed.
The next day we went to pick Topaz up for more work with Gary. We found her at the gate ready. Now, you can appreciate this as amazing, as Topaz is a horse that enjoys being on pasture more than anything and there she was waiting at the gate ready to go! There was only half the group there that day and Gary was able to work on her pole (neck), a place where she had no movement for many years. After about 10 minutes of this energy work, Topaz went off, got down and rolled right over and jumped up; returning to Gary for more.
After a second go with Gary, we just let her walk around and watched her while Gary worked on another horse, Sahara. We watched Topaz turn her head around to scratch her stomach, whilst she flicked her tale and lifted her foot. The arena went into applause. To see a horse that just two days earlier had limped into the arena and could not even lower her head, now walking without a limp, trotting and leaping, rolling all the way and then turning her head, lifting her foot and flicking her tail to scratch. It was a pure miracle.
The tears of joy and amazement that were shed that day combined with the power of laughter that filled the arena as that wonderful being scratched herself for the first time will be in my awareness for a very long time. And I have spoken to many people who attended the class who are still inspired by what they saw.
Since that time Topaz is able to scratch herself, graze without bending and is not herded away from her food by the other horses any more. She is able to use her head and enjoys grazing and rolling without the threat of lameness plaguing her every day.
As for Gary, I have been to quite a few of his workshops now, one of which was called, 'Talk to the Animals' where I witnessed many horses who had physical complaints and behavioral issues, shift and change. He is now working on a television pilot for a series called Conscious Horse Conscious Rider, which shows him working with horses and their owners all around the United States and returning to see the results. It is an inspirational pilot, which I truly recommend everyone who has any interest in horses seeing.