How To Know What A Horse Needs
Equine Owners And Their Horses
Horse owners are not always privy to all of the background on the horse they’ve purchased. Sometimes though, they’ve bred, raised, trained, and shown the horse themselves.
Even then, they don’t really know the specifics of how a horse has been treated by the various people who they may have trusted to care for them.
Kind of like how we don’t know everything our child experiences when we send them off to school each morning. We trust that the school, teachers, and classmates will treat them well.
Adopted Horses
Adopted horses may have come from difficult backgrounds and have experienced trauma. They may have been physically mistreated or abandoned. Just like humans, they carry this experience with them and it colors the way they see the world and people.
What was traumatic to one horse may also be no big deal to another horse. Horses may have difficulty adapting to their new surroundings, routines, or jobs.
Whether the horse is a racehorse being retrained for dressage and showjumping or a warmblood eventer being retired to a quieter life as a family trail horse, they need time to adapt, Jin Shin Jyutsu can help with this.
Jin Shin Jyutsu Treatments for Adopted Horses
I have a few specific holds I use for trauma and adaptation. With almost every horse I work with—after I’ve greeted them with an initial centering hold—I begin with the hold for trauma.
This entails holding the shoulder area at the neck with one hand while the other holds the base of the ribcage by the spine on the same side of the body.
It helps the horse let go of any burden of trauma it has been carrying and calms anxiety. The trauma can be as simple as the trip in the trailer to its new home, or deeper trauma of human abuse and neglect. It can also be trauma inflicted in the field by another horse or horses.
Importance of Sharing Background
I also like to know as much about the horse’s background as possible. Some owners know a lot of history of owners, treatment, injuries, training, etc.
It’s a bit like when I worked in integrative medicine for ten years and read my patient’s medical records as far back as I could go. This doesn’t tell me where we’re going for the treatment of the day, but it does tell me about the history of the body.
I look at all of this through an energetic lens, tucking it away. It can be very helpful as we work together. Knowing the physical and emotional past can be a great tool for understanding what is being seen in the present.
I don’t treat the past conditions necessarily but sometimes they explain what I’m seeing in the present.
Final Thoughts
All of this gives me a starting place with my equine clients. As we work together, I pay attention to how the horse responds to my touch.
I watch their body language, from the positioning of their ears, to where they look and how they stretch. I find if I pay attention to them, rather than “plan” a treatment and just go with that, the session is much more positive for them.
I always remind myself that this isn’t about “fixing”, it’s about harmonizing. Sometimes the change begins as an emotional shift, then becomes physical.
Sometimes it’s the opposite. Either way, it’s always with the right timing for the horse. Change happens every time we work together. I simply pay attention and follow their lead.
Talk with Jennifer
If you’re interested in learning more about Jin Shin Jyutsu services for equestrian partners, feel free to send me a message. I’m passionate about the horse industry and creating better outcomes for our friends.