07/10/2025
This horse, and the session we had together, with his owner... will be one of the most memorable and awe inspiring sessions I've ever been a part of!
I worked with the owner once before , two or three years prior to this. However, she only acquired the gelding in the fall of 2024.
When I approached him, he looked good, and then the longer I stood near him, the more agitated he got.... so the owner thought it might help if she went and grabbed his buddy. While she was gone, I tried to introduce myself to him, he would not have it! I actually thought he wanted to try to headbutt me, to get me away!
When the owner came back with his buddy, it didn't help ... It never calmed him down. So I told the owner I would need to do a bit of groundwork to get his respect. She was really good and had no problem with it.
The groundwork took quite a bit longer than we expected! But it was absolutely necessary, in order to get him to look to me for leadership!
After working with him for a short amount of time, I soon discovered he wasn't aggressive. He was scared... Terrified actually! But his fear was almost more of an overwhelmed sensation. He had learned that it was his responsibility to take care of everyone, and be the boss of everyone, including humans!
He had also just arrived at that location that day. All the other horses that would come near him, he would flatten his ears, with bared teeth, and try to bite and keep them away.
Well, it took a bit to get him to start realizing that we weren't being aggressive with him. We were making a point of telling him, that we want to be the ones to take care of him, and that he can relax and just coexist as one of the herd.
When he started to relax his mind, then the body could start to follow. He had a lot of baggage that he needed to let go of first!
About a third of the way through the session, he brought his face to my hand, and just lightly rested his muzzle on my palm, and just held it there for a minute or so.... it was both shocking and touching❤️
He was ready to accept help...!
Not too long after that, he did the same thing with his owner, but this time, he wanted her to embrace him, and brought his head into her!
I continued trying to do some body work, now that he started releasing tension, mentally and physically. I could address the physical issues.
Right before finishing the session, I decided to adjust to sacrum, the bone above the tail head, that has five bones fused together. I fondly refer to it as their rudder. 😉
It was no sooner that I had made the adjustment to the sacrum, than we heard an extremely loud pop, accompanied by his rear end bouncing! Not only did it seem to help his gate, but it also addressed the issue of his back ribs that I had been working on!
Now I know there was a whole lot more that happened that afternoon... but those were some of the highlights!
That evening, I spoke to the owner. I suggested she cold hose him in the evening. Between the heat from the day and everything happening, I didn't want him to have any swelling.
She let me know, that when she arrived at the field he was at, he actually came jogging up to her!!!! This is the same horse that she couldn't catch without treats !
Sometimes people and animals, even though they seem like they are aggressive.... it's just that they've gone through so much in their past, that they have extremely high self preservation! This method they've used to keep themselves safe, is the only thing they've known thats worked!
In this case, once he found out that we were there to help him, the owner told him that she was going to protect him. When the other horses he didn't like, or was scared of came near. We wouldn't let them get near him, and we would chase them off. After that, he wasn't barring his teeth, trying to bite or pinning his ears anymore!
If the owner and myself hadn't been there, while the session was happening....I don't know if we could've believed the outcome, especially because of how he started from. It was just beyond belief! And I feel so unbelievably fortunate, that I was able to be part of it!
