EQuusEQ, Ann Raabe, and Equine-Assisted Therapy
When I was in the 4th grade, our homework assignment was to make a model – we must have been studying Earth Science, as I chose to do my project on soil erosion. I remember feeling quite passionate about soil erosion and my project. Preparing my model impassioned me further and that passion took me all the way to college, where I majored in natural resources. Decades later, that still plays out, as I blog about nature through Red Bike Trail Therapy Blog. I recognize now that when we care deeply about something, that is a gift and that gift is what connects us to the world and to humanity.
I recognize a gift in a dear friend with whom I have recently become reacquainted – Ann. She feels a deep connection with and passion for animals. Spending time with her and speaking with her about her horse and mule, that gift wells up in her eyes and spirit. Ann uses massage therapy and bodywork to heal physical and emotional trauma in horses. Ann is impassioned about horses for another reason, too. Horses are intuitive creatures and they can read people. They read human intentions, thoughts, energy and patterns. Of course, not in an intellectual A-to-B manner, but they read it from their massive electromagnetic heart field. They FEEL it.
Being prey animals, horses must rely on quicker-than-intellect instinctual reflexes. They FEEL out character, without prejudice or judgment. They immediately know, if they can trust. This in itself, is deeply healing for a human to experience. This field of unconditional, REAL-ness, is palpable and brings us directly into the present. Sometimes, this alone can facilitate healing human trauma.
