Over the last couple of weeks I have engaged in some healing sessions, with the herd as a whole and, with individual members, around laminitis, and deeper into the digestive systems.
On the basis that sometimes things get worse before they get better, yesterday we have Chocolate with laminitis and mild diarrhoea, Risada with laminitis getting worse in all 4 feet, Querida improving significantly, Neige being jumpy and anxious, and Timmy very jumpy and aggressive towards the mares. Ho hum!
Yesterday lemon came up in my instinct.
Instinct: that place where you know in your gut that what you are hearing is right. Unfortunately, a lot of us tend to go back into our head and say “Lemon! Don’t be silly!” instead of “Lemon! That’s interesting!”
I have some lemon oil extract so I offered that to all of them. Chocolate took a lot of it and I sensed it was like a detox for her. I then decided to get a lemon which I cut up into small slices with the rind on. Timmy was wary at first. It felt like he knew he needed it but also knew he wasn’t going to enjoy it.. like us, if we suck a lemon raw. I just held it on my hand while he sniffed it, then he took it and chewed it about a bit and swallowed the juice, and then spat out the rind. His face was a picture. Then he went straight to the salt lick and was there for a while and then had some water. It was like a Tequila Party. Querida came over and she ate two pieces entirely, and then also went and got some salt and then a drink. None of the others wanted any.
This morning Chocolate was a little more solid but still squirty so I offered her some slippery elm. She had a good few spoonfuls of that. Risada also took a spoonful. I left some in a bowl for Querida (she doesn’t eat well out of hand and tends to catch your skin) but she didn’t eat it which proves she doesn’t just eat anything put in front of her! Chocolate finished that up. Neither Timmy nor Neige were interested.
This afternoon I sensed I should go back to some oil offerings. The first one that came to me was Fennel. Chocolate again took in a lot of that. It is also a good oil for the digestive system. Then I got out Frankincense. Timmy just took a huge amount in through his gums (Flehmen response) and then I just stood there with it for ages while he inhaled through his nostrils and went deeply into a healing state, his eyes glazing over, but he wasn’t sleeping. (Standing there with an open oil bottle means I am also inhaling it and it was making me feel quite thick headed!) Eventually his eyes did close and he slept for a while. Chocolate was also inhaling the oil deeply standing next to us, and Risada inhaled quite a bit also through her gums. Neither Neige or Querida were interested in either oil. But Wow! From Caroline Ingrahams’ book, Frankincense is a good oil for anxiety that manifests in the digestive system . It is a great fear calmer. A lot in this process of digestive system healing is coming up and out. I don’t know specifics but I just have to follow the path I am being led down.
I sense Neige’s anxiety and jumpiness stems from the rest of the herd being a bit anxious and jumpy at the moment and she will regain her confidence when they do.
Querida seems to have released most of her digestive system anxieties through the healing meditation sessions. She is certainly a lot more relaxed around food, a lot more confident about self-selection, and I see her ‘not eating’ a lot more than I used to.
There is more to illuminate around the food/horse/human relationship triangle…I will keep you posted.
A little bit of Info taken from Caroline Ingrahams book ‘How Animals Heal Themselves’
Lemon oil : Anti bacterial; Anti Fungal; Balances hormones; Immunostimulant; Kidney and Gall stones; Tumours; Uplifting and aids concentration
Fennel Oil: Digestive problems – colic; Female hormones – balancing; Lactation problems. (I want to note here that Timmy who is a gelding also inhaled quite a bit of fennel and I assume this is digestion. The fennel probably helps doubly for mares with both digestion and hormones).
Frankincense Oil: Aggression – due to fear; Breathing problems – stress related; Diarrhoea – stress related; End of life; Helps distance from commotion; (Note: I use Frankincense a lot with my dog who is 16. It is a calmer and helps him relax and reduces his snoring – that is it really helps his breathing when he is sleeping although I only offer it when he is awake so he can self select as much as he needs).
‘Frankincense is indicated when an animal is genuinely frightened rather than high strung. The fear can be related to something that happened in the past, or in the present.’
As an aside – all of the above work just as well for humans as for animals……….