• Squaring your Horse—just pretty or purposeful?
• Pearl of Wisdom
• Present anyone?????
• Omegas—what you should know about them
• My Recent Adventures
• Eastern WA/Northern ID
• Next Issue

Wondering where I disappeared to since the last newsletter?? Check out page 3 where I share some of my travels and adventures I have had in the last 6 months.

I'd like to introduce you to Tango, a three year old who came to Orphan Acres, a horse rescue facility, in Viola, Idaho, last spring. She was found abandoned (by humans) on a ranch in northern Idaho. I met Tango while giving a presentation to college students from WSU and the U of I. Tango didn't have much trust in humans and was a severe cripple physically. She had major deformities in her shoulders and couldn't even pick her feet up off the ground. Here was a horse that had endured more pain and neglect in her 3 years than a horse should ever have to. After having 3 Quantum Healing treatments, she now easily squares herself, loves her stretches, and has 90% muscling from her withers back. The shoulders will take a while longer to remodel. Much of her progress is due to her devoted caretaker, Jessica. A 4th year college student from WSU majoring in wildlife studies, she volunteers her time to be Tango's caretaker. Jessica's dedicated follow-up care using proper stretching techniques, massage and ground work has literally remolded Tango's body and health, both physical and mental. Instead of running when she sees a human she now eagerly awaits Jessica's arrival. It is truly a joy to see them both when I return to northern Idaho. I will keep you updated on them.

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Squaring your Horse—just pretty or purposeful?

It seems like such a minor thing but yet has huge ramifications. Following your horse's body realignment, the creation of new neuropathways in the brain and new neuromuscular memory, it is critical to reinforce these through squaring and stretching. The old adage if you don't use it you will lose it holds true here. Old habits of incorrect alignment and movement will take over.

Asking your horse to square up and stretch reinforces how they will stand and carry themselves in balance and alignment throughout the day, rather than in the compensation patterns that they have made habit. This work is truly retooling how they stand and move in the pasture and in their stalls. Try starting up those stairs with the opposite foot than you usually do or crossing your arms with the opposite arm on top. Feel odd? Now you can understand how the horse feels when he/she has been placed in different alignment and then asked to walk, trot and canter.

The squaring and stretches reinforce correct movement in your horse until it becomes habit. It will benefit your horse to do these for the rest of its life. I would like to share with you an incident a client shared with me recently. Her horse took a misstep out of a horse trailer and got herself a little unraveled. The horse on its own squared up, put its head down and started to yawn. Sort of the equivalent of the human yoga down dog position which allows us to self correct spinal alignment in our spine (assuming it is flexible enough to do so). Once your horse has been aligned and the spine, along with muscles and tendons have reached a point of flexibility they can self adjust also. Think of the comparison of a board and a Gumby horse figure. Which is more flexible? Always making time to square and stretch whenever you spend time with your horse, be it every day or just weekly is of paramount importance in maintenance of health. I also incorporate body massage before and after I ride. Having missed yoga class for two weeks I have a better understanding of how my horse's muscles and spine feel if they haven't been stretched for awhile. More about massage next time.

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Pearl of Wisdom

Give yourself permission to make mistakes without guilt or condemnation. Our loving equine partners have a marvelous way of forgiving. Let's be so forgiving of ourselves.

THE ART OF BEING PRESENT

Our true home is in the present moment
To live in the present moment is a miracle
The miracle is not to walk on water
The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment
To appreciate the peace and beauty that is available now
Peace is all around us
In the world and in nature
And within us
In our bodies and in our spirits
Once we learn to touch this peace
We will be healed and transformed
It is not a matter of faith
It is a matter of practice

Thich Nhat Hanh

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Present anyone?????

Research shows the average person's mind wanders 6 times per minute. You don't fall in that average range or you wouldn't be reading this. Our horse will only be present with us to the extent that we are present with him/her. This means every moment we are with our horse we are focused on and with them. Not the phone conversation we had this am, what we are going to have for dinner, or that meeting we are dreading tomorrow. This means being present when leading in from the field, grooming, saddling, stretching, riding and putting away. Through practice we become more aware and focused together.

Most horses have between a 4 and 8 second focus and then their mind and awareness goes elsewhere. It is your job to bring them back to present by gently drawing their head back and keeping the head at approximately shoulder level. This takes constant reinforcement and will improve with practice as the poem above so aptly tells us. You will find as your moments of presence with your horse increase so will the trust and respect grow. Try it with people too and see what happens!

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Omegas—what you should know about them

We've been seeing a lot in the news about Omega fatty acids. My son's comment, fat and acid didn't sound like something good for you. Quite the opposite. They are claimed to improve movement, decrease ulcers, colic, pulmonary bleeding, low fertility and give your horse better focus. There are many Omegas but the ones to be concerned about are Omega 3 and Omega 6. The balance and ratio of these are what is important. They are called essential because they are not manufactured in the body and therefore must be taken in orally. Grains are high in 6. Grass and hay have 3, but not much. The often used feeding of corn and vegetable oil as a low cost way to increase calories increases the imbalance to the 6 side. For more information on Omegas check out www.omega-cure.com or www.wellpride.com.

While there is no blood test to see if your horse is deficient in Omega 3 the best way to see if your horse can benefit from addition of this to his/her diet is to try supplementation for 4 to 8 weeks and see if you notice any substantial difference. Add only Omega 3, not a "balanced omega mixture” as this will only tip the scale even more towards the 6. Note - most people are also deficient in Omega 3 and will benefit from supplementation. After personally checking several ingredient labels of the most prominent Omega additives for horses I am finding the main ingredient is flax. Simply adding 1 cup of ground flax daily to the diet (which is what I do) is an easy way to get beneficial Omega 3's into your horse.

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My Recent Adventures

I recently returned from studying at the Chi institute in Florida under Dr. Chen Xie (pronounced Shey) and pursuing certification in the Chinese healing art of Tui-na. This is a healing art over 4000 years old that is best described as a combination of chiropractic, massage and energy work. I am incorporating the techniques into my treatment sessions and find the horses enjoying it greatly. I am returning to the Chi Institute in February for additional training in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. Check out their web site to learn more www.tcvm.com.

I will be featured on the Dr. Pat alternative talk radio show at 10:30 on Wed Jan 30 and Thursday Feb 28 at 10:30. The opportunity to work with all those involved with this fabulous show has been truly exhilarating and growing for me. www.thedrpatshow.com

My web site and logo—whew!!!—I never thought it could take that much time and energy—in large part thanks to two wonderful graphic designers I met while fixing horses. We should have several pages up by the end of this week and more in the coming months.

Last Sunday I gave my first workshop that I am taking around the NW and beyond called "Healing Your Horse, Healing Yourself. It is a splash of quantum physics, equine biomechanics, Qi-gong, Tai-ji, the dynamics of equine conformation and Chinese Tui-na for you and your horse plus more. It was held at Hope for Horses, a horse rescue facility in Woodinville, WA and was attended by a very eclectic group of people hungry for knowledge. The focus of these workshops is to empower people with knowledge so that they can help facilitate healing and provide preventive maintenance in their horse's life and their own lives.

I am passionate about sharing the knowledge I have gained through my own trials and tribulations to help empower others and improve understanding of our equine companions. I have decided upon "Out of the Mouth of the Horse" to be my first book writing venture to get the knowledge to people of a different way to understand what our equine companions are telling us. I would like to solicit stories from my readers of things you have learned from you horse. E-mail me at either doc@quantumvet.com or healingheartvet@aol.com with your real life stories.

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Eastern WA/Northern ID

For those of you on my Eastern WA / Northern ID treatment route I will be there March 19-22, 2008. To be insured a place in the schedule please contact me by phone or e-mail by March 1. I will send a separate mailing with more information to those on my list. If you are not on this list and wish to be let me know.

Next Issue

• Dental care
• Body work you can do to maintain and progress your horses and your health.
• More Chinese medicine and quantum physics to empower you!
• Some Chinese Tui-na for you and your horse.

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