Everything for
horse & rider

Use a warm moist towel scented with essential oils for calming and healing (this works great with cats – some cats; it’s sure worth a try). It works for all animals and humans as well. As a therapist don’t forget to use this on yourself. Put in the microwave (if you are not opposed to using one) or a warmer of some kind (moist heat is great) and wrap pet or whatever part of yourself needs comforting. There are many great products on the market now but I like to go cheap.

 

Fill a long cotton sock with rice and tie it at the end. Also fill and mix with your favorite herbs and/or mixture of oils. Warm and wrap anything that needs fixing.

 

After using heat, take a tennis ball and gently massage the area.

 

Cut the leg from a panty hose. Insert two tennis balls. Tie at both ends and knot between the tennis balls to make the tennis balls about a fist apart or whatever works for you. Roll it up and down your neck and back and always carry a few to give to your clients. Great for use on horses. I also like to use a rolling pin and often use hand mitts and whatever looks handy and useful to roll over the big muscles on a horse’s back and neck. Actually, lightly rolled over the horse’s neck area feels good – they will let you know. Never use pressure over the skeletal area or joints, of course.

 

I never use any type of tool, machine, hot pack, frozen peas, rice in the sock, nothing until I have taken time to get to know the animal and spend time in the energy field and touch with my mind, heart and hands. If at any time the animal I am working with seems uncomfortable, I immediately stop what I am doing and figure that it is causing discomfort or I am dealing with a deeper issue. If the animal is fearful, we need to discover the cause of the fear, if we need to let him see another animal or the owner, that’s OK. The purpose is to make the animal more comfortable, not cause distress. Then we can go back to the process at hand. Never cause discomfort or distress. Sometimes it is tempting to go too far when our heart is in the right place and we want to “do good”. Self-treatment can be harmful to any animal and to you as well.

 

I purchased a pair of wonderful sandals with pressure points in the soles. They were adorable and looked like they were just the ticket to cure feet that wore cowgirl boots all day. Only, I wore them all day at the flea market on a 100 degree day where the very ground was scalding and I could not go barefoot. So too much of a good thing turned out to be a very bad thing for me that day. Instead of wearing these wonderful sandals a little at a time until they could truly do what they were supposed to do (and as they instructions clearly stated – as I later found in the box), I learned another valuable lesson. It was not my first or last. But, at least they were my feet, and not my horse or dog that had to suffer for my, yes, stupid choice.

 

As you will hear me say over and over and over again. It’s really all about common sense, raising your awareness, using your head, picking your experts, thinking, being conscious, counting to three before making decisions when reaching for products and your credit card, being an educated owner and using some of that information and turning it into wisdom.

 

Now, go and be a blessing. Namaste,

 

Bennie Jean Kuehnle

The Animal Institute