I wanted to learn more about Equine Assisted therapy (EAT) and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and it just so happens one of my Reiki and Shamanic Students, Dr Nichola Marchant, is a qualified therapist. She invited me to meet the horses – her healing team…
Dr Nichola Marchant would have been a rare find a few years ago, but now we find Doctors not only working with Western medicine but embracing energy medicine to! The best of both worlds, working in a truly holistic way is surely the way forward in medicine and healing.
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Meeting the Horses
My son Jed aged 11 and myself wanted to learn more about Equine Assisted Therapy & Horse Spirit Medicine – so we went to meet her horses…
Nichola has 6 horses to work with and it was awesome to meet all the horses and experience their different energies and personalities. Once there I could definitely sense some faery and unicorn energy working through the horses. My son Jed has never shown a big interest in horses but I have always thought due to his gentle nature, that he would enjoy working with or riding horses. He absolutely loved them and a chipnic in the car (open wrapped chips and gravy picnic) on the way home, was the cherry on top. His comment was, “this evening has been brilliant!”
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Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way
The horses are super friendly – often nibbling on any item of clothing that takes their fancy, and they especially loved my walking stick. However, they like to introduce themselves in their own time and I feel the horses that particularly want to work with you or “vibe” with your energy, stay close – often scraping a foot on the floor or giving a gentle nudge for comforting contact. Unfortunately I have an allergic reaction when my skin comes into contact with the horses but I just wore leather gloves so I could still stroke them. There is always a way around everything!
The horses have a very calming effect and I can understand how they help therapeutically.
Horses are very good at reading a person’s energy – how they are feeling emotionally, mentally and physically. They can do this because they have evolved from being prey animals in a herd – they have had to develop skills at reading the energy of their own herd members but also the body language of other animals in order to survive. You cannot hide anything from a horse!
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Equine Assisted Therapy
Horses can assist us in so many ways:
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On a physical level they can help build fitness and confidence especially among riders with disabilities, providing wonderful sensory experiences for people with learning disabilities or with physical disability.
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On an emotional level they provide comfort and reassurance. They allow us to express ourselves with no judgement, animals love unconditionally.
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On a mental level they help us to reveal behavioural patterns that could be causing problems and provide tools for change.
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On a spiritual level they help us connect back to nature (there is a lot of nature-deficit-disorder currently!). They help us to realise that everything on the planet is connected. Working with the horses also develops your own skills at reading body language and the environment, I should think they expand your self-awareness and emotional intelligence.
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Horse Spirit Medicine
I work with horse spirit when I shamanic journey, she helps me to travel to and through the different levels of the shamanic cosmos. I ride on her back, or run alongside her, my trusty companion.
Horse spirit medicine symbolises mastery over yourself, harnessing natural forces and therefore living our life purpose. They stand for independence and freedom (which is why they are often associated with travel, but not necessarily travel in the 3rd dimensional realm). They represent the phenomenal power of the mind, body, spirit connection. Their medicine helps us find trust in relationships and aids us in serving self and others.
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Ross Cooper Natural Horsemanship
I have also spent an afternoon with Ross Cooper who is skilled at natural horsemanship. I’m very lucky to meet such people and our paths crossed when Ross came to learn Reiki with me. I watched Ross connecting with the horses and we both gave the horses Reiki and tried some communication through the energy connection. Ross works with horses and their owners to create a happy and healthy relationship.
To work with horses is a very special gift and to anyone like Dr Nichola Marchant & Dr Nichola Marchant I say thank you for offering services to heal others through your own connection to horses..
You can find out more about Dr Nichola Marchant & Ross Cooper, and what they do here:
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About Deer Heart Woman
Hello I am Angela Sessions of Deer Heart Woman. I like to consider myself a Spiritual Warrior in this game of Life. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog. I am no expert on horses and like to keep my posts informative and light hearted. I also like to honour the spirit animals I work with whenever possible so this blog is dedicated to the spirit of the horse.
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