First Reiki on a pony

I’ve been feeling more and more comfortable using Reiki on people, so thought I’d give it a go on a pony who has come to us for breaking. Perhaps not the most sensible choice to start with, he is a very nervous character and has been quite problematic. However, instinct was telling me that there is something that is blocking his relationship with humans, that there was a reason for his lack of trust.  He has been particularly difficult to put a saddle on; no matter how quietly and how often we approach it, each time it’s like the first time and progress has been particularly slow.  I know his owner had someone in to break him who tried to do it all in one session and spent 2 hours trying to get a saddle on him, which has clearly left him with some bad memories.

I wanted to leave it for him to decide whether to accept the Reiki or not, so put him in a large stable with a hay net, but didn’t tie him up. To be honest, the first 10 minutes were quite disappointing. I definitely felt the energy and the heat but he is one of life’s fidgets and wouldn’t stay in one place long enough to sweep his aura, let alone concentrate on any particular region. I was just about to give up and put it down to experience when he moved his hindquarters towards me. Normally, I wouldn’t trust him not to kick, but I sensed there was no fear or malice in him. I immediately sensed a lot of heat in his dock (the bone at the top of the tail). No sooner had I put my hands close (not touching) then he literally rocked backwards into them, leaning right back in a very odd position for a horse, and pushing firmly into my hands.  He stayed like that for a good ten minutes, leaning back and munching on his hay at the same time whilst I felt the Reiki working. As the heat in my hands started to fade he just turned and walked around his box – he’d clearly told me he’d had enough.

His owners have told me that after he was castrated the vet put an elastic bandage on his tail to keep it out of the way during the operation. They turned him out in the paddock and couldn’t catch him again for a couple of weeks so were unable to remove the bandage that was very constrictive.  Apparently for many months afterwards they had difficulty touching or brushing his tail or hindquarters.

Interestingly, I have found him far easier to work with since.  He seems to have far more confidence in me (or maybe he has given me more confidence in myself), and has let me put his saddle on without a protest. I may well try another Reiki session with him in the future, perhaps before we start backing him – I’ll keep you posted.