Tranquil Touch Equine Therapy

24/12/2024

The Forgotten Dog’s Christmas Poem

Twas the night before Christmas when all thru the house,
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nick soon would be there.
The children all nestled snug in their beds,
With no thought of the dog filling their head.
And mom in her kerchief and I in my cap,
Knew the dog was cold but didn’t care about that.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window, I flew like a flash,
Figuring the dog was free of his chain and into the trash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But Santa Claus with his eyes full of tears.
He unchained the dog once so lively and quick,
Last year’s Christmas present now painfully sick.
More rapid than eagles he called the dog’s name,
And the dog ran to him despite all his pain.
Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and V***n,
On Comet on Cupid on Donner and Blitzen.
To the top of the porch to the top of the wall,
Let’s find this dog a home where he will be loved by all.
I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year,
For Santa had made one thing quite clear.
The gift of a dog is not just for the season,
We had gotten the dog for all the wrong reasons.
In our haste to think of the kids a gift,
There was one important thing we missed.
A dog should be family and cared for the same,
You don’t give a gift, then put it on a chain.

And I heard him explain as he rode out of site,
“You weren’t given a gift, you were given a life.”

—Arthur Unknown

16/12/2024

❤️ Remember, grief comes in waves, animals or humans, the pain is the same

“If the pain was deep you will have to let it go many times.”

~ Yung Pueblo

Image by Dorota Kudyba from Pixabay

16/12/2024

12/12/2024

And on the 12th Day of Animal Christmas ....

I've come here to help you learn ...

To learn to laugh,
To learn balance,
To learn patience,
To learn to listen,
To learn to love,
To learn to trust,
To learn responsibility,
To learn to take time out,
To learn to be in the moment,
To learn to release judgement,
To learn joy,
To learn that WE are a partnership and that I have feelings, just as you do.

The list is endless.

I hope you've all taken a little something from the 12 Day's of Animals Christmas .. they are always teaching us, about ourselves .. all we have to do, is learn to listen.

Merry Christmas on behalf of all of our furry friends on this Earth plane and beyond.

Love to you all,

Sarah & Bobi ###

11/12/2024

Sent to me this morning 🙏thank you Naomi Albrecht ###

“They come to her. They find her instinctively, the strays, the abandoned, the forgotten, the traumatized, the lost and wounded.

It isn't because of a sign on her door, but the love in her heart. She's a rescuer, a healer, a fosterer, a friend to animals and people.

It's her calling from above
to make it safe and love them whole. And she does.”

- Jody Doty,
Meditations and Musings by
Jody Doty (2023)

[Image: Darklings oil on canvas by New York poet and painter Jeanie Tomanek.]

The Smart Witch by Elizabeth

Classic The Smart Witch
Post from 01 December 2023

11/12/2024

And on the 11th Day of Animal Christmas ...

This was a tough disclosure from Barney and I will say, was no reflect on his relationship with his own guardian.

I sadly have to say I have witnessed this way too often, through horses I've either purchased, or been given. Horses that have resigned themselves to the fact that they will be made to work through their pain, as their "owners" are either too incompetent to see it, or simply do not have the morales to do the right thing.

However, I will say that everyone who comes to me for a communication or attends one of my courses, does so in an attempt to make life better for those who have had little or no choice but to be in our lives, and for that, I thank you on behalf of these beautiful souls. You people, you are the change in the world .. and with that change, little by little, we can make their voices heard, and in turn, make their world a far better place to live.

10/12/2024

On the 10th Day of Animal Christmas ....

If your horse could write a Christmas list, this would be amongst the contents .. how much of this do we truly give? Ironically, 2 of these requests are free, yet appear to be the hardest for us to give ... any clues?

09/12/2024

A Christmas Gift of Connection

T’was Christmas morn, the air crisp and bright,
A season of wonder, of pure delight.
Beneath the tree, in wrapping so fair,
Lay a gift of magic beyond compare.

A voucher tucked with thoughtful care,
From Tranquil Touch, a gift so rare.
For animal communication, a bridge of the soul,
To understand hearts and make spirits whole.

Imagine the joy, the tales they’ll tell,
A dog’s warm bark, a cat’s soft spell.
The horses’ wisdom, the whispers they share,
In tranquil moments, beyond compare.

For in 2024, a gift like this,
Brings warmth and wonder, a soulful bliss.
To hear their stories, their dreams, their fears,
To laugh with their joy, to wipe their tears.

So unwrap the magic, embrace the call,
This gift of connection, the best of them all.
For Christmas is love, a bond ever true,
And what better present this Christmas, from you.

09/12/2024

And on the 9th Day of Animal Christmas ....

I love chatting to cats, they say it "how it is" and are full of worldly wisdom.

Laughter is a powerful healer and one that many of us have long forgotten how to access through our ridiculously busy adulting lives.

Christmas is a great time of year to reconnect with our inner child (yes we do all have one - some more than others!). Remember how to be playful, laugh, have fun .. and as George says .. chase your tail a little !

08/12/2024

And on the 8th Day of Animal Christmas ...

To those of us lucky enough to be owned by a feline ... this may be a little revelation to you. I'm sure all cats are different, as are people, but I would have guessed the enjoyment would have been in the chase!

Only I could entertain a cat that was probably reincarnated from serial killer ! Ho Ho Ho!

06/12/2024

And on the 7th day of Animal Christmas ...
focusing on the good things in life, the sun is shining, and for now, in this moment, that is all I need. It is a good day indeed

05/12/2024

"That Non Ridden Equine" - to click or not to click?!

It's always a debate isn't it, when you purchase a young horse with the hopes of riding him. You have him vetted, you bring him on slowly with care and attention to his needs, only to find out after a few years of trying that at the age of 5, he has skeletal defomatlites that will ensure that he will never be 100% sound, or comfortable enough to carry a rider forward in anything more than a complicated walk. The options open to you a that stage, seem simple, retire, put to sleep, or find something that he can do that uses his brain.

I opted for the last option with this horse and in that we found agility. As a communicator, it's difficult for me, as we bounce from "Are we doing something today?" to "Why do I have to do that?". Picking up hind legs is difficult (especially when going backwards), trotting is only an option if he is wired on adrenaline, and the default when he gets it wrong, or can't work it out, is to either bite (hard) rear or both. He prefers to work at Liberty but again, making him go into a hoop when he doesn't see the logic in it proves sometimes hard and if the reinforcement (reward) is too high, then we just go back to too much energy and rearing - so it is always a balance of energy.

Last week, I decided to try something new and train him to the clicker, in the hope that this would give him a marker for "that is what I need from you" and that meant for him "the reward is coming".

Our first session, was mainly conditioning it so that he understood the concept of "click means reward" and if that click from me, was accurately placed, it is then left to him to work out over a period of time as to what he had to do in order to get that marker. He grabbed the concept of moving front feet clearly over a pole in literally 10 mins (I said his back legs didn't work, his brain is genius!) and we then moved on to all 4 feet moving forward over the pole, which again he found relatively easy once he understood that higher feet meant click.

Today we worked on the hoop - I can honestly say that I have probably never been bitten so much in one session as his annoyance became apparent when he kept stepping on the sides. Now I've also learnt not to reinforce the biting and YES, shouting and pushing him away is reinforcing it as it's all attention - the only way through with him, is avoidance of his teeth and ignoring it. He will eventually work out that biting pays no dividends and hopefully "What do I need to do in order to get mum to make that click noise?"

Well, today, we've got front feet in the hoop clear .. and it's a working progress. Whether we'll ever get the back ups remains to be seen but every hurdle takes us back to the remaining options of Retire, or Put to sleep and at the grand old age of 7, he's not quite there yet! So here we are, trying something new, still bridging that gap.

He's certainly been the learning curve in my entire equine career, and we'll keep you updated on the clicker training !

Anyone else have a non ridden equine that they have found a job for?

05/12/2024

On the 5th day of Animal Christmas ....

Well this was a little revelation .. and when I thought of it, it made sense.

Given that the tail is part of the spine, that soft, rhythmical, gentle traction I can see would be very relaxing. Evidently not for those of us who brush the tail like crazed banshees with only 10 secs to get the job done!

More equine food for though ... enjoy!

04/12/2024

And on the 4th day of Animal Christmas....

I loved this from Fatina - through many of my comms with horses, I am constantly being reminded that there is only ever now. Again, it is us humans that re-live the memories of yesterday and the un-lived dreams of tomorrow, and in that time, we allow the now to pass us by.

Worrying is stressing about events that haven't even occurred yet. Practice mindfulness in the now, be more Fatina.

Be more horse.

03/12/2024

On the 3rd Day of Christmas ...... so true.

Horses recognise each other as sentient beings, they know they are all one and one day they will return to being "all one". We don't recognise souls in the way that they do, and in using our voices to communicate, we allocate a name to those in our lives. We give many of these names meaning ... ie Beauty, Comet, Hope etc.

I didn't tell G that my horse was called Poo ... but then again, G wouldn't have cared, it only means something to me and my story behind it !

02/12/2024

On the 2nd day of Animal Christmas..

Deep, thought provoking and true ...

01/12/2024

And on the 1st Day of Animal Christmas, isn't this the absolute truth.

Horses live in the moment, they do not plan to be naughty ... many actions that we perceive to be "bad" are the horse's way of saying, "Something is not right here, I am not comfortable" or "I do not understand what you are asking me to do". As Percy says, they are misunderstood.