Red Roan Reiki, Energy Bodywork, and Animal Communication

10/13/2025

Today I felt a wave of reflection… about the horses who lived through my learning curve.

They didn’t stay with me because they had the choice.
There were ropes, bridles, halters and fences—expectations.
There were times I led them without asking, touched them without listening,
and taught them what I had been taught.

They didn’t get to walk away when I did harmful things.
And that’s what humbles me the most.

I used to believe I was being kind.
And in many ways, I was doing my best.
But now I see how often doing my best still meant asking too much…
still meant silencing what they were trying to show me.

Most stood through it.
They bore it quietly.
They adapted—not because it was easy, but because it was safer to comply.

And still, they gave moments of softness.
A look. A breath. A leaning in.
Moments that taught me more than any lesson I ever tried to teach them.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
But now that I do… everything has changed.

I listen more now.
I question more.
And I honor every horse I meet as a being with their own life—not an extension of mine.

So this is for those horses, past and present.
You endured more than I saw at the time.
You lived through my becoming.

I owe you everything.

And I hope that now, in this quieter chapter,
I am someone worthy of standing beside you—without asking you to carry me.

With reverence,
🌿 Stormy

10/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gb3MaoZnB/

This.

10/07/2025

One of many sad things I saw in my career...
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I was judging at the Pony Club Championships—the Games division—at the prestigious Kentucky Horse Park. One of the competitors brought their pony over. Something was wrong.
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The pony was bleeding from the mouth.
Not just a nick or a scratch.
A dark purple bruise spread across its tongue. Blood seeped from the edges. Obviously from the bit.
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I told the rider they couldn’t compete with a bit—not with an injury like that. And certainly not during Championships. The mouth needed time to heal, which clearly wouldn’t happen that week.
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The child looked heartbroken. I understood. They’d trained so hard. But all I could think about was the pony.
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And I wondered:
How many other mouths were hurting right now—without anyone noticing?
How many ponies had learned to carry pain quietly, to keep going, to not ruin the rider’s day?
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Not all trauma looks like bleeding, bucking or biting.
Some of it looks like stillness.
Like compliance.
Like a spark that’s gone dim.
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That moment changed something in me.
I couldn’t unsee it.
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And now, I share stories like this not to shame—but to wake us up.
Because if we love horses, we have to look deeper.
We have to be willing to ask hard questions, even when it challenges everything we’ve been taught.
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✨ What if the bravest thing we can do is to see the quiet suffering—and choose a gentler way forward?
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If this resonates with you, share it.
Let the conversation grow.
Let curiosity replace conditioning.
Let compassion lead.

Explore more at stormymay.com
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10/04/2025

Equestrian Focused Guided Meditations. Discover a new level of calm confidence your horse craves.

10/01/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17MRB4kZNv/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🐴 MENTAL DEFICITS IN HORSES
A topic I have not yet encountered in the equestrian world, yet I believe it is extremely important to talk about.

In human society, we have defined a wide spectrum of cognitive and intellectual disorders—reduced intelligence, attention disorders, or learning difficulties. We understand that individuals with such diagnoses face certain limitations and (ideally) we adapt to their abilities and provide support.

For some mysterious reason, however, we tend to assume that every horse is born fully functional and ready to perform for humans. In my therapeutic practice, I have worked with horses who showed signs of various mental or cognitive deficits. I have met horses I would certainly place somewhere on the autistic spectrum, as well as horses that displayed clear signs of intellectual disability.

These horses are not to blame for their condition. They are not capable of performing at the same level as their healthy peers. They may struggle with focus, attention, and learning, have difficulties forming social bonds with horses or humans, or be emotionally unstable and unpredictable. This does not mean they are “bad.” They are simply different.

Owners of such horses are often under extreme pressure from their surroundings. They are criticized for not training or disciplining their horse properly, they move from trainer to trainer, trying every possible approach and level of pressure to make the horse behave “normally.” But such a horse will never be “normal.” The only way forward is to accept this reality and offer support.

💡 Not every horse with unusual behavior necessarily suffers from a congenital mental deficit. Cognitive function can also be influenced by:

👉 Aging – degenerative changes in the brain or nervous system
👉 Chronic pain / physical discomfort – pain can take up attention and reduce focus
👉 Neurological disorders – infections or degenerative diseases of the central nervous system
👉 Metabolic disorders – diabetes, Cushing’s syndrome, or hormonal changes affecting the brain
👉 Lack of stimulation – horses kept long-term without proper enrichment
👉 Stress / anxiety / depression – psychological factors that slow reactions and reduce concentration

❓What can we do? Let’s talk about it! Let’s explore and study it. Let’s support such horses and their owners instead of blaming or shaming them. Every horse has its place in this world—though it might not be the one we imagined for ourselves.

K.

09/26/2025

DO HORSES REALLY ENJOY BEING TOUCHED, OR JUST TOLERATE IT?

Touch is part of almost every interaction we have with horses – grooming, routine handling, tacking-up, vet visits, even a pat after a ride. Touch is also a routine feature of equine-assisted services, yet surprisingly little is known about how horses themselves experience it. Do they actually enjoy it, or does their experience depend on having the choice to engage – the freedom to say yes, or no?

A recent study compared two situations using therapy horses who were regularly involved in equine-assisted services. In the ‘forced touch’ condition, horses were tied up and touched continuously on different body areas (neck/shoulder, body, hindquarters) using patting, stroking, or scratching. In the ‘free-choice’ condition, horses were loose in a round pen and could only be touched if they chose to come close enough.

The results showed clear differences. Horses showed more stress-linked behaviours – oral movements, restlessness, and tail swishing – when touched without the option to move away. When free to choose, they often carried their heads lower (a sign of relaxation) and spent over half of the session out of arm’s reach. Stroking was more often linked with relaxed, low head carriage than scratching or patting, and touches on the hindquarters produced fewer stress responses than touches on the neck or body.

The researchers also looked at how the horses responded to different kinds of people. Around experienced handlers, horses were more likely to hold their heads high and showed lower heart-rate variability – signs of vigilance or anticipation, perhaps expecting work. In contrast, their responses with less experienced people were generally more relaxed.

Touches on the hindquarters were linked with fewer stress behaviours, while touches on the neck and body produced more tail swishing and less relaxed postures. Horses were also more likely to lower their heads – a calmer signal – when touched on the body or hindquarters than on the neck.

Why does this matter? Horses in all kinds of contexts – riding schools, competition yards, therapy programmes, or leisure homes – are routinely touched and handled. These findings show that the manner of touch, the part of the body involved, and above all the horse’s ability to choose whether to participate all shape how she/he/they experience the interaction.

The welfare implications are clear: allowing horses more agency in how and when we touch them may reduce stress, strengthen trust, and make interactions safer and more positive for everyone.

For me, the sad part of these findings is that horses are rarely given a choice about when or how they are touched. And many people don’t recognise when touch is causing the horse stress.

Study: Sarrafchi, A., Lassallette, E., & Merkies, K. (2025). The effect of choice on horse behaviour, heart rate and heart rate variability during human–horse touch interactions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science

09/07/2025

🌿 Myth: “If You’re Not in Control, You’re in Danger”
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Truth: Real danger often arises not from a lack of training—but from a lack of trust.
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When we approach horses with a mindset of dominance and control, we may suppress their reactions, but we don’t soothe their nervous systems. We teach them to hide their truth instead of share it.
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But when horses are heard…
When they’re given choice…
When we prioritize relationship over obedience…
✨ Something changes.
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Their tension melts.
Their eyes soften.
Their movements slow.
And our own nervous systems—long trained by a fast-paced, control-obsessed world—begin to regulate in return.
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Autonomous Horsemanship isn’t about letting go of safety.
It’s about discovering a deeper, truer kind of safety—built on mutual trust rather than fear-based compliance.
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✨ What if peace is safer than pressure?
Learn more at https://manypathstotheheart.com
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09/03/2025

“If You Don’t Ride or Train, What’s the Point?”
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This question reflects how deeply conditioning runs in our culture—even in how we relate to horses.
We’ve been taught that horses must do something to be worth our time. That riding or training is the pinnacle of relationship.
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But what if the point isn’t performance at all?
What if it’s presence?
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Autonomous Horsemanship invites us to step off the pedestal of performance and into the quiet grace of simply being together.
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🐴 It’s not about achieving, it’s about witnessing.
🤍 It’s not about molding the horse—it’s about meeting them.
✨ It’s not about goals. It’s about connection.
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When nothing is asked, something sacred often arrives:
Trust.
Softness.
A shared breath.
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Riding is optional. Relationship is the gift.
The most profound moments often happen when we stop trying to get somewhere—and start honoring where we are, together.

Learn more at https://stormymay.com
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08/31/2025

Evolving Together Through Autonomous Horsemanship

In a world that grows faster, louder, and more technological each day, many of us feel a longing for something different—something slower, more grounded, more true. Horses carry exactly that. But we only glimpse their gifts when we stop trying to mold them into what we want.

Autonomous Horsemanship invites us to step back and allow horses to manifest as their fully sovereign selves. When we do, we encounter beings who live in deep presence, who sense connection without words, who move through the world with a sensitivity and authenticity that we humans often forget.

✨ By giving horses the freedom to be whole, untrained, and unshaped, we also remind ourselves that life isn’t about control—it’s about relationship.
✨ By learning to respect their “no” as much as their “yes,” we begin to cultivate a humility and listening that can ripple through every part of our human lives.
✨ By standing beside them, not above them, we touch a peace that technology and speed can never provide.

Perhaps the real evolution waiting for us isn’t in artificial intelligence or the next invention—it’s in remembering how to live in harmony with other nations of beings, starting with the horse.

Learn more at https://manypathstotheheart.com

08/24/2025

https://youtu.be/BZExPXJekJ8?si=3s25XUpuqfKPv6dD
Great conversation about vaccines with Dr. Renee Tucker - this will raise your awareness about them! I've been a "give the least amount of vaccines" person for a while now. From the Equine Vaccine and Holistic Care Conference

Are horse vaccines truly safe? Can holistic care and modern veterinary medicine work together for better equine health? In this eye-opening conversation with...

08/22/2025

I am positive Skip would want me to share this picture to show off his tail ❤️ Have a great night all!

08/22/2025

Dr Temple Grandin is one of the best known animal scientists in the world. She grew up in America, and she is autistic, which means her brain works a little differently to most people’s. She often says she “thinks in pictures.” This helps her notice tiny details about animals that others might miss.

Most of her career has been spent improving how cattle are handled on farms, making systems calmer and safer. (Which is why many farms have safe handing pens for cattle on farms today)But her ideas are just as useful when we think about horses.

Temple reminds us that animals don’t see the world the same way humans do. A shiny puddle, a flapping jacket, or a garden chair in the wrong place might look like danger to a horse. Horses are prey animals, always on the lookout for threats. What seems silly to us can feel very real to them.

As she explains: “Horses have to see the same object from all angles. They don’t automatically transfer learning from one side of their brain to the other.” In other words, a horse that walks calmly past a wheelbarrow on the left rein may still shy at it on the right.

For coaches and riders, this matters. If a horse spooks or refuses, it isn’t “naughty”, it is reacting in the only way it knows. Our job is to slow down, let the horse look, and give it time to learn.

Temple also talks about how animals respond to pressure. A gentle aid, released at the right moment, helps the horse to understand. But rough hands, loud voices, or constant pushing only build fear. As coaches, that means showing riders how to be clear but kind, guiding, not forcing.

And this links horse welfare with rider welfare. A calm horse gives the rider confidence. A frightened horse makes the rider nervous. By putting the horse’s feelings first, we create safer, happier lessons for both.

Temple Grandin may have made her name with cattle, but her lessons about patience, clear signals for animals are pure gold for anyone who works with horses. When we see the world through the horse’s eyes, we become better kinder horsemen.