Archive for the ‘Horses Healing Humans’ Category

This article appeared in the Equine Wellness Magazine and is a very good description of the amazing benefits of Yoga, not just for yourself but even your horses!

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Yoga – not just for humans!

By Linda Guanti – CYI

“Yoga with horses?” “What’s that?” “How is that possible?” This is what I often hear when people discover what I do. I realize it may be difficult to comprehend at first but once you get a glimpse of what yoga with horses is all about, it actually makes a whole lot of sense. If you can appreciate the need and benefits of yoga for humans then you can translate the same to the horse.

What’s good for you can be good for your horse

The practice of yoga reconnects you with your body. You essentially teach (or re-teach) yourself where your body is and how to move it in the strongest and most balanced way with the least amount of stress. You also stretch, strengthen and tone. Anything with a body is therefore a yogi. Body awareness is fundamental to preventing injury and chronic pain. For riders, knowing how you are using your body can help you realize that sometimes it is your body that is preventing your horse from performing something you are asking!

Yoga helped me when I was seeking relief from a chronic back issue caused by a serious injury in my past. Diligently combining yoga with massage therapy and physiotherapy, the symptoms became less severe and reoccurred less often. It was undeniable. The massage therapy and physiotherapy are now only used on an as needed basis. The yoga remains.

Without such chronic back issues my riding abilities and stamina improved and thus the athletic demands on my horse did. My ongoing concern for his well-being made me wonder what I could do to help his body with his physical stresses. I realized that if yoga was so good for me it would also be good for my horse.

Linda Guanti (www.yogawithhorses.com) is a certified yoga instructor based out of Pemberton, BC. She discovered yoga after an injury left her with chronic health issues, affecting her ability to ride. Yoga changed her life and she now utilizes it to help other riders, and stretch their horses too!

Pack and prey animals, horses have evolved to be incredibly attuned to the emotions of those around them, and when a horse and an equine assisted therapist get together, it results in a powerfully revealing therapeutic method.

You can lie to your therapist, but a horse – a horse only accepts the truth!

Equine assisted therapy occurs un-mounted, there is no riding involved, and it is an emerging treatment for people suffering an addiction to drugs or alcohol.

How does it work?

In equine assisted therapy, the client will be asked to interact with a horse. Asked to lead, feed, groom or even catch a horse loose in the stables. As we perform this task, and interact with the horse, the therapist observes closely, and by watching the horse, learns something about us!

Horses are said to mirror the human soul. Read the rest of this entry »

Today I stumbed across a wonderful video clip on YouTube that I simply have to share with you…Do enlarge the video window- this is worth seeing in Full Screen! (button in bottom right hand corner)

Scroll down below the clip to find out more about these beautiful horses and what they do!! There is also a 2nd clip right at the end of this article.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpOVOfyW_8M[/youtube]

HORSE DREAM’s Founders

HorseDream is a German based global working company, founded in 1996 by Gerhard and Karin Krebs at the Lake of Constance.

This following in an insert taken from www.horsedream.com and tells how HorseDream started… 

By : Gerhard and Karin Krebs

In 1999 we relocated to the middle of Odenwald, a low mountain range near Frankfurt. Since October 2008 we live and work at Gut Klein Nienhagen, close to the Baltic Sea.

With the assistance of our Friesian horses, we offer a regular schedule of open programs, private or corporate sessions can be booked at your convenience.

Gerhard: About our journey to HorseDream

Karin and I had been self-employed since 1983 in the IT-world, working around the clock. In 1989 we decided to go on a riding holiday. I was nearly 40 years old Read the rest of this entry »

A note from Faye:

Natural Horsemanship is not just about riding without a bit…it is far bigger than that…Natural Horsemanship is a mindset, it is a new way of being with horses. It is developing a more natural & closer relationship with your horse. It also means exploring alternative therapies that can improve your horse’s quality of life…

Here is Part 3 of ‘Yoga with Horses’ written by Linda Guanti

Developing yoga with horses was really hard for me at first. Like I said, yoga with horses was something I created from necessity, not something that was put together intentionally. I had many different opinions about what I wanted it to become. I finally decided that a set routine was the best idea. I had been doing Bikram yoga for years. Bikram yoga is a series of 27 poses done in a heated room. It’s the same 27 postures every time. It may seem surprising but it never ever felt like the same class. I bet anyone who does it will attest to this. Each time you do the class your body and mind are in a different place and thus your class always has different challenges and successes. I felt that this would be the same. Especially because in this case, it’s not just your body and mind but your horses as well.

My routine combines Read the rest of this entry »

A note from Faye:

Natural Horsemanship is not just about riding without a bit…it is far bigger than that…Natural Horsemanship is a mindset, it is a new way of being with horses. It is developing a more natural & closer relationship with your horse. It also means exploring alternative therapies that can improve your horse’s quality of life…

Here is part 2 of ‘Yoga with Horses’ written by Linda Guanti

Now you might be thinking the same thing I was at this point. How can I possible have time to stretch myself, stretch my horse and groom and ride and do barn chores and…? Some details started to get left out…but some started to combine!

Time to pick the horse’s hoof out? Why not throw in a forward bend. That makes 4 forward bends if you do it for each hoof! How about brushing the legs? Why not side lung to the front, then to the back. That’s 2 of each when you go to each side of the horse. Girth’s all done up? Now time to stretch the horse’s legs forward. It’s a stretch in addition to smoothing the skin under the girth area! Want to give you horse a treat? Make him stretch his head to each side to reach it, or down to his chest or between his front legs. This also helps to prevent or deter bad manners. The horse learns Read the rest of this entry »

A note from Faye:

Natural Horsemanship is not just about riding without a bit…it is far bigger than that…Natural Horsmanship is a mindset, it is a new way of being with horses. It is developing a  more natural & closer relationship with your horse. It also means exploring alternative therapies that can imporove your horse’s quality of life…

“Yoga with Horses” written by Linda Guanti

Necessity is the mother of invention so They say. Who are They? I don’t know but I must agree in this case. Yoga with horses developed as more of a necessity then an inspiration. It grew in small and very gradual stages.  Firstly I was doing yoga regularly for my own benefit. Stretching, breathing, meditating, strengthening my own body, mind and soul. A chronic back injury was finally being tamed with a combination of Physiotherapy and Yoga. It not only helped my riding but many other aspects of my life too. As my riding abilities improved the athletic demands on my horse increased. My ongoing concern for his well-being made me wonder what I could do to help his body with the stresses of my demands. I realized that Read the rest of this entry »

This morning as I fed my herd, I heard some faint whispers for each of you.  They said –

Be at peace today, we are.

You were born to do something magnificent with your life, we are

Do not struggle, it is all really simple if you allow it, we are

Practice wu wei today, the art of doing nothing, we are

Stand majestic, in grace, as a creator of your day, we are

Breathe in the beauty of your life as you receive, we are

Exhale to make room for all that is, we are

And most of all remember, we are!