The Way of the Medicine Horse: Integrating a New Member 1

Whittington

by Weltmeyer out of Dollar Girl

Hanoverian

March 2 2014

We weren't looking for a new horse.

It was the farthest thing from my mind.

The photo above appeared in my Facebook news feed having been shared by a good friend, someone who had taken some classes, someone I'd shared rented boarding space with, someone who knows what I look for....

I felt this horse instantly...and was shocked, literally.

At first glance he had an unmistakable resemblance to Luc (1986 - 2013) but he also shared a similar vibration....perhaps dare I say it, stronger and higher?

I turned away from the photo and went about my day but he kept cropping up in my mind's eye. I placed his photo on my desktop and decided to 'sleep on it' and ask for guidance.

Sleep came quickly as did guidance!

I messaged my good friend Stephanie McColl, The Animal Whisperer, and asked her to connect with Whitty for a mini reading to either set my mind at ease so I could get on with work or to let me know if I should pursue the horse! Stephanie is my 'go to double check my sanity' girl!

Soon after my request a reply was received....

"First impression was...... I love him! It was his eyes that got me. I almost thought I was looking at a very young Luc.

In asking him if he is meant to be with you I received the image of him nodding his head up and down quite vigorously.

I heard myself say to him... Do you know what you are in for? lol!

Oh yes! was his response.

I'm meant to work here.

I'm like her.... and here he sent me an image of Sirius.

We come from the same place her and I.

I'm here to do great things with them too. Meaning the herd and people.

She knows me.... Here he meant you.

You will all know me.

I'm going to like it here. I know it. I found it very interesting that he was communicating as if he were already with you and he seemed to know all about you and the herd already.

He continued with this.....

I'll need a bit of retraining. I'm not perfect, they say.

I DO know what I am meant to be doing. ....He really wanted you to know this. It's as if he feels the need to prove something to his past people. This also felt like something old he has been working through from other lifetimes. He feels the need to prove himself or to be recognised and respected for what he is capable of doing not so much for who he is.

I kept receiving feelings of excitement from him and images of him running around in circles and then prancing. He is quite the little character yet very loving and a huge heart. My sense he is very feeling full and again will be great with children, the elderly and with men.

I also sense he may have had a rocky past [past life times], yet has learned that not all humans are misguided and he is very much looking forward to "being a part of great changes in thinking and hearting," as he put it.

I say go for him! He has all the makings of an awesome addition to the herd. I'm curious what his name is? He did pipe up and say he would like a simple yet dignified name."

...and so I began looking in to who he was, where he was and how to bring him home....

As luck would have it he was being offered for adoption through an equine rescue agency in British Columbia, on the mainland.

Their website includes an online application to adopt which I immediately filled out and sent.

Within minutes a reply was received which said my application had been cc'd to Whitty's owner.....and very soon afterwards the phone rang.

His owner asked questions regarding his intended use, our location and she agreed we should have him here. She had relayed that he'd been a jumper but had developed a 'bone cyst' and although sound to ride could no longer jump. She had acquired him from another woman who he'd been given to. Both had attempted to bring him around to soundness to no avail.

I decided that the end of March would be the earliest I could take him on due to flooding in our area of paddocks and turnouts. A lot of water had come down in a very short time!

Trailering was arranged for March 27...

Whitty was relentless.....his messages were strong.....now. Bring me now..... and so a stall was prepared, the hauler was contacted and she said she was coming by his location the following day.... March 5.

Whitty's Arrival March 5 2014

Settling In

Surveying The Lay of The Land

I had placed him between Venus and Sirius with the intention being that they would connect and assist him with feeling at home.

Venus loved him from first sight....Sirius chose to all but ignore him...'interesting' I thought.

He was very quiet. Almost as though he thought it best to be invisible. The mares were quiet too....no nickering or talking. It was all very eerie.

The following day I brought him into the aisle for a session of conscious grooming. This is how I 'feel' for areas of tension and restrictions in flow of energy while brushing the horse. He had several areas of tenderness the main one being the area slightly ahead of the hips along the spine line. I also noted both femoral arteries were enlarged and 'hard' which means a lack of flow of energy, a restriction somewhere in the lower legs....

These veins sit high inside the flank as you can see in the diagram above. I spent a little time 'running energy' along the hind legs until I saw visible signs of relaxation which is quite easy to see with geldings and stallions...the penis will lower from the sheath and looks similar to when they have been tranquilized. I continued 'grooming' finishing him off (for now) with a soft sweeping brushing off, stepped away to get my camera and as I did Whitty who had been cross tied between Trinity's and Venus' stalls chose to swing his hips toward Venus and pushed hard into the stall wall...and so I stayed where I was, camera in hand and chose to 'witness' and document.

Whitty swings his hip toward Venus' stall, his left leg is slightly raised.
This is the fetlock that has the 'bone cyst' Venus is eating her hay, head down...