EFT for Horses

EFT for Horses

EFT for behavioural issues

We are all aware of the sensitive nature of horses and how easily they pick up on our mental state, how they seem to know our 'internal state' ie, if you are nervous or tense or calm and confident.

In the past, despite knowing this, I have found it almost impossible to fool a horse into believing I am in a positive place inside my head! We have probably all been in this position, knowing it is unhelpful to run disaster movies in our imagination, but lacking a way to actually turn the movie off, or run a more positive outcome. Until NOW!

With EFT I have finally been able to change my movie and put something much more positive in its place. This small change has had an enormous impact to my confidence and effectiveness as a rider and trainer. Many of my pupils have had amazing improvements too.

This change has been instumental in radically altering the behaviour of my horses.

EFT for veterinary issues

Always consult a vet if you have worries about your horses health! However, once diagnosed, or in emergency situations, EFT can add immesurably to traditional treatment.

EFT is particularly helpful for chronic problems such as laminitis, gastric ulcers, degenerative joint disease and long term lameness caused by navicular etc.

In emergency situations, for instance, whilst waiting for the vet for suspected colic, EFT can really help to keep you calm and effective, and also help to reduce your horses anxiety.

To read about some of these, please click here

Fleur is a home-bred youngster, now four years old, who has been kept in way many horses would envy! She has been kept in a secure herd, still grazes with her mother and brother and other long term friends, she has had very little confinement and has been allowed, if not encouraged, to have opinions about her routine and daily activities. For example, throughout last winter the whole herd was kept overnight in a large open barn with ad lib access to hay. On most days I would turn up with their breakfast, then throw a waterproof rug onto some of the more delicate horses and put the horses out, one at a time into one of two fields. Some mornings Fleur would not stand still for her rug and would continue to walk off as I approached her with it. Traditional horsemanship would suggest that either I tied her up or held her, to enable the rug to be fitted, or that Fleur was being ‘disobedient’ and to correct her by working on her ‘respect’ issues. What I did was to reflect that fleur was telling me in her own way that she didn’t want a rug on today and I would shrug and tell her she’d regret it if it did as forecast and rained later! Some days she would get wet and muddy, some days the forecast would be incorrect and she would have a few hours with a lovely winter sun on her back. Some days she would stand at the junction of the two fields and insist she would rather go left or right. Mainly she went where I told her, but if for any reason she refused, I would put her in the field she wanted. Tradition would have this as a dangerous move, which would have the horse ‘walking all over’ the handler, and calling all the shots, I tended to see it as Fleur communicating her wishes, and in this instance at least, I had no problem with fitting in with them.

All this is a long winded way of explaining that Fleur is quite used to the scenario where humans ask her to do a desired action and she is allowed to have an opinion about whether she does it or not. This summer it was decided she should be started under saddle. On the fourth day, tacked up and ready to go, half way between barn and school, Fleur stopped and as far as I could guess, communicated that she been there every day and really, she didn’t want to do it again today.....My strategy for this situation has varied as to my mood, but on the BEST days – luckily increasing with my continued use of EFT on myself! – I would stand and wait for Fleur, trying to use passive persistence to communicate ‘thank you for letting me know what you want, but unfortunately today, it is not possible and you must accept my opinion in this instance’. I was not sure if that was communicated, but that was my intention, and horses are great at reading intention!

The longest Fleur had ever made me wait was about 8 minutes, the first time I had done it, now she rarely makes me stand for more than a couple of minutes. It occurred to me I might as well tap while waiting. For some reason I struggled to come up with any sensible words so in their absence, I made some pictures in my head, of Fleur cantering in circles and having a bit of a leap about, then pictures of her grazing in the field, then a brief picture of her cantering on the lunge, then back in the field, whilst all the time tapping. I had not got beyond the collar bone point, when the rope went slack and Fleur strode out beside me. We walked and trotted on both reins then I asked for canter – Fleur having fun by having a small buck and a play, then a short canter on the other rein – perfect, then back to the first rein, perfect calm transition and a full circle of canter.

I told her how good she was and lead her out of the school, towards the barn, as she slowed down I remembered I’d said she could STRAIGHT back into the field, so stripped her tack off in the lane and put her out. This was the first time I had played with ‘the stories I tell my horse’ but this had a major influence on how I now deal with my horses and the improvements in their behaviour have often been dramatic.

EFT for Horse and Rider