Repairing Horse & Rider
As well as being an Equine Bowen Therapist I am also fully qualified and practising as a Human Bowen Practitioner. This allows me to assess not only horse but also rider as any 'imbalance' in one will have a knock on affect on the other.
One client could not get her horse to stop spinning to the right until I treated her frozen shoulder - without realising it her tension and discomfort were transferring down the reins to the horse. The horse was really only doing what was being (unconsciously) requested of her.
Another client had been experiencing difficulty with leg yield and shoulder-in. The horse was perfect on one rein but unyeilding and 'difficult' on the other. Once the rider had her pelvic imbalance treated the horse was as good as gold on both reins.
My own horse Kyrat was 'playing up' for a friend who was schooling him, he would not go straight and was swishing his tail, getting 'angsty' and doing a passable shoulder-fore which we didnt want! My friend was getting really frustrated as we both knew there was nothing physically wrong with Kyrat and that he understood what was being asked - then I remembered that my friend had complaine
d of neck pain the day before and enquired if it was still sore. "Bloody agony" was the response. Two minutes later after a couple of small Bowen moves she set off again. This time going straight down the long side with a much happier, relaxed horse and rider. Tantrum averted!
All too often people search for something wrong with the horse - wrong saddle, bad back, poor ground etc when really the horse is trying its hardest to do as requested - it is just receiving the wrong signals.
The same is true for our emotional reactions - horses know when we are upset, depressed or angry. Unless you are pain free, moving freely and in the right mood your horse will pick up on your negative energy and react accordingly. Do you like being grumped at? Neither does your horse.
Until the rider is balanced how can we expect the horse to function at 100%