Years ago, I had no idea of the depth of soul-level awareness animals displayed, or even that I was receiving the messages on this higher plane. Animal consciousness continues to amaze and delight me, and it has prepared me to share our deep interconnectedness and given me the courage to trust the messages I received no matter how crazy they sounded. The animal kingdom has unequivocally demonstrated that consciousness has no limits and that the information it received was not only important, it saved my life at times.
Some time ago I received a call from a woman who seemed quite distressed. Overnight her horse was unable to walk and she did not know what to do as she had so little money. After we talked, he said that he was feeling better and that I must be the angel he had prayed for.
I drove to a nearby farm where he tackled his little chestnut mare. His horse shared a shed with two other cute and mischievous companions … a heifer and a young bull. The cows did a lot of antics to get my attention, but the mare was not so enthusiastic.
I soon saw why: his right front leg was totally stiff from the shoulder down, as if it had just come out of a cast to the armpit. He could barely maneuver around the shed to face me. I have been around horses most of my life, however, I could not recall any lameness at this extreme, especially without an apparent traumatic incident.
I rubbed in some therapeutic essential oils for pain and stiffness while applying Reiki energy to my leg, but for twenty minutes nothing changed, which is quite unusual with this powerful combination treatment. To begin with, he couldn’t seem to get a “word” out of her.
Towards the end of the session, still without results, I asked once more if the mare can clarify for us on the cause of the lameness. “You know … she’s trying to kill herself.” As I was still fairly new to animal communication, I remember wondering, “Did I really ‘hear’ this from the mare?” My own doubt was only the first hurdle I had to overcome.
While it can be challenging to prepare someone for the strange variety of feedback I can get from animals, try turning that into a sentence! “Oh, by the way, your horse says you’re suicidal, and that’s why his leg is stiff as a board.” Or, even stickier, “Your horse is ‘off’ (a term that means lame in the horse world) because you plan to ‘turn off’ yourself!”
Panicking a bit from the lack of options, I actually contemplated not saying it, I don’t have to share everything, right? Maybe I got it wrong or made up something wild. I received no more help from this unassuming little mare, or another word, thought, or image to give me a way out. However, she did; moving a little easier now, a slight bend in her knee that wasn’t there before that crude communication.
When I finished the energy healing treatment, I tried to find a “natural” transitional way for this surprising revelation about the owner, and how to explain that her suicide plan was connected to the instant limp. I asked him general questions about how he was doing and as he was driving back to the main road he told me that he had actually wanted to kill himself! I used that confession to slip in, “I know … your horse told me!” waiting for the expected disbelief. But the woman kept driving, saying she wasn’t surprised!
She had it all figured out: she was going to hitch up her trailer and drive herself, her horse, and her dog over a bridge. She planned to take the animals with her because she was afraid they would starve. As upset as his thinking was, he could actually feel the compassion in his decision.
In my years as a family counselor, I knew that anyone who had an elaborate suicide plan was pretty serious, so I insisted … “Are you still planning to do this?” She perked up a bit, “Oh no, a few months ago I was determined, but I begged God to do it for me, and since God didn’t take me, I thought He had a plan for me. I decided to apply to get my old back. I work as a crane operator. I loved that job; also good money. I have not been able to find work in Florida and I have struggled to keep my animals fed, but they always fed them, even if I had nothing. “
Relieved that she no longer planned to kill herself, I asked her to tell her mare that triple suicide was no longer her plan. Clearly, the poor horse was very concerned and somehow the mare’s higher intelligence manifested this trauma to make sure someone came out to control her as the woman lived a hermit existence. I marveled at the practicality of the “solution” as it prevented the mare from going anywhere, especially a trailer with a firm limb!
Still a bit shocked by all of this, I went on to my next date … a young German Shepherd who kept attacking a sweet gray gelding. The woman with the lame mare came back to tell me that she had revisited her little bay and took my advice to clarify that she was no longer planning to take her “family” over the bridge. Delighted, she reported that her horse was now moving with 50% more flexibility than half an hour ago.
A few days later, I heard that the woman got her old crane operator job back and moved out of state – the best scenario she could have hoped for for herself and her family of animals!
While all of this sounds extraordinary, it is not uncommon for animals (and people too) to manifest extreme conditions to generate more awareness of an emotional imbalance, either with them or with someone close to them. Once brought to light through animal communication and energetic healing, the need for the physical condition or bizarre behavior is released at the causal level and quickly diminishes or is often resolved entirely.