What kind of combination is that? Well, when a 17-year-old young man is scheduled to carry the 
American Flag in the Grand Entry of the State 4-H Horse Show, Woo Woo and horses is what you’re willing to explore, when the horse comes up lame the week before the big show.
“Woo Woo” is a slang term that many attach to concepts they don’t understand. The work I do has been incorrectly described as such. Historically, I vehemently denied any connection as I attached negative embarrassing thoughts to the word “Woo Woo.” However, as a result of Aaron’s lame horse, I met someone who isn’t insulted when the word is used to describe her. If I didn’t know what she was doing, I’d call her work magic. But it wasn’t magic. It was connecting on every level: physical to spiritual. After 90 minutes, the once-gimpy horse trotted very energetically around the pasture without a trace of a limp! In this article, I’ll share my understanding of how such an immediate change could happen.
The “Woo Woo” lady, referred to us at a horse show by a well-respected horseman, came to our yard to assess Winchester. She observed him moving and still. She talked to him. She physically palpated various muscle groups. She assessed his response to different pressure points. And then she went to work.
In my work, we’d say there was a non-verbal action goal of “moving easily on all feet, sans limping”. We’d call those beginning assessments “Pre-Activities”. And the “work” would be the Learning Menu in Educational Kinesiology. I want to share what I saw occur.
Learning Menu: Jaw to Hooves
The first Learning Menu item that I recognized was related to the chakras. At their simplest, these are energy systems that can get clogged or dammed up, like a river. When this happens, optimal functioning becomes limited—for example, apparent lameness. She casually and carefully commented, “I’m clearing his chakras.” And I said, “I know what those are and I do that in my work, too.” Connection!
She went on to check jaw and hooves, explaining how a large percentage of ailments are related to the two ends of the horse. Same with humans. TMJ is discussed in all the modalities I’ve studied. Hooves/feet are the same. They hold us up. They move us forward and help us change direction physically and metaphorically. If they hurt, it affects our movement, posture, attitude, emotional stability, focus/attention, thinking, and more! Looking at his hooves, she believed that different shoes would be an important piece to this puzzle.
She worked on the jaw. She held some acupressure points from Traditional Chinese Medicine. She did some energy work—animal communication. She held space for Winchester to yawn, stretch, move into alignment, and rediscover himself. It was during this process that the biggest AHA happened for Winchester’s humans.
Aha! Feelings of Abandonment
While talking to Winchester, she told him she understood he had a lot of emotion. Aaron, who was holding the lead rope, snapped his head to attention and curiously asked, “Do you think he missed me?” She asked for more information. He shared how he’d been away for 22 days, had returned home Monday and 72 hours later this lameness had appeared. She quietly connected with Winchester, nodded her head and said “Yes, he thought you had abandoned him.”
Shock accompanied with 100% belief. Well, now that the issue is identified, healing can occur. Acceptance. It does no good to retreat into a place of guilt or “what if.” Time to move forward. She continued working through some stubborn energetic spots in his cranial bones and neck muscles. Then onto whole body meridians, which are related to different energy systems.
I recognized what she was doing, which was affirming to me that I could relate to more than humans. During this whole time, when I would stop thinking and truly consciously tune in, I could tell when Winchester was stuck, when he was holding his breath, when he felt afraid to let go, etc. It was so cool!
Re-education Required
Now, some think that once the issue is identified, “Poof, we are finished.” Not so. The body was aware of this feeling of abandonment before it became physically visible. So some muscle systems had been working too hard and others had been slacking off for a while. This creates compensation. Re-education is necessary to return the entire system to a balanced state. So she methodically worked on his limbs (affected side and other side) and on all his dimensions of movement (front/back, top/bottom, left/right). Head to tail, shoulders to hips, top line to rib carriage, etc.
What techniques did she use? A little of this and a little of that—much like how I work. I rarely can say, “This was a Visioncircles session.” Same with this amazing equine worker. I recognized chiropractic, acupressure, cranial sacral, energy (meridians and chakras), talk therapy, emotional stress release points, massage, neurovasculars, lymphatics, and so much more!
Anchored Reconnection
In the end, he trotted with more energy and spring in his step than we’d seen since before Aaron left on his 22 day adventure. Aaron and Winchester anchored their reconnection through movement using a smooth gait; it was a beautiful and touching Post-Activity to observe.
Now What? Homeplay
The Edu-K language, “Homeplay,” is her “prescription” to keep Winchester in this lame-free place. First, have the farrier out and give him new shoes so his feet feel better. Second, stretch his legs out every time before riding to remind those muscles of their new balanced potential. Third, love on him!
Post-script
Aaron rode Winchester with his new shoes in the State Horse Show. He met his goal to place in a games class at the state level with a 9th place ribbon in barrels. Winchester held Aaron solidly and stoically throughout the Grand Entry with over 100 horses and flags in one arena—Winchester never wavered.
