"Breaking in Gentleness"

was published in the Reiki Magazine international – volume 4-no.3- June/July 2002

Author James French

Breaking in Gentleness

Breaking is the word used to describe the process that a horse goes through in learning the skills of being ridden for the first time. In being “broken in “ s/he will learn to be tacked up, mounted, walked, trotted and cantered. It will understand that a pull of one reign means to turn that way, a pull of both reigns means to slow down or stop and the use of the rider’s legs means to move forward.

Through out the history of man and horse, the methods used to break in have varied. From the hard aggressive approach giving the term breaking a cold feel. To horse whispering and entering the horse’s physiological world.

This Reiki story is a story of trust.
My first ridding experiences were that of a three year old sliding down the neck of a rounded pony, who was very content in eating grass while being used as a walking slid! This gentle soul taught me to mount walk, trot, canter, turn, stop and go. He did this with patients and love, thank you Pip! Time passed. I grew and I was lucky to have the help of another two teachers, Pepper and then later Red. At the time there were problems at home but I was very fortunate that we lived on a farm. With nature on my side the sound of thundering hooves, wind watering my eyes and the smells of horse sweat, made small any home problems. We had found a pace that healed, a pace that was as fast as we could go, and we both loved it. For the first time I felt a horse carry me through a time of difficulty, in truth.

After college, not knowing what to do, I found myself trying to do a number of different jobs until I was back to horses. I found my forte was in the training of young horses and this took me to many areas, from jumping, to polo in Argentina.
At the age of twenty-four I moved away from working with horses - I felt the gentleness of horses was so misunderstood and not knowing how to express this changed my direction completely.

Seven years passed. In that time I have become a self-employed personal trainer teaching people health and holistic lifestyles. Horses were not a main focus but in reflection they have never been far away. The personal training opened and introduced me to Reiki.

Reiki
It was here in my Reiki two initiations that I received a calling, though at the time I did not notice it as such. In my mind’s eye I had traveled back to the first place where I had broken in a horse. Clear as a bell, I was hovering above the very field, why was this? I had no idea, though it got me thinking.

I was driving to a client the following week when an idea hit me right between the eyes. Hey! How about using Reiki to break in a horse! Just reiki and nothing else, give a Reiki session tack the horse up and ride it. The idea was exciting but that excitement was soon extinguished by the voice of doubt: “You are out of your mind of course you need to work a horse before you ride it. What are you thinking of you haven’t worked with horses for seven years. It’s dangerous and you are a father of two beautiful children.” Thankfully the voice of doubt was enough for me to let go of the idea completely.

The next week I was out running with a client along a quiet country lane, when suddenly two horses galloped across the field whinnying as they reached the lane only a few feet from us. It was an intense image, almost as if they were shouting at us. The client I was with was a little disturbed and asked what was the matter with them. My reply was silent as my heart cracked open; this was a calling literally straight from the horses’ mouth - even the voice of doubt said that you best do something about this!

Children of a jumping stallion
Here started quite an unusual journey. The first place I went was an old friend back in the time when I was breaking in horses. It was the nearest stable yard that I knew to where I lived. So I told her of my idea and asked if she had any young horses to try this idea out on. As by chance there was one unbroken six-year-old mare Indi. Now the father of Indi is a well-known jumping stallion. I was told that his children were difficult to break, actually she used stronger words than difficult, though when broken they are amazing competition horses. So her words of encouragement were “be careful”.

There was a lot to learn and quick, for example how do you not go against will? The horse didn’t ask me to come (or did she?). I used hands on, distant and a scoop of courage. The Reiki worked. It was raw and at places with her I went too fast and she was a good teacher. It was very peaceful, there seemed a huge amount of love and this was noticed and felt by all present. The mare was sold and it felt like time to move stable yards .One in mind and I asked my friend which stable yard she would suggest next. Her reply was the same as the one I had in mind and that was enough confirmation for the next step.

The next stable yard was also a friend that I had worked with before. He is a playful character and has been breaking horses in for many years. I explained my idea and asked if he had a couple of horses I could try to break using Reiki. He laughed and when I asked if he would video it for records he laughed louder. He had two horses he was willing to try: one was called Monty a young gelding, the other was arriving in the next few days, a mare called Delilah. He said it was interesting that I came at this time, because the horse coming in was apparently hard to break. To my surprise Delilah shared the same father as Indi! Some how I found myself climbing the branches of this jumping stallion’ family tree.

Monty was lovely after his first Reiki session he was very relaxed. So, I tacked him up and just got on him. We took him down the road for a walk and a bit of a trot. It took no more than thirty minuets to tack up get on and ride down the road. The only difficulty was trying to get him to move, as he was so relaxed. The second session saw us going for a ride across the fields, the third session he was in the school (area for working horses) with other horses walking, trotting, cantering, well balanced, calm and relaxed.

Delilah arrived at the stable yard with a big reputation. This was a very sensitive, athletic powerful horse, which if not channeled in right direction spells one thing…. fear. A strong horse full of fear makes people very fearful. It’s this circle of fear, which had spiraled leaving a sense of helplessness. Twenty sessions later Delilah is in a position to live in her true potential, she is very talented and we look forward to her successful career. Thank you Reiki!

Reiki showed me the true sense of the word “breaking”, as before I had an issue with the word - it sounded too hard. Reiki was breaking- it was breaking the circle of fear and allowing destiny to open up with a shared trust.

Well, you can imagine my surprise when Zara turned up at the stables weeks later. She is the sister of Delilah and Indi. I soon found out that Zara and Delilah came from the same stable yard, which is home to the famous stallion. To my delight, the owners wanted me to carry on the work with Delilah and Zara at their place. So, here I was, face-to-face with a stallion that somehow we both ended up in the same time and space, in the presence of a law of attraction. We shared a Reiki session with each other. It was amazing and without going into detail there seemed to be a sense that we have worked together in times that have passed. Since then there have been more of his children receiving the reiki way.

Breaking in
I have been using Reiki to help physical conditions and attitudes of older horses’. An area I am interested in is the way Reiki gives the recipients more of themselves, hence enhancing the true potential - Reiki opens the door. If that means a better hacking horse or a better racing horse great, it’s lovely to see a horse passionate about its work. It also means they are more valuable and better looked after, cool!

This process is teaching me a lot about trust. Sometimes there can be the question of whether Reiki works. I am lucky enough to have put myself in the position of removing the I of ego, and trusting in the greater part of letting Reiki do the work, it feels so much easier.
It would be great to explain how the Reiki has been applied. Firstly how to know if I was crossing the will of the animal was an issue. They don’t speak and it can’t be forced. So, the idea of a horse being tied up in a stable didn’t feel right. The horse loose in the stable was much better but then what? Chase it round with arms out stretched? My decision was to stand still with my hands in front of me and let the horses come. It was incredible! The horse would come close, stay there for a while, walk around the stable and come back to the exact position. Some even move and show me exactly where to put my hands by shuffling in or moving my hands with their head. Another way I found was to send distant to myself for the situation that I have with the horse. This is a fab way, as I get a Reiki session that is much appreciated as it keeps me gentle and relaxed. It can be scary getting on an unbroken horse for the first time. I sit in the stable with the horse as I send myself distant, instantly there is a feeling of connection and often the horses I am working with will rest her/his head on mine or start yawning or relaxing.

Working with Reiki is the intent, so it is important to be in what I call a “blanket of reiki.” Often with nervous horses they receive for two minuets then move and come back, and this will carry on until they totally relax. It is a beautiful feeling to have your hands on such a magnificent animal while it enters Reiki sleep. Once the horse shows this type of relaxation it feels ready to progress. As far as I understand it’s at peace with the work so far. So, time to start tacking up. Each step is slow and respectful. If at any time the horse shows any anxiety then its time to place hands back on until peaceful again. This carries on until the tack is on and the horse is OK with me moving all around it, with the saddle being patted (noise) and rubbed. Again, Reiki if needed.

Then comes the part of getting on. Again, this is done in stages until the last point of mounting, the point of no return putting my leg over and sitting on the horse. The only thing I can say at this point is that courage is not the absence of fear but to know that there is something more important! By now, there has been a connection of love and trust and either the horse is so relaxed that it wouldn't’t care if I used its neck as a slide. Or we have built up enough trust that it feels the importance of overcoming her/his fear for the both of us as well! If there is a problem at this stage then it is I who have gone too fast, and not kept the blanket tucked in.! To go slow with Reiki at this point not only makes every body feel more relaxed but also gets the job done much quicker. These small steps continue until the horses are fully broken in, there is no lunging, long reigning or making the horse exercise prior to getting on. There is only Reiki and the slowness of movement.

The horse is showing me the journey and no better an animal to teach as he has carried man from A to B as long as man can remember. The horse is strong, powerful and carries a grace of integrity, which shines in its gentleness. This is the true nature of the horse. To share this gentleness has felt like a gift of a thousand Christmases, not just sharing with the horses but also with my partner Shelley, as we treat them together. Thank you horse for all the things you have shown me so far and even more thanks to the things you are to show me in the future