Never Give Up!
Billy, a three year old colt, was so unhappy he tried to bite everyone who approached him. His human called me for help because he'd already injured three of his riders.
K is only part-owner of Billy, and the other partners no longer wanted anything to do with him. They wanted to have him euthanized, and right away! But K loved him and was desperate to give him another chance.
Because I'm not an expert when it comes to horses, and in light of the apparent time constraints, I referred my client to another animal communicator. I'd never actually met this animal communicator in person, or seen her at work, but I had read about her work in her Newsletters. She seemed very knowledgeable about horses, having had many of them since she was young, so K agreed to give her a try.
It did strike me as very unusual, that considering this was almost an emergency, she couldn't talk with my client for two weeks. "How strange!" I thought, because I always drop everything when I get an emergency consultation, even on weekends. My client did decide she could wait, though, so I then asked her to keep me in the loop.
Two weeks later, K and Billy finally had their session. She e-mailed me the next day saying they'd had a good talk, but she still didn't know exactly why Billy was behaving badly, or what she needed to do next that would be best for him.
Fortunately, she'd found yet another trainer who gave her (and Billy) an ultimatum. He would train Billy as long as he didn't injure anybody else. If and when he did, it was his last day. K couldn't do anything else but agree.
Billy had been trained to race ever since he was young. This was his life, and what he liked to do best. This trainer did a magnificent job. Although he described Billy as being very headstrong, and said he had to repeat the same training several times, he acknowledged that once Billy 'got it,' no one did it better, no one!
Billy was then signed for his first race ever! K did everything she needed to do, from hiring the right people, explaining to everyone what Billy liked and didn't like, how no one should have a stick in their hands, how Billy couldn't be led by hand, but needed to simply follow the lead horse, and everything else she could think of to tell them ahead of time.
Except, she forgot to call me until the very last day before the race to have me give Billy a heads up! We connected in time, though, and I talked with Billy just before his race.
Mom made me laugh when she'd said she'd told Billy all she wanted was to see him complete the race with the rider on his back at the end of the finish line! But I gave him a lot more information to guide him.
What I did was to give him the clearest possible pictures of everything that was going to be happening, and showed him what was expected of him by picturing the best outcome.
My pictures were very specific. They included every activity from the moment he had to leave home, get into the trailer, ride to the racing grounds, walk into a stall, get fitted, walk behind the lead horse, get into his numbered gate, see how the doors opened in front of him, and RUN toward the finish line with the rider always on his back. My pictures also showed him running nose to nose for a moment with every horse he passed, and I asked him to enjoy each moment.
Billy did almost everything flawlessly . . . until he got to the gate. After a little while, he finally made it snugly inside, but when the doors opened, HE FROZE. . .
However, the joy of the run didn't keep him frozen in place for too long. Before he knew it, he quickly came up from the very last position and raced past several other horses. He was just hitting his stride when the race was over. He came in sixth, but in K's and my minds, he was definitely a winner. He'd finished his first race with the rider still on his back! WAY TO GO, BILLY!
K's love and persistence had overcome any need to have Billy euthanized because of his behavioral problems. This is truly a lesson that shows how important it is to Never Give Up without trying all possible options. Clear animal communication, and a patient, dedicated trainer, saved the life of this delightful colt.
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