The Time of the Horse

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Anastasia, day 1. First good meal in a LONG time and filthy! But on the road to recovery :)

Maybe it was because the 1st of August was the international horses’ birthday that the past couple of months have very much felt like “the time of the horse”. And it wasn’t just because I run a charity for horse rescue (Charlie’s Angels Horse Rescue Inc.). I’ve been feeling it for a while now, this swelling attention and emotion surrouding horses and it’s been foremost on the mind of others and on the mind of myself. The horses are here to teach us and their voices are getting stronger.
 
In my world, Charlie’s Angels ran our first “Big Heart Day” on 1st August, to celebrate and honour the many horses that don’t get to lead a happy and safe life and honour just how much we love horses. Our friends at Holistic Bliss magazine generously donated a page of editorial for an article I wrote, “Healing the Horses’ Hearts“. Our friends at Equine News generously donated a page of editorial on our organisation. One of our rescue horses, Gypsy, needed urgent eye surgery and the sudden desperation for funds to meet the costs sent me into a temporary spritual crisis, really challenging me to question why I run a charity, how I go about it, and who I want to attract into this journey with me. (At this point, I have to give a huge shout out to Eileen McLean, my dear friend and Secretary of Charlie’s Angels, without whom I’m not sure I’d be able to do half of what I do.) And it really tested my levels of faith, which starting a charity from scratch is likely to do! I have had to become a big believer in “Leap and the net will appear”.
 
I was also invited to feature in this month’s “Spirited Women” story on the Sprited Women’s Network, in what was a humbling read of myself seen through someone else’s eyes. My horses-as-therapy business, “Indigo Haven” began, with encouraging and inspiring results, and a nearby alterate high school has been very interested in signing up for therapy days for its students. And… to top all of that off, I made an impromptu rescue of a very aged mare from a slaughterhouse, taking my personal herd of horses to six. The beautiful Anastasia (who named herself… the name means “resurrected”) has been teaching me much about acceptance of the now, patience and faith, as she makes her way through a complex healing journey, all the time with a spring in her step (even if she happens to be limping!), a heart space simply overflowing with love and compassion, and incredible wisdom.
 
As well, we saw the shock decision in Perth to allow horses to be slaughtered and eaten to ‘celebrate’ Bastille Day, and an incredible outcry from the public and continuing protests and attempts to stop this from happening again. Jumps racing continues be highly controversial and emotional. Donkeys have been pelted in Pakistan, I see other horse charities proliferating around south-east Queensland, and a beautiful show on horses, Martin Clune’s “Horsepower” aired on television and it seems everyone I run into watched the first part and was moved by it. If you missed it, you can catch it on YouTube here:
 
Part one – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOo-HMpp0no

Part two – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0gXlWi_RVw&feature=related

Part three – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3TVhTCo1fs&feature=related

Part four – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01gNaadxI0M&feature=related

Part five – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcPAlVrgmkg&feature=related
 
All of this “horse power” has me thinking about the amazing work that horses are doing on this planet. And I don’t mean the physical work–riding, racing, breeding, showing, police horses, farm horses etc. I mean the spiritual work. In history, horses have helped us get there faster than we get there ourselves, opening up land, developing new communities and cities, and literally transporting us from one place to another. The horses tell me that they are still do exactly that: transporting us from one place to another, though now it is more in a spiritual sense.
 
Just standing in the presence of a horse will change your brainwaves. Horses pull us into the moment so quickly and so effortlessly and allow our minds to see beyond our current thinking. If we can only listen, they have incredible wisdom to share. The time of the horse is rising as their value is changing slowly but steadily from “beasts of burdens” to incredible spiritual teachers. As my friend and foster carer for Charlie’s Angels says, “They are the greatest Zen masters you could ever have.”

So as the horses begin to shed their winter coats, I too have begun a traditional spring clean, preparing the ground for yet more growth.

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Free Animal Communication Workshop Info Just for You :)

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Start your animal communication journey today!

This Saturday, 21st August, we’ll be hosting another popular Animal Communication workshop in Brisbane. There are still places available so email me quickly to secure one of the last places. You can find details about the course here.

But, if you can’t make it this Saturday, you can start your animal communication journey for free! Over the coming months, I will be uploading a series of short videos to Youtube, sharing my knowledge and experiences with you. Why? Because I want every person in the world to communicate with animals! :)

Visit the first installment of my videos on Youtube here. :)

If you would like more info on this weekend’s course, email me at lucygabrielle@live.com.

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Honouring Your Animal’s True Path

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Honouring your animal’s true path is the greatest gift you can offer.

Last week, my gorgeous filly Leila was ridden under saddle for the first time. It was a proud “mummy moment” for me, watching my beautiful girl reach an important milestone in her journey. But the reason it was so, so special was largely because I had been given the opportunity to listen to her about where she saw her future, respect her wishes and open the doorway for her to reach her soul’s true potential.

Just like humans, animals come to their life with a purpose. Often, they know only too well what that purpose is, and if we can just ask them to show us, we can help them facilitate a life of their choosing–one that brings them joy, enhances their relationship with people, and allows them to serve the planet.

Three and a half years ago, Spirit orchestrated a serious of events to take me to meet a small horse who we named Jum Jum (pronounced “Yum Yum”). Jum Jum was largely unhandled, pregnant and not far off being sent through the horse sales on her way to a knackery. Jum Jum helped heal my broken heart over the lost of my horse Hercules, and we watched her belly grow and grow with the life inside. I would Reiki Jum Jum in the evenings, as she was eating, and the little foal inside would kick and wriggle with the joy of Reiki… and then she would send healing back to me! I quickly realised that there was a very strong soul in there and it wasn’t long before she started to send messages that she was meant to be a therapy horse. About a month before she was born, she chose her name, Leila, shooting it into my mind in a bolt that made me stop walking through the paddock, loaded with hay. Leila. She pronounced it “Lay-la” but spelt it “Leila”.

In one of the most magical moments of my life, she was born under a full moon at 4.30 am on the 27th of September 2007, giving her a triple “9″ vibration in numerology, a powerful trio of humanitarian energy. It was completely clear: this girl was here to serve.

We’ve asked her several times as she’s grown whether she would like to be started under saddle and her answer has always been a confident yes. And the way that she has taken to training, so calmly, so assured of herself, is both a testament to her loving handling since birth, the fact that we waited until the perfect person came into our life to help educate Leila with love and patience, and her innate aptitude for people.

Yes, this has been a wonderful process for Leila, but only because it was what she wanted and it was part of her plan to be of service to people. Not all horses are like this. Leila’s mother, Jum Jum, has steadfastly maintained that she does not wish to be started under saddle. We respect that. So Jum Jum is left to be herself. Her journey will most likely also fall into line with my burgeoning ‘horses as therapy’ business, but she will bring her own unique brand of authenticity to the work, offering a completely different perspective to the clients who work with her.

All animals know what they are here to do (or be). My dog Daisy is here to be joy. My cat Bucket (of Love) is here to love (as his name suggests). Uncovering our animals’ true nature and wishes is an exciting and humbling journey, which might take many years or even a whole lifetime. But if we just set that intention of wanting to know, to respect and to assist in our animal’s evolution, it can be a magical ride!

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Catch us on Channel 7′s ‘The Great South East’

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Buy Your Copy Today!

Make sure you tune into Channel 7′s The Great South East, this Sunday 1st August at 5.30pm.

Lucy Gabrielle and Eileen McLean have been profiled for the holistic work they do with animals, animal healing workshops, and Your Animal’s Oracle pet communication cards.

For more info on our upcoming workshops, click HERE.

To buy Your Animal’s Oracle pet communication cards, click HERE.

To book a homeopathic/naturopathic consultation with Eileen, click HERE.

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The fine art of stool watching–horse worms

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

expelled worms in horse manure

When you live and work with animals, it pays to develop the fine art of stool watching. You can tell so much from an animal’s manure.

Recently, I wormed all seven of the horses on my property. One of them had only been with me a few weeks, a rescue horse from Charlie’s Angels Horse Rescue Inc, whom I have adopted. I delayed worming him a few weeks as he had come from a respectable home originally, and I wanted him to be on the same worming schedule as my horses. 

While picking up manure this morning, I found something that I had never seen before: expelled worms. It was both shocking and fascinating. I always have a bit of a poke through manure after worming, to see if I can see worms, but I’ve never seen any. But there they were, all fat, red and alarmingly large. I could even see their mouth parts where they had attached to the intestinal wall!

I have recently begun research into better ways of managing worms in horses.  Cindy Edward and Ary Hoffman, authors of the Australian publication Integrated Pest Management for the Horse Farm, say:

“Horse owners are advised to ‘worm’ their horses every six to twelve weeks. Sole reliance on these chemicals to control horse parasites is expensive and most likely detrimental to horses, people and the environment. Resistance in worms to these chemicals is increasing. This leads to higher dosages administered more often.”

I’ve been searching for a natural horse wormer in Australia for a while, without success. I tried to import some from the UK, but customs wouldn’t allow it through without an additional $400 fee.

I’m keen to try new ways of managing worms and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve tried new ways or had success.

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How much is a life worth?

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Lincoln in auction yard

Lincoln, almost one year on from rescue

One of the most difficult things about running a horse charity is that at some point, I am asked to make life and death decisions. Which horse do I save? Which horse do I pass over?

When faced with requests to save a horse that is on death row, we take every situation very seriously and always do our best, even if that means all we can do is to post the information on our website and facebook page and hope someone else picks the horse up.

Every horse I hear about lodges itself into my psyche I continue to think about it for weeks and months and maybe years afterwards… always wondering. What happened?

The next difficult question that we have to deal with is how much money will we, or can we, invest into a horse? If we have one horse that needs thousands of dollars to rehabilitate, aren’t we taking money away from other horses in need? Is it fair? Does one horse’s right to a new life outweigh the rights of many others?

Ultimately, the question is: how much is a life worth?

We realised very early on that we couldn’t play the numbers game. That is, it’s not necessarily ‘better’ to save one hundred horses than it is to save ten. Why? Because there are too many horses in Australia. No matter how many we save, there are hundreds of thousands more waiting to take their place at the slaughterhouse. Since we can’t beat the numbers (quantity), we had to make sure that the horses we could save received the very best (quality) in order to improve their lives.

I used to be a teacher. And at one point, we had several new students come to the school. These students had special needs and were being integrated into mainstream schooling. The school was required to make many modifications to buildings, costing many thousands of dollars. Many parents and teachers were upset by this, saying that it was unfair. It was then that I heard a new definition of equality: “Equality does not mean that every person is treated the same. Equality means that every person receives whatever they need in order to have the same opportunities in life.”

At Charlie’s Angels Horse Rescue, we’ve adopted this definition. Is it fair to spend thousands of dollars rehabilitating one horse? Yes, if it means that horse gets whatever it needs in order to have the same opportunity to find its loving forever home.

It is not up to us to place judgement on a horse that is in a world of emotional and psychological pain and say that it isn’t “worth” spending the money to rehabilitate it. All life is valuable. All life is equal. And we will fight to the very end to make sure that the horses that are lucky enough to come into our care receive whatever they need in order to go back out into the world, stronger, wiser, healthier and healed.

It’s the best we can do.

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Animal Communication Course, Brisbane, 21st August 2010

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Just to say big thanks for such wonderful workshop (animal communication) was brilliant and I have used the oracle cards already – it has also opened things up for me and things that I want to do. (Michelle, Nundah)

Lucy with newborn calf

Back by popular demand!

Our recent Animal Communication workshop was so popular, and we had such a long list of people who wanted to attend but couldn’t make it that day, that we’ve decided to squeeze in another course in August.

So if you’ve ever wanted to learn how to communicate with animals, come along to Animal Communication on Saturday 21st August, from 9.30am to 5pm for a day packed full of strategies and practice. Everyone can do it, it just takes a framework and a few targeted skills, plus practice. And you can communicate with any animal, as every animal has a soul and consciousness, be it a dog, cat, horse, cow or lizard.

Cost $150. Location: Alderley.

Email Lucy at lucygabrielle@live.com for information, bookings and registration. Or phone Lucy on  (07) 4170 0215.

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Introducting Petnetics: Kinesiology for Releasing Emotional Blocks in Animals

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Would you like to get to the root cause of your pet’s illness, condition or behaviour? Petnetics may have the answer.

Emotions that are stuck in the body are called ‘somatised’ emotions (‘soma‘ = body). These emotions can lead to imbalances and dis-ease in your animal’s body. For example, your dog’s skin complaint may have an emotional component to the cause of the condition. Your horse’s ill health could be the last manifestation of years of repressed (unprocessed) emotions. Your dog’s “odd” behaviour could have a link to a past life.

For years now, I’ve been working with a kinesiology (muscle testing) technique, combined with animal communication, to release these stored emotions, sometimes with sudden, dramatic results and sometimes with gradual changes that occur over time as we work through the many fascinating layers that make up a physical body (like peeling an onion…).

And the benefits of using muscle testing go beyond this powerful emotional release. You can also find out your animal’s wishes, and which therapies they would most like to engage with. It’s empowering for both you and your animal.

For me, the time has come to begin offering this service to you and your pet. If you would like to know more about Petnetics, email me at lucygabrielle@live.com.

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The Willy Wagtail’s Lesson

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

pic by jemasmith

There is a willy wagtail that comes to our house every morning, right on dawn. He can see himself in the tinted doors of our bedroom, and so jumps up and bangs on the door, over and over again, for hours at a time. Obviously, this is incredibly disturbing as it means we toss and turn in bed, wishing the bird would stop and go away and let us go back to sleep.

At one point, we covered the whole of our glass door with newspaper. It looked ugly, it flapped in the wind, it yellowed and tore at the edges, but it stopped the bird. We left it there until it hung in tatters and then we pulled it down. Peace continued for some time, until the bird found that the paper was gone and he could once again continue his obsessive banging on our door.

So we lie in bed, frustrated and angry, wishing the bird would disappear. As I am an animal communicator, I’ve tried communicating with the bird to ask him to please stop and let us sleep. On occassion, this has worked. I have asked angels to take him away, I have surrounded our house in protective white light, and created energetic barriers to stop him, but all to no avail.

This morning, I woke up just before dawn, anticipating his arrival. I went through my usual communication strategies and the bird kept banging. Just as I was seething with anger, I realised that I’d had it all wrong. We needed to turn the situation around. Instead of pushing him away, what we should have been doing all along was to extend and invitation to the animal and ask the bird, “What message are you bringing us?”

So I asked the bird, and received a stream of clear communication.

“The message is about living in harmony with those in our lives that irritate us. You can block them out, but they are still there, and it takes energy to maintain the block. The moment you divert your energy from maintaining the block, the moment they will be back because the reasons they irritate us are still there.”

I knew immediately that this message was clearly about someone in our family, who has a very difficult relationship with their family members, to the point of needing to block emails and refuse to take phone calls.

That’s all well and good, I said, but it doesn’t mean that they should have a relationship with their family as it is a toxic relationship and therefore a damaging relationship. How do they protect themselves if they can’t set boundaries?

The message continued. “Boundaries are necessary. But it’s not about blocking the people out of their life, it’s about releasing them so that they are no longer hooked into their energy and cycle of negative emotions. Let them go on their way with love.”

What a profound message! Thank you willy wagtail. I am now going outside to once more set a boundary by taping newspaper to our door, but I also take with me this wonderful wisdom, and I release the willy wagtail with love to go about his positive business as he should, foraging, nest building and making a family.

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Animal Communication Workshop, Brisbane, 30th May

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Lucy Gabrielle

Would you like to be able to communicate with your pets or wild animals?

I truly believe that everyone can communicate with animals. All you need is a framework, some helpful hints and a lot of practice! Come and join me on Sunday 30th May in Brisbane for a one-day workshop in animal communication and start your own journey to healing, listening and communicating.

The cost is $150 for the day.

Email me at lucygabrielle@live.com for more information or a registration form. Or, book now by visiting HERE for a list of workshops and payment methods.

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