This morning I was reading Stacey Kimmel-Smith's blog Behind The Bit, and was struck by her description of having her fidgety horse's mane braided for a show. Using a twitch didn't work, but when Stacey tapped on his nose with the end of the whip, he was mesmerized and calm.
I immediately thought of a technique I have been teaching my human clients, called EFT (emotional freedom technique).
EFT is based on a discovery regarding the body's subtle energies. Basically, it's an "emotional" version of acupuncture but without the needles. You use your fingers to tap various points on your body, in a sequence. I've had success using this method on myself, and clients as young as 5 have reported excellent results.
So when I read Stacy's success story with the tapping and braiding, I wondered: can EFT work with horses?
I'm going to try it later today and see how it goes.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
10 comments:
I think a controlled study is in order here...EFT vs appletinis ... actually, I guess there two studies - EFTs and appletinis for the horses, and EFT and appletinis for the humans. Imagine the possibilities! ;-)
All kidding aside, EFT is a very interesting concept and I look forward to hearing your results.
p.s. I also look forward to your appletini recipe.
I can't wait to hear how it goes. My sister is a therapist in Orlando and has used EFT on me and other members of my family successfully.
Linda, I guess I have been all over the map this weekend, LOL!
It's clear to me I cannot have ingredients for appletinis sitting in my cupboard at all times. They're so good I think I'd want one every day.
I haven't had a chance to try it with the horses - they have all been so content and easygoing all weekend. (did they have their own appletini party going on?)
Mamie, I was so excited about the effectiveness of EFT I am signed up for more training later this month.
I'm so curious to see how it affects the horses.
I'm curious to see how it works on the horses, it should be a very interesting experiment.
I've decided (since the horses are being very calm and easygoing for yet another day) that I'll wait and ask our massage therapist to help me match up the acupressure points on the horse so I can be sure I'm tapping in helpful places.
I'm excited to see how this works.
You could be on to something really great - I can't wait to hear how the horses react. Is EFT similar to EMDR? And don't forget that appletini recipe!
EFT and EMDR are often used together in treating trauma, so similar in that respect.
I am slated to do the initial EMDR training in the fall. I have known of it for years, but haven't felt compelled to learn it myself until hearing Bessel van der Kolk talk about it and seeing his videos of client sessions.
I think Jungian sandplay therapy does a wonderful job but there are clients who, for whatever reason, aren't drawn to the sandplay... so the EFT and EMDR will be good alternatives.
The horses are all in total laid-back mode since I posted this, making me wonder if they have know I'm itching to try this out on them!
I'm curious to see how it works on the horses as well.
Our massage therapist is coming on June 9th, so I'll report back afterwards on the EFT with horses.
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