January 2018 – Mid Month Update
Holistic Horsekeeping
How to have a healthy happy horse.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
In This Issue:
1. Paradigm Shifts in Horse Harmony
2. Find Your Own Horse Harmony
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
1. Paradigm Shifts in Horse Harmony
Sometimes paradigm shifts happen suddenly and other times they evolve over an extended period of time. When Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs there was a immediate shift in recognition and appreciation of women in the sport of tennis. With acceptance of holistic medicine the shift is happening over a much longer period of time, but it is happening.
Another paradigm shift is happening in the way horses are viewed. Over time horses have been becoming more companion animals than work animals and more attention is being paid to their wellbeing. Even in the competition world, there is more attention to stopping abusive training techniques. Feed companies are designing feeds that are more suited to how horses digest. More people are removing shoes and trimming so horses can be comfortable barefoot. Some people are getting away from using bits and going to more comfortable ways to communicate with horses.
All of these changes are going in the right direction to make life with humans more enjoyable for horses, but there is something missing. When I first started studying horse temperament and wrote my book, Horse Harmony, I was thinking about how to help someone pick the right horse or how to manage and feed the horse so he could be healthy and perform his best. To my frustration, I did not always see positive changes from diet and management alone. No matter how many changes were made, unless the person made a change, the horse still struggled.
I believe we are on the verge of a huge paradigm shift in the horse world. I don’t know if it will happen quickly or over a long period of time. The shift is to stop looking at horses from the standpoint of how to make them do better for us and start looking at what we can learn from them. It is not that horse people are naturally bad or cruel; we are just slow to recognize a change is afoot. Like the male executives in the tennis world were so stuck in the ways things had always been, they totally missed the shift that was happening for and with women.
With horses it is the same. People are just beginning to see the value that horses bring to our lives over and above their value as competitors or companions. Dogs show us how to love unconditionally, cats show us how to get what we want from life and horses show us how to be honest with ourselves. Our horses are a mirror of who we really are and how we really feel regardless of what we try to present to the world. The good news is, if you are in harmony with your horse you are probably at harmony in your soul. This is the amazing gift horses have to offer for humanity.
Our emphasis with horse temperament typing consulting is to help people find that harmony with their horse that will transfer to harmony in their life. Knowing the temperament type of the horse is a good foundation for finding harmony with the horse. Helping people understand the changes the horse needs from them can go a long way towards helping people realize what is keeping them from harmony in their lives. Horses have been there for us, despite our lack of understanding, now it is our turn to listen and learn from them. It is a paradigm shift that I hope happens sooner rather than later.
2. Find Your Own Horse Harmony
If you haven’t discovered temperament typing and discovering your horses 5 element type, there’s now time like the present. You can dive into the subject a little or a lot. Here are some of the resources to help you.
Horse Harmony book
Horse Harmony: A Feeding Guide book
Ebooks
Audios
Online Course
Horse Harmony Consultants
Horse Temperament website
++++ Copyright | Getting On and Off the List ++++
Unless otherwise attributed, all material is written and edited by Madalyn Ward, DVM. Copyright (c) 2018 HolisticHorsekeeping.com and Madalyn Ward, DVM. All rights reserved.
If you like the material in this newsletter please let your friends know about it. You may reprint material in other electronic or print publications provided the above copyright notice and a link to http://www.holistichorsekeeping.com is included in the credits.
You can get off this list by sending an email to info@holistichorsekeeping.com.
When you forward this material, please send the entire newsletter. Thanks!
Please also enjoy all of Dr. Ward’s web resources:
http://www.holistichorsekeeping.com
http://blog.horseharmony.com
https://www.facebook.com/HolisticHorsekeeping
https://www.facebook.com/HorseHarmony
Twitter: madalynward