Animal Reiki for Horses

This past week was a very challenging one for me personally! My parents were evacuated due to the River Fire (thank goodness they are safe and were able to return to their home without damage). At the same time that was happening, a nearby sanctuary to them where my student Sherry volunteers Reiki, the Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary, was trying to save their animals with almost no time to evacuate. (*Update, they are safe and sound, and hopefully will return soon to their land.) In addition, that same day my horse …

I often get questions about intuition received during Animal Reiki sessions, or what to do if an animal communicates with you during a session. I’ve written about the differences between Animal Reiki and Animal Communication HERE, but I wanted to share a bit more with you today. First of all, not everyone receives intuition, and it’s not technically a part of what Animal Reiki is. However, often when an animal begins to heal, there is an energetic shift, and if we’re sensitive, and if the animal has chosen to connect deeply with …

Training at the Square Peg Foundation: This past weekend, I taught my very first Level 1 in-person course since 2019! It was such an amazing day, full of beautiful horse teachers and incredible humans 🙂 I offered this course as a gift to the staff of the Square Peg Foundation. Square Peg is a different kind of therapy riding model. Their website says, “Square Peg is all about reminding all of us that what makes us different is what makes us special.” Their philosophy is so in-line with the Let Animals Lead® method, I …

Today I mourn a loss and I celebrate a teacher. A few days ago, one of my dearest equine teachers passed away, Luke. This photo is a picture of him gently touching his nose to my hand during a Reiki session we shared several years ago. Luke belonged to my trainer Susan, or perhaps she belonged to him, and besides winning Susan a gold medal in dressage, he had a way of teaching subtle Reiki lessons in very direct ways. I remember once, when he was suffering from bladder stones, he refused …

While recently teaching a Reiki 3 and Animal Reiki Teaching Training course in the Sacramento area, I had the honor to spend an afternoon at the Medicine Horse Project in Somerset, CA. The love and compassion from the horses that my students and I experienced that day will stay with us forever! I’d love to share just one of the many healing experiences that occurred that day, because it illustrates the power of learning to let go of “doing” Reiki and learning the healing power of compassionate presence within an …

I just got back from several days in Scotland with my family. What a beautiful country; we enjoyed every minute! Feels good to be back in the California sun, though 🙂 It was also such an honor to be able to spend time at Remus in Essex, England as well. It was wonderful sharing the Let Animals Lead® method with so many students, and seeing their faces light up as they watched the animals come forward and take charge of each session. Differences in Approach Matter In meaning, “Reiki” is spiritual or Source …

Congratulations to a brand new group of Animal Reiki Teachers! I had such a wonderful 3 days at Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary in Essex, England, spending time with the precious animals and getting to know these wonderful ladies. The beautiful skies were breathtaking! Plus it was like a SARA Directors reunion, being with SARA’s VP Leah D’Ambrosio and our East Coast Director, Kelly McDermott-Burns 🙂 Such a blessing to watch the animals teaching wonderful healing lessons 🙂 I loved watching the two little lambs, Marble and May, choose to graze near …

I’d like to talk about physical touch and the animal Reiki session, because I receive a lot of questions about this topic. People often ask me, “What are the hand positions for animal treatment”, or if they’re going to take a class they inquire first, “Are you going to teach the hand positions for dogs and cats?” Or they’ll see a photo of a Reiki session where I’m outside the kennel at a dog shelter and they’ll think it can’t be Reiki because I’m not touching the animal. Many people are …

Chapter 1: A Brief Introduction to the System of Reiki Ariel is a shy gray mare at BrightHaven Sanctuary in northern California. She was rescued from the Mexican rodeo circuit, and has many scars that bear testament to her difficult past. She is now living a peaceful life where humans require nothing from her, and she can just be a horse and live in her herd. Yet due to her history, she is extremely untrusting of humans. When she first arrived at the sanctuary, she would stand very far from my …