If your horse or pony (or sheep, dog, cat, ferret - you get the idea), could talk, what would they say about you?⁠ ⁠

Thanks to Rachael Beesley of Equisentient Coaching, I recently had the chance to find out.⁠ ⁠

There are three things about Rachael I really like:

• Firstly, she’s not at all woo woo.  While I have nothing against the cosmic, tie-dyed and incense burning brigade, that whole thing just doesn't work for me.  Rachael is reassuringly down to earth.
• Secondly, she’s a lovely straight forward, bubbly yet sensitive and respectful person who instantly puts you at ease. 
• And thirdly, I like her for her ethics. One of the things she said really resonated with me - “I don’t want to read his diary as it were, I won’t get into his head, I take only the information he offers”.

Now I’ve long believed in, and been been fascinated by, the idea of animal communication, it literally blows my mind to think how intuitive animals actually are, what they're capable of, and what doors can be opened, and misunderstandings cleared up, by animal communication.  Honestly, if I could choose one super power, it would be to talk to animals.

Having said that though,  I’ve been very reluctant to try it myself, as I was utterly convinced that all of my shortcomings as an owner/butler/general dogsbody would be laid bare for everyone to hear.

So it was with some trepidation I took part in one of Rachaels virtual demos, along with 5 others, to hopefully have a chat to Romany. When I say trepidation, seriously, I was sweating bullets!!⁠  And do you know what the first words Romany said were?  He said  “well she doesn’t always get it right, but she does always try her best”. Honestly, I was absolutely shocked. You see, there are times when I just don’t have the time, money or energy I feel he deserves, and I beat myself up over it. And I have always assumed that he would too. So on hearing his opening gambit, my heart just melted.⁠ ⁠ 

We also established he’s picked up some less than flowery vocabulary from me - yep, he dropped the "F" bomb!!  I don’t know whether to be absolutely mortified, or quietly proud!⁠ ⁠

I've had some other chats with him, via Rachael, since that first demo. And we've covered a lot of different subjects, mostly at his instigation!  I've been able to explain a few things he's been wondering about (why his grass is restricted at the moment, and why we've only been going on short walks), and also gained some fascinating insights into how he thinks, and how he somehow knows what's going on in my head.  We even briefly discussed social media, explaining why I take so many pictures of him!  I described it as being "for work - people like to see him".  He proclaimed them as "nosey buggers"!!!!  I had to laugh!

It is very clear he has an opinion about everything!  Even me. He once explained he wasn’t very impressed with people he met earlier in his life. And he didn’t expect to, or want to, like me very much when he came to live with me all those years ago.  But he’s come to love me. And I truly couldn’t ask for anything more from him.  My heart just about burst.  

The interesting thing here is, we didn't have any big problems we needed to "fix".  There were no behavioural issues (for him or for me!), no big stumbling blocks.  We get along pretty well, and although he's opinionated, he really is the Goodest.  Boy.  Ever.  But since our calls with Rachael, and the insights into how he thinks and what he knows, our bond is stronger than ever.  And I now know that my instincts with him, how I manage him and approach things with him, are pretty much spot on.  Which has resulted in a tremendous feeling of inner peace and confidence on my part.  He of course already knew he was awesome!

Now I didn’t tell you all this so you know what a brilliant owner I am. Not at all. Because really, I'm not.  I'm just like you, I struggle sometimes.  Time, energy, money, intuition - all are occasionally in short supply.  I’m telling you this so that the next time you beat yourself up over something you have or haven’t done, you stop, and just give your horse a hug. Because the chances are, he knows you’re doing your best. And he loves you for it.

(If you'd like to  find out more about Rachael and what she does, I've added a link to her website here).

See 'ee drekly

Chelle x