It is important that you know I only practice bodywork if your horse gives me permission to do so. There are many reasons for this, including my personal ethics around holding respect for your horse as a sentient and sovereign being whose voice deserves to be heard and whose choices deserve to be honoured.

From a practical healing standpoint, consent is necessary because I need the horse’s mind and body to be on board with the healing process. Bodywork practitioners don’t do the healing; the body heals itself. Bodyworkers are really catalysts for that healing, but the body cannot be forced to heal. So if I don’t have the horse’s consent to work with the body, very little healing will take place. And the healing that does begin often doesn’t hold long term.

Also, after working with countless horses who have been labeled as highly sensitive, reactive or dangerous, I have learned that my consent-based approach has made the difference in allowing these horses to feel safe enough to not only receive bodywork, but have some of the fastest and most profound healing journeys. These horses are often holding the most discomfort in their bodies and so when they realize that I am there to work with them, that I won’t push them beyond their threshold and their bodies can relax and receive the work, they usually end up becoming bodywork junkies!

And this is why Equi-Bow can have such positive impacts for a horse’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. Because a body that is comfortable and functioning as it was designed is a happier, healthier, more vibrant horse who is also more capable of performing their job, whether that’s a weekly hack, grand prix competition, working cattle, equine-assisted therapy or anything in between.