Photo by Philippa Rose-Tite on Unsplash

What’s in a name?

Does it matter to animals what we name them?

I was called by a barn manager of a farm in Kentucky about a horse who had been abandoned because his owner was unable to pay his board. To get their money back, the farm owner assigned one of the trainers to work with the gelding.

The farm wanted to get the horse fit enough for hunter competitions in Florida that winter.  If the horse did well at some horse shows, the farm would be able to sell him and make back some or all of the money they were owed.  If he did really well, they might even make a profit.

However, the trainer was having serious problems with the horse.  “Devil” was extremely spooky and unable to relax and concentrate while he was being ridden. The gelding did not go quietly on the flat, so progressing to jumping was impossible.

At my request, they put the trainer, Ted, on the phone to answer my questions and see if he and I together could talk with the horse.

Ted told me riding “Devil” was like sitting on a volcano ready to explode, and that he usually did explode at least once during the ride. Ted gave me a physical description so I could make a strong connection with “Devil.”

The first thing “Devil” told me was that he hated his name.

“People don’t trust me because of my name,” he said. “I want to be called ‘Just Plain Joe.’  ‘Joe’ is a nice, safe-sounding name.”

I asked Devil if he had trouble behaving because he felt he had to live up to his old name.

I’m just doing what everyone seems to expect of me,” he replied.

With Ted’s agreement to call him “Joe”, I felt the horse’s energy soften a bit and his attitude shifted to an increased willingness to work with me and Ted.  I needed Joe to trust me because I was about to ask him for something very intimate.

“Joe,” I said, “I would like to come into your body and feel what you are feeling when Ted is on your back. Would you please let me do that?”

I immediately found myself inside Joe, as if I had put on Joe’s skin.  Joe was there with me.

It was not pleasant to be in Joe’s skin. The energy felt prickly, as if bees were stinging him all over his body.  Joe confirmed that this was the reason he was “spooky”. He just couldn’t relax and concentrate on what Ted asked of him because his body was so uncomfortable.

I also realized that Joe was not grounded, meaning his spirit didn’t settle all the way down into his feet and make connection with the Earth. This was probably because it was just too uncomfortable for him to be fully in his physical body.

In the Animal Communication session, we set up a Plan of Action for helping Joe:

• Changing “Devil” to a new name, “Just Plain Joe.”  His barn name became “Joe.”
• Energy healing to clear his aura of the painful static.
• Grounding and balancing Joe’s energy bodies so he could be more relaxed and connected with the Earth.
• Some suggestions for Ted to help Joe become more comfortable and tuned in to a rider’s communication.

After a few weeks, Joe was considered ready to go to Florida for the winter hunter circuit.

I don’t know the final outcome for Joe, but clearly Animal Communication and Energy Healing helped Joe get a new chance at a good life.