Several horse people/trainers characterize horses in different ways but can be difficult to use and may not be as effective. With these FIVE ELEMENTS, we can more easily understand the individual horse and help it feel good and stay healthy. Each horse embodies common physical and behavioral characteristics of the Five Elements of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM).
By understanding how the Five Element patterns relate to your horse, you can learn how to keep your horse healthy and happy on a deep, lasting level. We can also complement it by learning acupressure through simple touch to bring health and happiness to our horses.
In a series of articles on my website, I describe the five different horse elements from Susan Tenney, an international teacher, author and practitioner of Shiatsu and Five Element Acupressure for animals. She describes the Five Elements in Classical Chinese Medicine and how to find out which element one's horse (or dog) belongs to. The elements are FIRE, EARTH, WATER, WOOD and METAL .
THE WATER ELEMENT
Wise, changeable, mysterious, sensitive
Organs: The kidneys
A horse that is an unusual and sensitive horse that has symptoms you have difficulty putting your finger on can be a Water horse. Water horses are different from the others so if you are looking for a "normal" horse, this is not for you.
Water horses are quirky and unusual, constantly confusing their owners, trainers, riders and veterinarians with their strange behaviors and undiagnosed ailments. Accept your Water Horse as your teacher and guide. It is wise and can help you on your way and shows you a lot along the way.
While this horse can be your teacher on a spiritual level, here on earth, just to be safe, you should still be a leader of the Water Horse during riding, training and fieldwork. Water horses benefit from herbs, acupressure and lifestyle changes that balance the Water element.
Properties:
Water Horses often take on the characteristics of one of the other elements, masquerading as a Wood, Earth, Metal, or Fire Horse. Water horses are physically and emotionally sensitive. They need to bond and trust their person, as they will do anything for that person and be wonderful to work with. Soft, kind and rare.
Water horses catalyze profound change in the lives of the people they are closest to. On the bright side, if the two of you are a good match, your connection with this horse will be deeper and more emotionally satisfying than with any other horse you've known.
Its wisdom will catalyze deep and lasting change in your life. Many Water Horse owners see their horse as a spiritual teacher with four legs. You may also be surprised to find yourself discovering a different way of looking at things after living in its presence.
The key to understanding Water Horses is to "expect the unexpected". Water horses are always changing. You may think your horse is an Earth-Wood-Fire or Metal constitution, but don't be fooled. Like a chameleon that changes its color but is still a chameleon, the Water Horse may look like another element on the outside, but these are just passing phases.
These "elemental "masks" can last for months, even years. Then suddenly your slow Earth horse turns into an athletic dynamo. It is as if the horse has become a Wooden Horse overnight. This sudden change of character suggests the essential water nature of your horse.
You can refer to the previous elements to help you understand these temporary “masks”. Trust your mystical Water Horse, yourself and your intuition. Trust your relationship. This horse has plans for you. The only question is whether you are prepared to jump into the deep water! If not, you will be happier with another horse. If so, get ready for a unique adventure!
Behavior:
Water horses are especially sensitive to repressed emotions under a layer of fake smiles. For example, when there are major disturbances in the stable that create chaos among the incorporeal, but everyone pretends it doesn't exist, the Water Horse can become difficult to handle or develop a whooping cough. This horse is emotionally sensitive. If you act differently than you feel, it perceives it as a lie and lies and disturbs the horse deeply. Learn to express your feelings honestly and seek companions who do the same.
When the Water Horse doesn't trust you, good luck! They can be difficult to catch, flighty, tense and anxious with a need to move. When they are restricted in movement, they can get claustrophobic and become explosive. Water horses show lightning-fast behavioral changes. They can go from calm to fully panicked in a matter of seconds.
It's as if someone flipped a switch and the horse spins around and shimmies away as if its survival depended on it. Then it can regain composure almost as quickly and give you a "what happened?" min.
At this point, reprimanding is useless because the "good" horse would be confused as to why it is being disciplined. Because the Water Horse's demeanor can change quickly, the owner/rider/trainer must remain ready to shift immediately to stay on top of potential situations.
Suitable for:
"Porslin horse", leisure horse, quiet activities
Training:
Owning a Water Horse will challenge you to reevaluate long-held assumptions about horse training and health care. You may need to experiment with unusual training methods to help this horse perform better.
You may discover alternative wellness methods in your quest to improve your horse's odd physical symptoms. Water Horses like calm and peaceful exercises and often respond best to energy-based techniques such as acupressure, acupuncture, homeopathy, healing essences, Reiki, etc.
If you want to be just like everyone else in the stable, you should give it up. Other horse owners may think you're crazy, but you see your horse getting healthier and happier and you know you were right to risk trying a new way of doing things. You learn to trust yourself and your horse instead of relying solely on conventional teaching. You might even end up teaching these friends a thing or two.
As you connect visions, dreams, and communications given to you by the Water Horse, trust what you pick up, regardless of what conventional "lore" may dictate. This horse goes beyond the conventional. If it comes to you in a dream and tells you about its athletic aspirations, give that information serious consideration.
If you notice that the horse is lame every time you have a race scheduled, it is telling you that it does not want to be a race horse. In some cases, you may have to accept that your Water Horse is happiest as a leisure horse. In that case, if you still want to ride or compete, you may need to consider getting another horse. If you can understand what is really going on with your Water Horse, you have taken the first step towards a happy life together. Understand the REAL situation and it will be fine.
Physical health:
Does your Water Horse have a lameness, skin problem or behavior pattern that defies diagnosis? Does it seem to be sensitive to everything in its environment? Water horses tend to be plagued with unique physical problems that leave a conventional veterinarian scratching their head. But these odd conditions are real, and their origins often lie in unexpected places.
For example, Water Horses are very sensitive to the emotional environment. A water horse can develop lameness when the emotions in the stable are high performance pressure for an upcoming competition. Don't dismiss these physical reactions as mere coincidence. They tell you that you should pay close attention to the emotions that surround your horse every day.
Water horses also react to energy influences such as high power electrical lines passing through their pasture or backyard. And they are sensitive to physical substances such as pesticides or chemical shampoos. They warn us about the toxicity of everyday animal husbandry practices. Again, don't dismiss this reaction, instead look for solutions.
Perhaps you need to learn how to use feng shui to mitigate the effect of power lines or experiment with natural skin care solutions such as bug repellants (for children) or natural shampoos. If you feel uncomfortable going against conventional things, remember that you are a trendsetter not a kuf!
To be or not to be! It is not uncommon for Water Horses to experience life-threatening situations, sometimes more than once. They can suffer severe colic, career-ruining injuries or chronic illnesses. Horses rescued from malnutrition or other abuse often show strong water characteristics.
Water horses (and dogs) have been known to go to the brink of death, only to miraculously return, forcing you to rethink your notions of what is and isn't possible. Others pass over early, as if they had learned what they needed in this life and were ready to move on. Still others are well into old age, teaching from their deep well of wisdom.
SUMMARY
Emotional Character
Emotional Strengths: Wisdom, spiritual connection may display any or all of the emotional strengths the other four elements possess, deep sense of personal destiny, committed to fulfilling this destiny against all odds (or opposition from you)
Stressed by: Emotional dishonesty, chaos, emotional insensitivity, conventional lifestyle and expectations, emotional difficulties in living and working environment, people who think this horse is "just a horse"
Balanced by: Emotional honesty and forthrightness, rest time, healing, emotional processing with caregiver/trainer/animal communicator, emotional respect
Vulnerable to: Extreme sensitivity, may show emotional weakness in the other four elements, extreme display of behavior, especially fear/panic as if its survival is threatened
Responds to stress with: Strange or extreme behavior, sometimes self-destructive, odd physical ailments linked to emotional stress (personal or environmental), stall vices such as weaving and crib biting
Learning Style: Takes advantage of deep, intimate connection with a partner, close attention to the horse's REAL goals/destiny. Learning style is heavily influenced by the “mask element.
Tips for success: Trust the relationship between you and your horse, trust yourself and your intuition in making decisions about the horse, expect the unexpected, look deeply and creatively for solutions, maintain appropriate leadership during handling for safety but otherwise let yourself be guided on unique path to personal development, surrender to your destiny with this partner or sell the horse!
Physical character
Favorite sports : No single sport/pattern. While some are amazing performance horses, many develop ailments or behavior that exclude them from hard competition, especially if they don't feel respect from the rider/trainer
Common health problems: Odd, even bizarre symptoms many of which will confuse the vet, chronic illness - sometimes debilitating, head tremors, EPM, Lyme disease, Herpes, chronic skin irritation causing constant itching or discomfort especially mane, tail and belly, midline strongest affected, broken bones, hearing loss, stiffness, arthritis, lumbar (lower back) pain or weakness, difficulty gathering or engaging the rear, unusual water- and/or salt consumption, sensitivity to cold, urinary tract infections, reproductive disorders (ie: fertility problems, thyroid problems. Water Horses can also show symptoms of their masked Elements.
Wellness Tips: Balance between work and rest – especially for competition horses, high quality feed, salt (Himalayan or other specialty salts), bone/joint supplements, ensure horse's home is emotionally and physically healthy, avoid stables close to electrical towers or other structures with high electromagnetic fields, pay attention to water quality, use healing essences such as Bach flowers to support emotional balance, research competition goals to see if they are supported or rejected by the horse.
If you think you have a Water Horse, you have challenges to deal with in caring for it. First and foremost, embrace the adventure, expect the unexpected and listen to your horse partner. Abandon your dreams of riding Grand Prix dressage – or even riding at all – and begin a deep relationship with the horse to see where its destiny truly lies.
You may have bought your horse for competition, but it may have other ideas! Reveal the Water Horse's plans and be open to new forms of intuitive communication. It can speak to you in dreams or through an animal communicator.
It needs your full attention to help you make progress in both emotional and spiritual development! Are you ready for it? If you think you are, then you will be fine! Water Horses need a patient, calm person who will take the time to bring out their wonderful refined, fine qualities in a productive way. They like calm and peaceful exercises that help them stay in their bodies.
The organ connected to Water Horses is the kidneys. They may need extra magnesium like Fire Horses due to depletion and muscle tension. They may need extra minerals in general and support for their joints and bones. Omega oil supplements such as flax and chia, algae and seaweed and alfalfa can help Water Horses where they need extra support. Essential oils can go a long way as well to help them relax and be calm.
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