Maureen's Blog

I was so excited when I got Danielle Sender’s reading on Soldier, but reading it made me cry.  Really cry, not just a couple tears.  I could hear Soldier in every word.  I had wondered if the reading would sound genuine – really from the horse – and I was not disappointed.  It was him.  To someone else it probably is not as emotionally touching as it was (and is) to me.  The difference is one of knowing the speaker.  If you were to read the words of a stranger they might stir emotion, but to read the words of someone you know personally is very different.  Because you can put a face and personality and character to the words, the message is so much stronger.  You visualize the person speaking.  You know how they think and act.  If the words were out of character it would strike you right away that the person you know didn’t write them.  But if they are genuine, you will know that too.

That’s how it was with Soldier’s reading.  His personality and character were there.  I have read those words several times over the years and I still cry when I read them.  I cried today.

Here is Soldier’s reading, with the introduction by Danielle:

“Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to meet with Quiet Soldier.

First, let me tell you a bit about how the session with him was done. I always start by asking the animal if they are willing to communicate with me.  Doing this sets up our relationship as one of respect for each other, which is important if I am to get the most out of the session. I then explain that I was asked to speak to him by you and I’ll be asking him some questions that you would like answered.  I also extend an invitation for him to tell me anything that he would like me to pass along to you.

Animals communicate among themselves and with people by sending thought patterns. The thought patterns come to me primarily as a conversation with the animal, although this conversation is also supplemented with pictures and emotions they send. So the report consists of the messages Quiet Soldier sends to me, as well as any pictures and emotions he shares.

Here’s the communication with Quiet Soldier after he agreed to communicate with me.

The first thing I asked Quiet Soldier is if I can call him Soldier for short or does he wish to be called by another name. He said that Soldier is fine.

Soldier said that he really wants you to know how much he appreciates being cared for by you. He said that he can tell you are genuinely concerned about him and this makes him very happy. Soldier said that he’s a realist in that he knows he won’t be able to survive long without someone who will care for him. He said that he wants you to know that he’s glad that it’s you because you seem to care for him because you really want to.

I told Soldier that you want him to have a good life and that’s why you are so concerned about his health. I explained that in order to have a good life and live comfortably, he needs to be in good physical condition. I told him that you’d like to ride him more and take him out on the trails and even have him gallop if he’d like. However, you need to get his body into a better state of health.

Soldier said that he hasn’t felt good for quite some time. He said that in the past his people did not know how to care for him properly since he’s more of a high maintenance horse. I thought that the phrase “high maintenance horse” was an interesting one for him to use and asked where he got that from. He said that people in the past have said this about him and so now he thinks of himself that way. I explained to Soldier that this phrase usually means something negative and I think it would be good for him not to think in negative terms, since this may keep him from healing and getting better physically. I told Soldier that perhaps he was described this way because the people who cared for him just didn’t know how to care for him properly. I reassured him that you are trying to get to the bottom of his physical problems and fix them, so he can have a good life.

I told Soldier that you recently changed his diet and feel that this may be helping him already. I asked him if he’s feeling any better and if the diet change agrees with him.

Soldier said that he knew his diet was different but he didn’t realize that this was the reason for the changes in his body. He said that he is definitely feeling different. I asked him to describe what he means by different. Soldier said that his muscles have felt stiff for quite some time. He said that he feels he can’t stretch them without having some pain. (Maureen he was sending me pictures of him being very stiff and even though he wants to stretch, he can’t.) Soldier said that this has been painful for him, even when he is not doing much of anything. He said that he’s tried to ignore it but it’s hard to ignore.

Soldier said that he’s beginning to feel like he can stretch out some. He said that he feels looser and is starting to feel more flexible. Soldier said that it’s not a huge difference but after the discomfort he’s been in, he can definitely feel something positive happening.

(Maureen, this all seems to be muscle related.)

I told Soldier that you also noticed that he sweats like he might be having colic, but yet he isn’t. I asked him what this is about. Soldier said that he thinks there is an imbalance in his system, which was not being corrected by his diet. He said that when the imbalance gets particularly bad and many different parts of his body are fighting over what little he has in his system, he sometimes sweats. He said that his body gets very confused because different areas want the nutrients and his body gets stressed. He said that he himself does not feel stressed but his body does. Soldier said that it’s like different parts of his body are playing tug of war and when it gets overly tense he starts to sweat.

Soldier said that he feels different now. He said that different parts of his body are still competing for the nutrients but his diet change is causing this to lessen. Soldier said that he’s glad this is happening because it’s very difficult on him when his body gets tense like it has in the past.

I told Soldier that you know he has problems with his feet, plus his stiffness, but you want to be sure that you haven’t missed any other problems that he might have. I emphasized that you really want to help him, so you want to be sure that you haven’t missed anything that you might be able to help.

Soldier said that it makes him so happy that you care so much about him. He got extremely emotional over this. He said that he was so sure he would not have a good home again where he would be cared for well. Soldier said that he just can’t thank you enough for caring for him like you do.

Soldier said that his body in general just does not feel as if it is all that healthy. He said that he feels if he were to get ill, he would not be able to fight it off. Soldier said that even though you have been feeding him well, his body is still weak and has trouble staying healthy. Soldier said that he hopes that the diet he now has will allow all of his body to get stronger and healthier. (Maureen, from what he’s describing, it’s almost as if he’s lacking a particular nutrient or mineral. He seems to be describing an immune system that has been compromised and it will take him a while to get back into good health.

Soldier said that his body has been so out of balance that even when you were feeding him well, his body wasn’t using his food efficiently. He said that he just felt tired a lot and also stiff. I asked Soldier if this has anything to do with him not keeping weight on. He said that it has a lot to do with this. He said that his body wasn’t getting everything out of the feed. Now he feels that there is something else in his feed that is letting his body gain the benefit of his food. Soldier said that he doesn’t know if this is perfect for him, but it is certainly much better.

I asked Soldier if there’s anything else that can be done for him to help his health. Soldier said that the biggest thing is for him to get his body back in balance. He said that this will solve many of his problems. He said that the key to his health is the proper food and nutrients. Soldier said that once this is solved, then the physical problems he has will go away and new ones will be prevented.

I asked Soldier what his life was like before you got him. Soldier said he had some very good times in his life and then he also had some times where people did not know how to care for him well. He said that he has always tried to stay positive and keep hoping that as he got older, in particular, he would have a good home for his later years. Soldier said that his one big fear is that his last years would not be good. He said that he’s always felt if his last years were good, then he could forgive the rest.

Soldier said that he doesn’t really want to dwell on his past. He said that this is behind him and he doesn’t want to concentrate on negative things. He did say that his young years were a lot of fun. He said that he good times with his mother, who taught him a great deal about people, and he liked having a lot of room to run when he was very young. (It seems like he was with some other foals or yearlings, as he sent me pictures of them all running and having a good time. He really liked to play.)

(Maureen, he really didn’t want to talk that much about his past, especially where there seemed to be some time when he wasn’t handled all that well. If you have some specifics about his past that you want me to focus on, please let me know and I’ll try to get more information from him…no extra change. I just felt he was really closing up about this and didn’t want to talk about it. There seem to be some bad memories that he didn’t want to discuss.)

I asked Soldier if he’s happy now. He said that there is absolutely no doubt about this and he thought it was funny that you asked. Soldier said that his body is not fully content yet but his mind is. He said that he knows he will be well cared for and safe where he is now.

I asked Soldier if there’s anything you can do to make him happier. Soldier said that happy for him is to be content in body, mind and spirit. He said that his mind is at ease and so is his spirit. He said that his body is making good strides but has some way to go. Soldier said that when he can feel fully useful again then he’ll be happiest, so whatever you can do to help his physical problems will be important.

I told Soldier that you plan to ride him on the trail and he said that he really enjoys this. He said he likes to feel close to his rider and trail riding is one of the best ways for the rider and horse to be joined. He said that he wants to feel good enough to really enjoy the ride and look forward to them. Soldier said that it’s very important that he feel useful. He said that he needs to have a purpose in his life, whether it’s taking someone for a ride or keeping other horses company. He just wants to have a purpose and then he will feel happy and satisfied.

(Maureen, Soldier has a very, very strong sense of having to do something with his life as he gets older. You can speak out loud to him in short, simple sentences and he’ll understand you if you want to tell him what his job is. Even if he retires, he’ll need a job, like watching over the other horses or being a mentor for new horses. He doesn’t want to just waste away.)

I told Soldier that those are all the questions you had for him today and asked if there is anything else he’d like to tell you before we close.

Soldier said that he wants to thank you for watching over him so well and making his life a safe one. He said that he hopes he can repay you by getting stronger and doing whatever it is that you’d like him to do. He said that he owes you a great deal already and he likes to repay his debts. I told him that I’m sure you don’t expect repayment, however, you would very much like to see him healthy and happy. Soldier said that he wants this for himself also and he wants you to be happy with him.

And with that, the communication ended.

As you can see, Quiet Soldier had quite a bit to say. At the end of the session, I told him that he may contact me at any time in the future if he needs me to get a message to you.”

I was surprised by only two things. First that he liked me, I honestly had no idea. Soldier was not one really show his emotions.   The second thing that really surprised me was his mentioning he’d like to mentor young horses.  I totally couldn’t see it at all.  He was so closed off – or that’s how he appeared.  In fact the only time I saw him show emotion was when he would spot a palomino.  His head would go up, he would get excited, he would call.  He would be so wound up, and then when the other horse would get close, there would be a huge disappointment.  His head would go down as he realized it wasn’t the horse he thought he’d recognized, and he would almost sigh.  It was clear to me that he must have had a very close palomino friend.

No sooner did I get the reading than a yearling warmblood colt arrived to live in the pasture.  To my shock and amazement, Soldier took him under his wing immediately.  He watched him, he trained him, he protected him, he disciplined him, he spent all day looking after that baby.  Clearly Danielle’s reading had been accurate, and I now saw a side of Soldier I never would have imagined.  Soldier the teacher.

Danielle’s reading confirmed for me the reality of animal communication.  Animals hear us really well, they understand what we say both to them and about them.  Many people deny animal communication based on the fact that animals don’t always do what we say, or what we want them to do.  To me that only proves that they truly are independent, sentient, creatures.  I have three sons, they understand English, but that in no way guaranteed they would do what I said or what I wanted!!!  Why should animals be any different?

I had already learned a lot more about horses just by letting Soldier roam free on the property.  Even though I had always given my horses “free time”, times when they could do only what they wanted to do, this was different.  Then it was just intuitive, it came naturally to me – or my horses had been very good at communicating their desires to me!  Now, however, I was paying attention.  I was observing with intent.

In the evenings when I’d let Soldier out to graze, I would hand graze Huey.  He was young, healthy, and I hadn’t had him very long, I was afraid to let him loose.  After a while though, I decided to let him go with the lead rope on.  He’d graze like that and actually stayed closer to me than Soldier did.  Eventually I took the lead rope off and both of them were free to go where they liked.  Huey consistently stayed fairly close, and Soldier, always one to flaunt his special privileges, would go further, as if to make a point with Huey.

I realize now that this was a turning point for me.  I had always given my horses a lot of leeway – and a lot of credit for being intelligent – but now it was different.  Only when the horses were free to do whatever they wanted could I see who they really were and learn what they really thought.

I had had Soldier only 10 months and he had changed me forever.  He had restored my joy in horses and he had opened my eyes.  Now, instead of unconsciously being in tune with horses, my goal was to become consciously aware.  More than that, he had started me on a journey.  I had become a student of the horse.  This time, from the horse’s perspective.  I had learned barefoot, become open to new healing modalities, become a proponent of natural horse keeping, bitless riding, and now animal communication.

Where would I be lead next?

To be continued . . .

Mr. Muscle was blind in his right eye and liked to go. He was a rental and I had never been on him before. This was in Rockport, MA, back in the day, when you could rent a horse and then go wherever you wanted. In this photo he is not standing still, as evidenced by his forelock and the fact that the bit is blurry. I am completely relaxed and unconsciously have just the right amount of pressure on the reins to keep him dancing in place while my grandmother snapped a photo. The smile is not for the camera – I’ve always hated having my picture taken – it’s the joy that I had as a child anytime I was in the saddle – the joy I had lost somewhere over time.

Today, I would not be looking at the camera!