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| Guest blogger Cindy Hartzell |
My friend Cindy recently got nominated ”Top business woman in pet
and horse industry” http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/news_updates/9795.asp
In her work she improves the life for
horses around the world. She´s going to be a guest blogger here on http://discoveringranchlife.blogspot.com
this winter. This is an introduction to her work written by Cindy herself as
the first in a series about Equine Wellness. During spring she´s going to have
workshops at Northcutt Ranch. Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an
email for more information or to secure your spot!
I
Love Horses by Cindy Hartzell
“I love horses and I am going to be horse
trainer when I grow up!” I proudly proclaimed to my parents when I was 7 years
old. “Oh Cindy don’t be ridiculous! You can’t train horses you don’t know how
and you can’t make any money doing that!”
Little did I know that their response would
have a life-long effect on me and the paths I would choose in my life. I
remember that moment as if it were yesterday, I was so sad to hear that I could
not be what I dreamed of being when I grew up.
I got my first horse when I was 11 years
old and so began the journey of putting my dream into action. I spent every
moment I could with my horse and when I wasn’t with him I was constantly
thinking about him. Waiting for that next moment that I would jump upon his back
and we would be free. Running along the hillsides getting lost in the moment
and leaving all my worries behind.
Fast forward about 14 years and this is
when I started to actually earn a living working with horses, livestock, cats
and dogs as a veterinary technician. I was lucky enough to have a veterinarian
who saw something in me that my parents did not. I was in heaven and thrived in
my career.
Twenty-five years later I am sitting
here typing this article and I am married to a veterinarian and we own a
practice in Truckee California. I have spent my life striving to learn as much
as I can about horses along with ways of bettering their lives and how I engage
with them.
My intention has always been to create
more harmony between horses and people through compassion and respect for these
amazing animals, what I began to discover was a level of healing that takes
place in the heart and soul of horses and humans through this approach.
I have always communicated with animals
and they communicate with me. I thought that everyone did this until it was
pointed out to me one day that others do not have this ability. I then began to
focus on intentionally developing this skill and ways to use it to help horses.
This took me in the direction of becoming a Reiki (universal life energy)
Master Teacher and an Animal Acupressure massage therapist, equine
aroma-therapist and an equine assisted learning coach.
I now combine all of my skills that I
have acquired over the years and use them to help horses to co-exist with
humanity in a way that is as natural as can be achieved. Horses make wonderful
partners and companions. They have this ability to put us in the present moment
and often relieve the stress and tension we are experiencing from the hectic lives
we lead.
They can do this because they are
sentient beings and will often literally absorb our negative energy and this is
how we can walk away from time spent with them feeling so much better. But what
does this do to them? How are they affected by their environment and other
things they are exposed to?
Often it will appear in a behavioral issue
such as weaving, cribbing or penning their ears back at anyone coming near
them. Other times it can appear as a physical condition and an emotional issue.
I communicate with horses to help their
people understand what is bothering them.
By giving reiki and using aromatherapy along with my understanding of
medical issues, I can help the horses to release the things that are hindering
them from performing to their highest abilities and create a greater level of
happiness.
Sometimes the source of the problem is
not so much the horse rather it is the relationship between horse and rider
that is impeding their ability to achieve the goals they are striving to
obtain. This is where I will have the two of them do some experiential learning
activities to help identify where the breakdown or obstacles may be in their
relationship and together we create a plan to overcome them.
Looking back on my life I cannot say
that I am a horse trainer, however what I can say with great pride is that I
have created a way to help horses and humans to achieve a deeper level of
harmony, compassion and healing.
I am living my dream with horses by
helping others to achieve their dreams with horses.
Cindy
Hartzell (530) 386-3639
Yeah know about this lady, got her blog on my list, good stuff!
ReplyDeleteYes! Cindy is great! I´m very excited about doing workshops with her this spring :)
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