Monday, November 26, 2012

Guest blogger Cindy Hartzell; I Love Horses




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


 
Christmas offer from Cindy
 

2 comments:

  1. Yeah know about this lady, got her blog on my list, good stuff!

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    Replies
    1. Yes! Cindy is great! I´m very excited about doing workshops with her this spring :)

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