By: Deb Kitchenmaster
Monday, July 23, I sat in a studio waiting for the countdown to begin a thirty minute interview with host Jim Swanner, “ALL ABOUT HORSES,” WKAC 1080 AM radio station, and live streaming on Facebook. This was the first time I’d met Jim, but I must tell you, I felt like I’d known him all my life. It was live radio, so you simply had to ‘go with the flow,’ much like you do when you are with a horse. Also, comparable to how we do in life when we flow with the unforced rhythms of God’s grace.
Something we talked about is how amazing it is what horses do to people or another way of saying that is, it’s amazing what horses cause people to realize about themselves. Jim shared a story about how one winter he simply was sick. He went out to a pasture and fell asleep sitting on a barrel. When he woke up, he had six horses with their heads down facing him. He had an emotional moment. Waking to the sensitivity of these beautiful animals looking at you like, “Hey you’re not alone,” is quite touching. Tears were the language of the emotions he was experiencing.
I told the story of the figure-eight pattern, how on an ordinary day a gal came out to do a medical procedure for some insurance my husband was applying for. When her daughter drove slowly down our long driveway to pick her mother up, five of our horses in the east pasture began running up towards the house. We witnessed these five horses, (5 is the number for grace), single-file do a perfect figure- eight in the corner of the pasture where the car stopped. She looked at me and asked, “What are they doing?” I said, “I don’t have a clue.” What was interesting is what came out of my mouth next. “Someone in the car must need this.” We were not living in the area at the time the news reported about two children found in an apartment. She and her husband adopted these little ones. They were in the car that day.
At that time I did not have an understanding of the figure eight pattern. It would be years later, when I did my training to become an Animal B.E.S.T. practitioner, that I would understand it to mean ‘cross-crawl configuration’ that causes ‘internal’ thermostats to be reset. Though I didn’t understand what the horses were doing that day, they did. They instinctively blessed these grown little ones with a ‘reset.’ Talk about standing in awe. That would be saying the least. Comments were made about how hearing, seeing, ‘healing’ stories bring up emotions. They really do. Horses stir up emotions inside of us effortlessly.
Jim mentioned how horses pull our heart strings. He mentioned that there have been times when he has cried after discovering something about himself because of interacting with a horse. As we rested in the presence of the Rider of the White Horse, we connected with ‘passion’ to the point that it was like ‘”Wow! Don’t know if I can handle anymore ‘WOW’ moments,” and we laughed.
I told a story about a gal who came out for a group round-pen session. There was a ‘moment’ when I connected tenderly with the mare in the round pen. God reached inside this individual’s soul and healed a wound that she had carried for years, spending thousands of dollars on therapy. The wound was from a broken relationship with her mother. (Thankfully, she wrote me and told me her experience or I would not have been able to share this with you). When she returned to her home from the session, her phone was ringing. It was her mother! Praise God. This was a life-changing experience.
Jim mentioned that horses are God’s favorite animal. What do you think?
“This has been an ‘emotional’ show.” Indeed it was.
The Rider of the White Horse wants to restore emotions to your life. He can do that with a horse or without. If your heartstrings are being lead to a horse, give either Jim Swanner jim@jimswanner.com a shout out or contact Corral Connections at www.corralconnections.com. We will be there for you.
