Lessons of Life and Love

Tom, Equine Lymphedema case study.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:25:00 GMT

This is a poignant story about a draft horse named Tom who had equine lymphedema and the people who worked to save him. It’s about the legacy and the hoof prints he left behind to raise awareness concerning the plight of equine lymphedema. It is our hope that Tom will inspire hope in owners and promote a higher standard of living and functionality to the horse that has been inflicted with this chronic, progressive disease.

In mid December 2009 we were contacted by equine massage therapist at Blue Star Equiculture and Horse Sanctuary (a draft horse rescue operation) in Palmer, Massachusetts. They had a draft horse named Tom who had equine lymphedema.

Tom had worked for many years as a carriage horse in Philadelphia. He had been working despite his condition up until May 2009, when Blue Star offered him a home as he was no longer able to perform his duty as a carriage horse.

Tom’s left hind leg was enormous and he had difficulty moving around. The condition is quite painful as the skin is stretched so tight that it begins to crack and form crusty lesions that ooze and invite infection. Like many owners of horses with lymphedema, Blue Star considered euthanizing Tom because there was no known cure or treatment for this debilitating disease of the lymph system.

We arrived on Sat. Jan 9, 2010 to find the entire staff from Blue Star on-site, including volunteers, an equine massage therapist and an equine chiropractor. It was one of the coldest days of the year, with temperatures near zero degrees. Seeing Tom from a distance, it was clear he was quite compromised. He had no flexion in his fetlock and he was very uncomfortable.

Tom was brought up to the barn and therapy was started immediately. First he received the Layman’s Grooming Technique to stimulate the lymphatic system, followed by manual lymph drainage massage.

During the grooming technique and most of the massage, he constantly fidgeted to let us know he didn’t really want to be there. However, once the massage began on his affected limb, he stood perfectly still as if he knew we were helping him. His poor leg felt like cement.

Following the massage, his leg was wrapped according to a new protocol. It took two people to wrap his leg as the diameter was 37 inches. If the leg was not wrapped in a certain manner with specific material, further damage to the extremity could result. There is an art and skill in lymphedema wrapping that is developed over time. At about 4 pm, the day’s treatment was complete. The next morning would reveal whether our efforts would pay off!

By Sunday morning at around 7 am, the bandages fell several inches which meant the lymph fluid was leaving his body via urination. In about 14 hrs his leg inflammation was reduced by 25%! With continued grooming, massage and wrapping we were hopeful his leg would continue to improve. The limb would never be completely normal, but he could have a good quality of life and usefulness. With an extremity this large, we knew it would take some time to maximize the benefits of treatment. On Sunday morning he was rewrapped again and for the first time since his arrival in May 2009 his leg appeared much improved.

Tom had a host of infections on his leg due to the lymphedema and they were improved as well. For the first time in many months Tom frolicked around the field when he was turned out! He had flexion restored in both his hoof and fetlock. One of the volunteers commented that he looked very much relieved. Every morning and night the staff wrapped and bandaged his leg and progress continued. We were so hopeful we ordered a customized compression garment from Germany as an adjuvant. Amy Farber, one of the volunteers, did an outstanding job and must be recognized for her dedication and commitment to Tom. She took responsibility for his care and even established a liver detox program and provided him with nutritional support including a probiotics regimen. By May 2010, Tom had lost allot of weight and it became apparent he had a magnitude of other health issues beyond the lymphedema. A compromised immune system is an opportunistic environment for other pathogens. On Thursday, July 8, 2010, Blue Star made the difficult decision to euthanize Tom on Monday, July 12, 2010.

We have requested a hoof print from Tom, which will accompany us on our travels as a reminder of Tom’s strength and courage in battling this debilitating and painful disease. Tom’s spirit will live on in our hearts and minds to inspire faith, hope, love and healing. He was surrounded by people who loved him and helped him cross over. Blue Star has made a memorial of his Tom’s life. Please visit www.equiculure.org and witness this beautiful tribute to this gentle giant. Tom doesn’t know it but he has started a legacy. Together, Tom and Gentle Touch Massage and Holistic Alternatives will raise the plight of equine lymphedema in the U.S. We hope by sharing his story, it will give hope to horse owners who have an equine companion who is inflicted with this disfiguring and painful condition.

We bring Tom’s story to you with deep gratitude and appreciation to Pam Richenback and Christina Hansen, founders of Blue Star, Blue Star Staff Justin, Angie, and Zoey, and volunteers Amy, Jo Bunny, Sally for making Tom’s life more comfortable and for all who participated in making his transition from this world to the next. Thanks also to Tom, for all of the future healing he will inspire.

CC - Chestnut Love

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:10:00 GMT

One never knows what kind of day they will encounter or know how it is going to end. There's a lot to be said for "business as usual." Friday, July 3, 2009 wasn't one of those days! Did you know horses can tell time? Just ask any horse owner who is a few minutes late with the feed. This morning was no exception.

Upon waking I heard Dakota, my horse, kicking his stall. It is not unusual because I was a few minutes late with their feed. I would like to think the stall kicking was Dakota's way of letting me know something was wrong with his barn buddy.

When I went outside to feed, I knew immediately there was trouble. There stood CC, our quarter horse gelding, covered in dark mud on both sides of his body and face. You couldn't see through his beautiful chestnut coat. It was just black mud. He stood there rocking back and forth. CC has been a gas colic problem in the recent months. So I started our usual gas colic routine (including banamine) but I had a sinking, sick feeling in my gut that this was "it!"

I notified my husband and called our vet, Maria. She should be used to my frantic calls in recent months. For years our vet calls were nothing more than for spring shots and occasional lameness issue with Dakota. Considering Dakota's medical history, lameness issues were not of the question. This past year has been the year from hell with multiple colics for both Dakota and CC, lameness, possible ulcers and choking. We become experts utilizing Maria's emergency protocol. God Bless her! She has always been there to answer our calls!! This morning was no exception!!

As the early morning proceeded, I called my husband to come home. Things didn't look good. CC always knew the sound of my husband's truck and would nicker when he heard it. This morning it was no different. When he heard my husband's truck coming down the road, he turned his head to the sound of his truck and nickered. I will never forget the precious moment. His Daddy was home! He left me the memory of hearing him nicker one more time. He adored my husband and my husband adored him!

We were unable to load him to take him to the vet and Maria decided it was best she come ASAP. I told her I thought he had a twisted colon and we were prepared for the worse. This wasn't his ordinary gas colic€.

Upon Maria arriving and giving CC his rectal exam. The news wasn't good! He had a displacement in his colon. Prognosis...terminal! We tried one other procedure and unfortunately, it didn't yield the results we were hoping for so we decided to euthanize him.

We acquired him 5 years ago at the age of 8 yrs. The stable where he was purchased gave him the name CC (Calm and Collective). Paul named him Cheyenne Conference.

Babies were safe on his back. As they say in the horse business, he was honest! My husband has a good eye for horses. Unknowingly when he test rode him, he had the bit upside down. CC never complained. He was very quiet but had a sadness about him. He was also a cribber. We took him any way!

When we got him home, he was wormed and passed worms for 3 days! Although he was fed at the facility we purchased him from, he wasn't getting the nutrition due to the worms. My husband rode him up and down the hilly neighborhood we have and he never complained. However, he stumbled going down the hills. When the farrier came, we discovered he had a pair of shoes that were 2 sizes too small! To say the least he hated the farrier and would not let anyone touch his feet. Shoeing was a nightmare! We eventually went to natural shoeing (bare foot) and CC's feet issues were resolved.

It took him a while to realize he had a home and people who really cared for him. Once he realized he was "safe" his true personality came through! He never got past the eating disorder and became the equine centurion of the Mueller household.

Food was always a top priority for him and we never made it an issue for him. He was an equine comedian of the horse world as well! (CC also stood for Clancy the Clown) He was hungry all the time!! He had a number of tactics for getting our attention. He would watch for the light in the bathroom, kitchen and listen for any movement in the house. He knew exactly how long it would take between the time we got up and went out side to feed. His first tactic was to nicker. If that didn't work, he would bang his bucket and we often found it sitting on top of his head. If he was really anxious and annoyed with you, he would rattle the fence until you came out of the house to feed. He created a symphony nickers, bucket banging and fence rattling.

He self-appointed himself as the equine centurion. He knew the sound of both vehicles. He would run to the side of his pen and look down the road to see us coming. As we pulled into the drive way he would run along the fence line and nicker at us even if he had food in his mouth as we pulled in the driveway. He was always happy to see us.

He was terrified of the sound of snow falling off the roof tops or trees. He would freeze in place and tremble or run into his stall and hide. He had a favorite place to crib on the fence. During a storm a large limb fell on fence where he would crib. He never cribbed on the bent fence again. I guess he figured that was a little too risky for him! We tried a lot of different things to stop the cribbing from a collar to electric fence. One day we just gave up and accepted him as a cribber. He was what he was and it was ok with us. I think CC and we were all happy at that point.

Sometimes he would just block you from during your work in the pen. He just wanted your attention and touch for one moment! A simple pet, or a run of your hand over his top line, a kiss and tell him he was a good boy was just enough reassurance and in a few seconds he would walk away.

Cesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer) says animals live in the moment. They live in the here and now. We engaged an animal communicator to try to help him with his trauma. We weren't interested in what caused the issues as much as we wanted him to know Now he was loved, safe, always would have a full belly, and would never be sold or given away. He was here until the end. We even have provisions in our will for them. This was his home and that was our promise! It is what we want to communicated to him. I think he knew it. We were true to our word.

We were hoping to have him for several more years, but his soul was called home. Most people would have sent him down the road with his gas colic and cribbing but my husband and I keep our animals to the ultimate end. We all deserve to be accepted for who and what we are regardless of our idiosyncrasies.

Our greatest joy was giving him a second chance and his joy was showing us how much he appreciated it. We saw a depressed animal emerge into a charming, loving animal companion full of life, laughter and character.

As we rearranged the barn dynamics Friday afternoon, his presence is still felt. Our herd of 3 horses is now a herd of 2. The dynamics of this loss impacted the remaining horses. Dakota (a.k.a Denise the Menace) was CC's barn buddy. He has been anxious, pacing and nickering for his buddy. Thunder, the miniature, was CC€s nickering buddy. They were the verbal bunch of the herd. Thunder is always prancing around and full of life. Thunder hasn€t nicker once Friday afternoon and his demeanor although it has been subtle it is obvious. I can€t coach them through this. I have no comforting words to say to them. Like them we all have to grin and bear it.

Saturday morning I woke up about 4 am waiting to hear his nicker. I kept tossing and turning all night. The silence was deafening. His symphony was sweet music to our ears. It will take some time to adjust, the trauma of this weekend events will fade but our love for CC and his spirit will not!

When Paul and I transition to the other side, I'm sure we will be greeted with an equine centurion chestnut faced horse named CC hanging his head over the Pearly Gates with a symphony of nickers, bucket banging, and gate rattling with hay in his mouth. He will be looking down the road anxiously waiting for our arrival. He will be anxious to see us and to welcome us home.

Love and time are powerful healers. When you heal the heart, you heal the soul. Love is about acceptance. You can't tell a horse you love them, you have to show it. Paul and I feel good about what we accomplished with CC. We are honored and privileged to have him part of our family and life experience.

Cochise - Forever Loved

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:31:00 GMT

Fourteen years ago, my husband, who has excellent taste and a good eye (in women and horses!) surprised me with a beautiful 8 yr. old quarter/ Thoroughbred cross, red & white paint. He named him Cochise. And it didn't take long to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, four years later, I lost him to laminitis/founder. I tried every avenue to save him but it wasn't meant to be.

Initially the vet suggested I not be there when we put him down, but I insisted. I told him I couldn't let a good friend die alone. As the vet injected him, Cochise drew in his last breath. He looked at my husband, then the vet and the last person he saw before he closed those beautiful brown eyes and fell gracefully to the ground, was me. I believe he knew how much I loved him and did everything in my capacity to save him.

I mourned for many years. I lamented that we had been robbed of precious time and I was very angry about it. But I gradually realized what I had been given and decided to appreciate the time together rather than rue the time I felt I was owed. Whether I had him 4 years, 14 or 28 years, it doesn't matter. We were given the opportunity to share our lives in an integrated woven tapestry between two living beings of different species. What matters is that we had each other and I cherish the love today. Since love is forever, I will have him forever. I wasn't robbed; I received one of the greatest gifts I could ask for!

Sometimes lessons take a while to sink in. Often they aren't so cut and dried and time isn't the enemy; it becomes our friend. The message may have arrived in cryptic form and we need to perform a little detective work to fully grasp them. We may intellectually understand, but it is when we accept our lessons emotionally, that change happens! It's what we do with the lessons that make the greatest difference.

A. Dakota Frost - My Guardian Angel

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:55:00 GMT

As the purpose of our website is to share our experiences with one another so we can enrich the lives and healing of others and our animal companions, I would like to share the story of my dear friend Dakota. On Monday, November 14, 2011 A Dakota Frost crossed over to the other side. His soul was called home. His mission was accomplished!

A Dakota Frost was An Angel in Disguise from my viewpoint but those who knew him thought of him as a spoiled barn brat (he was a barn brat!) but he was more than that to me! We had a shared a special bond. It was like raising a child in many respects. I had Dakota since he was 6 months old and that was 17 years ago.

Besides teaching me how to ride, he taught me to face my fears, how to care for a chronically health challenged horse and to go the extra mile and pushed me to find solutions to his health challenges. It also prepared me to find a better way when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Dakota opened the world of holistic and alternative treatments to me. Indeed I always attributed him to my healing experience. But after his passing, it just solidified it into a concrete reality!

As a massage therapist we are trained not only in the anatomy and physiology but exposed to the etheric field of the body. We all operate on various frequencies. Physics and mediums have the ability to tape into those frequencies. Because thoughts are frequencies, they have the ability to understand the thoughts being transmitted. For those non believers, think of wireless communication. I chuckle when I think about it. Wireless communication is as ancient as time! It is NOT NEW! Technology is able to tap into it and make a “connection” from one cell tower to another.

I am big believer in prayer. Prayers are thoughts. Thoughts are energy and this energy gets transmitted into various frequencies. I just absolutely love angels and cherubs. I’m a big believer in Angels. We tap into our guardian angels through pray and thoughts. The books I have read tell you to ask them for help. Angels are very much earth bound! They are here to help us so don’t be afraid to ask them for help! Well, I did and they answered my prayers and respected my wishes! Many years ago I would receive apparitions about ominous events that were about to occur within my family. It took me several years to figure it out why I was getting the apparitions! When I realized what was happening, I asked my guardian angels to stop sending me these apparitions. They sent them to me to help me prepare for what was to come. But it only made matters worse! I didn’t know who or what would happen but I knew something tragic or a passing was about to occur. The reality was I couldn’t stop it so my preference was not to know. By far it is less stressful!

Animals do think and have emotions! Since they think, they transmit thoughts. We do exchange these thoughts into frequencies with each other. Your animal is better at reading your body language and feeling your vibrations than those closest to you! During my treatment, I was able to gage my wellness on Dakota’s health. Dakota was picking up my thoughts and worry about my health and it reflected it in his. About 2-3 weeks before I received any tests which indicated further challenges in my recovery, Dakota would colic! At the time we didn’t understand it but over the past 3 years a pattern occurred and I was able to figure out what was happening. Dakota was a barometer during my cancer journey.

A few days after his passing, I contacted Karen Daly from www.animalandspirittalk.com. I had to know he was ok! Four things emerged from this event.

He said his mission was accomplished! His mission was to guide me through my health challenges and the only way to “reach me” was to have some thing big and drastic happen to him so it would get my attention.
My mission is to help heal others both human and animal. Go forth!
Take care of my health.
Get enough sleep! I recognized this as a validation she was really in touch with Dakota. The night he passed I was unable to sleep. I was on raw emotion and in disbelief. I would twist and turn. I heard my husband sleep as well as his alarm clock ticking. The first week of his passing my sleep patterns were disrupted.

The night he colic I realized how much he trusted me. Paul came into the house to tell me Dakota was down. It was already dark and I couldn’t see to the end of the pen. When I went got to the fence, I called his name. He literally jumped up and came trotting over to me. When I got into the pen, he put his head in my arms. When I saw him, I knew this wasn’t good! He was in tremendous pain. I tried all of my colic remedies but they didn’t work this time. According to Karen this event also had to be big and drastic. It was his time. His soul was called home.

A late October snowfall occurred on Saturday, Oct 29, 2011. We had a large amount of snow. On Sunday morning I went out to help dig out and I saw Dakota bucking and kicking in the snow. He looked so grand and beautiful that I ran into the house for a camera. By the time I got out there he finished his rendition and I snapped the photo anyway. I looked at it for a split second on the review and thought it was dark but put it down and did pay any attention to it. After speaking to Karen I asked my husband, Paul, to download the last photo of Dakota. When I opened the file, I thought to myself, why is this picture so dark? It was taken at 11 am in the morning when the sun was shining. So I started to play with the contrast. When I started playing with the contrast, I noticed something odd in the picture. It then hit me! I captured his energy field. It was the angels who made sure the picture was initially dark. They once again respected my wishes. As a massage therapist and one who dabbles with energy, I would have recognized something was about to happen. It would have been a red flag for me. He didn’t want me to worry for we were preparing for the Equine Affair. So this wasn’t revealed until after his passing.

This is the original picture taken around 11 am.

Taken Sunday, October 30, 20011

I played with the contrast to lighten up the photo. It was then I realized something else was in the picture. There was NO trick photography. It isn’t necessary. Since life is stranger than fiction, there was no need to alter this photo! This is the real deal.

After reading this, please share your experiences with us so we can share them with others.

When you lose someone you deeply love, the initial pain can be and often unbearable. As time moves on, the entity takes on a new life. You see them in a different way. They are bigger than life over time! Dakota has been my Angel in Disguise all these years. It was an honor to own him, protect him and love him. As time heals me from his loss, he too will be bigger than life as I reflect the past 17 years.

We would love to hear from you and post your true life experiences on our site. I am committed to keep Dakota’s mission alive to help heal people and our animal companions. Thanks for reading!

Olivia - By Marie of Brimfield Massachusettes

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:14:00 GMT

Marie purchased Olivia at the auction December 2004 and she passed away unexpectedly December 2010.

Here is her story:

There's nothing like the spirit of a horse...... and Olivia had so much spirit. Horses never feel sorry that their lives were used and discarded after years of unconditional love to us humans. They seem to have the dignity that we all strive to have, I'm not sure how they find that secret so elusive to us. Olivia didn't have a birth date so I don't know how to tell you how many years it took for her to acquire that wisdom that sparkled from her eyes every day and every night. Horses that end up at the auction are usually headed for the slaughter trucks so birthdays aren't on the sales slip you get when you outbid the meat buyers but Olivia was happy when we found a reason to celebrate someone's birthday often. I want you to know what it's like to be happy for each day, as Olivia was; how she found something deep inside despite the fact that her halter was imbedded in her skin and face bones because nobody seemed to notice that she got bigger each year. Maybe when her owners led her on the trailer for her last ride to the auction house they noticed, maybe not. But it's what I noticed, the pain in her eyes at that auction, because those nerves on a horse's face are so sensitive that companies actually make halters with knots in those sensitive places to 'get a horses attention' in those training classes. It seemed like the ultimate indignity for her to endure 5 days on an overloaded slaughter truck with that halter causing her pain with each truck bump as the horses slammed into one another on their journey to an inhumane ending anyway. I imagine she was some kid's birthday present so many years ago when that halter was new, surely she didn't deserve this ending.....so she came home with us on December 2, 2004, (my mother's birthday), how spectacular is that? Last night at 11pm I went to tuck her in the barn and wish her a happy birthday month and she was gone.....without a sick day or minute, she was gone forever. She will be missed......every day, it was an honor to have her call this barn home."

-Marie, Brimfield Mass, December 2010

Welcome To Gentle Touch Massage

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:39:00 GMT

Hello everyone and welcome to the virtual home of my greatest passion: that is my love and respect for those equine companions that honor us and share our lives with us. I have created this business and this website to bring this passion to all like minded individuals, and promote healing and hope generally both inside and beyond the equine community.

My own story is as rich as the horses I care for. As a cancer survivor, my understanding of healing, happiness and wellness has been challenged, turned on its ear, and reared up and kicked me in the head more than once. But I am stronger and wiser for it, and it is inseparable from the journey I now find myself on.

I hope you will feel free to post your stories here. Those who understand the deep nature of the relationship that can transpire between humans and horses, understand how important it is to have a place to do them honor and remember them. Here we can share our stories of healing and hope for others to draw strength and inspiration from, and to remember friends both here and gone.

I welcome you warmly to this forum, and hope that that you will laugh a little, cry a little, but ultimately find joy and inspiration here.

Sincerely,

Theresa Mueller.