This consultation I had years ago with a person and her horse and donkey is a great example of how aware animals are. It also shows how even when animals are being stubborn or rebellious, they can be reasoned with to cooperatively solve problems.
Handling a Depressed Horse A horse called Chaca suffered so severely from a foot disease that she was not able to be ridden. When she became very depressed, stood in one place in her pasture, and did not want to eat, her person, Elaine, phoned me for help.
Communication with Chaca revealed that she was depressed because her person could no longer ride her. Life was not the same without fulfilling the job she loved so well. Her foot condition was getting worse through lack of movement.When I suggested Elaine get Chaca a horse companion to keep her company and have someone to exercise with, Chaca brightened up. However, Elaine could not afford another horse. I suggested she find a goat or other compatible companion to keep up Chaca's spirits.
Months later, I heard from Elaine again. She had followed my suggestion and borrowed a companion for Chaca from a neighbor. He was a seven-year-old donkey stallion named Charley, who had been kept by himself in a pasture, virtually unhandled by people. The donkey was not trained to a halter and lead rope, which made taking him home potentially difficult. Elaine told him that she needed him to be a companion to her mare, and if he liked that idea, to follow her home with the aid of a carrot that she held out for him. He willingly walked the distance.
In a short time Chaca and Charley became good friends and played around together. This companionship and exercise added a new dimension to Chaca's life, and her sore feet improved dramatically. Donkey Destruction This might have been the happy ending, except for Charley's behavior, which is why Elaine called me a second time. He was destroying all Elaine's fruit trees, fences, barn siding, and anything else he could chew or trample. The last straw came when he damaged the fender on a friend's car.
Charley was untrained, powerful, and a stallion, a difficult combination. When I contacted Charley at a distance, he acted like a rebellious teenager, asserting himself, telling me what a wonderful time he was having, and that he wasn't going to stop his behavior for anyone. He explained that he loved when Elaine came out screaming after he destroyed something. It was more attention than any person had ever given him.
In the course of the conversation with Charley, Elaine explained that she would have to return him to his lonely pasture at the neighbor's if he didn't change his antics. Charley wouldn't budge, and defiantly said he didn't care what she did. Even though I carefully listened to Charley's feelings and acknowledged him, he was very stubborn. The situation looked grim.
An Opening Then Elaine said that she really loved him, and would be sorry to have him go. I immediately felt his resistance soften, and I knew we had an entryway into solving this problem. I further expounded to Charley that Elaine really loved him, wanted him to be happy, and that he needed to cooperate with her to stay in his current environment.
With that he seemed open to listening to her side of the situation. I asked Elaine to go out to see Charley after we finished on the phone, tell him again how much she loved him and detail to him the exact behavior she needed from him. I told her to tell him that he would need to have a halter on and be willing to be led around, even though he was not formerly trained to do this. He would have to stay in a corral for awhile to settle down and show good behavior before being again given freedom to romp with Chaca.
Elaine called me the next day to tell me the results. After our consultation, Charley got very quiet when she talked to him, let her put on a halter and lead him to the corral and did not try to open the gate or monkey around as usual. He had previously demonstrated his ability to open any gate.
Cooperation The crowning test came the next morning when she had to move boxes from the house to the garage for storage. Charley usually would be in the middle of any activity such as this, finding it irresistible to escape his enclosure and tear into the boxes. This time, when he saw from his corral what she was doing, he turned his back to avoid temptation. She was amazed!
Charley lived many happy months with good behavior, until an earthquake to the area he lived in created some havoc, and he ended up going back to the pasture he used to live in of his own accord.
The remarkable awareness of our animal friends and the power of good telepathic communication with them should not be underestimated.
