VET DIARY FOR MARCH

I spoke with a friend of mine from the UK yesterday evening and was aware that her horse was old and dying. She had made the very difficult decision to put him down and it was tugging every heart string in her body to do it. This horse was born and raised in Russia and she worked over there for a good number of years. She bought Mischa as a four-year-old out of a corral of about twenty horses but this one stood out for her, not because he was the most handsome but because there was something about him that just drew her to him. It was a friendship that was to span the bones of quarter of a century, across two continents and many adventures on route. They rode through snow bellydeep in the depths of the Russian winter, swam in the gulf and galloped across plains and fells back in England. People who don't have animals find it hard to comprehend what a close bond can be forged between someone and their four legged companion.

I often say to clients that an animal isn't looking to see what clothes you're wearing, they're reading your energy field and can read us like a book. A horse will know straight off if someone is scared of them. They're not checking your pulse but they are checking you out. There is a wonderful video that was doing the rounds of a 14-year-old stallion who was brought into a hospital each week and had a remarkable effect on lots of the patients especially the very sick and terminally ill patients. It is time for us to explore more this realm they work from and are inviting us to open up to... It is that inner knowing,

with Joe Kavanagh of the Moyne Veterinary Hospital

that deep sense of right, of doing the right thing only because it feels right rather than what our head tells us to. We often hear the phrase, 'Trust your gut feeling... it won't set you wrong.' That gut-brain axis is well established now and some say the number of neurons in the brain is matched in our gut. Working from this innate intelligence is foreign to most of us but when you see the really good horsemen and women and you try to define what is it that sets them apart it’s that inner knowing that transcends formal thinking and lies much deeper within. The journey within is that journey we all must take in our lives somewhere along the way... be it through illness, heartache, trauma or loss. It’s very difficult to avoid it at some point in our lives. The famous American Joe Campbell spoke about 'finding the hero within' and there is a great Youtube video called 'Finding Joe' which talks very eloquently about this very path.

Mischa guided his owner along this road and she often spoke about him being her greatest teacher... He pushed her to go further within and find new strengths that she didn't realise were already there. He was always very clear in what he wanted and was uncompromising but in hindsight it was almost always for the better for both of them. This journey has come to an end for him today but his spirit will live on and his real wisdom will be carried by those privileged to have known him.

That is what these creatures can teach us... how to listen. n

If you have a topic you’d like Joe Kavanagh to address please email Slaney News at: slaneynews@gmail.com

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Small animal clinic (please tel. for appointment):

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OUR SERVICES INCLUDE:

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