@ATXmom, I explained he’d been in the hospital for a strangulating lipoma, fell, and now has a problem w his left foreleg and I would like to understand what the problem is. She confirmed what I suspected. What I found intriguing is that I could hear her say things like “hmmm” or “interesting” sort of under her breath. I get so caught up in the communication, I might not be as careful as I could be w sharing, but I do not feel as though I “lead the witness”.
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Thank you both for your insight! I have another appointment booked for this coming week (because apparently, this is what I do now!) and will be a little more prepared!
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Thank you @Old_Mac_Donald for the info on “E” - I contacted her last week and we had a little chat via email, then a brief message exchange on Facebook messenger.
I sent her two photos (head shots) that I took of my mare in the stall the day after I first contacted her – sent them to her via email.
She seemed lovely! The cost was more than I was expecting it to be, so I’m hoping she has some helpful insights!
She said it would be a week to 10 days before she would send me the results? So I’m (im)patiently waiting 
My horse has been showing some very random uncharacteristic behavior lately based on nothing that I can see (OR feel!) She’s a happy horse with no behavior issues other than this one random thing - and I’ve had her thoroughly checked out physically; I have the ophthalmologist coming this Thursday to check her eyes again (she checked them four or five years ago and Ms mare had some small cataracts, but the Dr. wasn’t unduly concerned about them.)
When she recommended that we connect via Facebook, I was a little worried that she would go through all of my old Facebook posts trying to “mine information” – but I haven’t really posted about my mare for the past six months or so: no show recaps, no posts about her recent issues, nothing. There would really be nothing relevant that she could look up.
As you mentioned, she just calls or writes a recap on Facebook or via email and sends it to you after a week or so? Does she ask questions? Should I ask any questions? Just hoping for a bit of clarification – I am cautiously optimistic that there might be something “E” can “illuminate” that I’ve been missing up 'til now. 
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She doesn’t go through your posts - mine are locked down to “friends only”, and even then only a select few friends can see them. I have posted nothing about the issues I have had with my horses, not publicly nor on my FB page. Nor are we friends, and I don’t post in her group - so there was no way she mined my page for info.
For this reason, I always send very benign photos with no indicators of the horse’s true temperament or issues.
She uses Messenger as I guess most people have it! Last time she rang me and we had a chat, this time she just left me a voice mail on Messenger. She doesn’t ask questions, just lets the horse ‘stream’ I guess. I did ask a question, which was “what do you want?” for one horse that I am at a cross-roads with. Since the reading, this horse has been seeking me out and resting her head in my arms. I’ve also caught her and the yearling lying down together in their paddock.
My other horse - the one with sore feet - is now sound and running around the paddock.
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Good to know - thanks for the detailed explanation!
Like most folks, I hold a kernel of skepticism because there are scammers out there; I find Emma’s process very interesting, and hope she can “tease out” some answers.
This is my homebred baby (almost 13 now), so I know her like the back of my hand - so her sudden out of character behavior has me flummoxed.
I will definitely post an update after I hear back from her! 
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I’ve seen a couple comments about E being more $$ than expected. How much does a reading run?
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For those who have contacted an animal communicator, what are the financial costs? Are there any downsides or things that made you skeptical? Has anyone tried to communicate with a deceased or sold horse?
I tried once for my kitty that went missing. Can’t remember the AC’s name, but she wanted to know if the cat was right beside me. Well, I hadn’t actually told her the cat was lost, and the other cat was right beside me, so there’s that.
All she could ‘see’ was a house with a white porch. There’s only one in my neighborhood, and that belongs to the woman who referred me to the AC.
She only charged me $25 for the very short call. I think she felt bad for me. It wasn’t any help, but at least I felt like I’d done everything possible. I also got a search dog out twice, and hung so many posters (well, 8 big ones and 100 flyers) that if Dusty Peaches was anywhere in the surrounding area, she would have been noticed.
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Okay, so she left me a VM on FB messenger:
She said it took a while to “get through” because it takes a lot of energy for the horse to communicate - but she said my mare feels “a bit out of sorts” (no further explanation), and that she has “a bit of a leaky tummy” ?? (she is on G.U.T. as a supplement - lots of good forage, a small amount of concentrate with her supplements, Outlast biscuits before riding and Nexium before hauling - but these are precautionary, and she doesn’t have any digestive issues that I’m aware of. Good firm manure - always - even when hauling. 
She recommended Psylium husks (I guess they also come in a powder?) and said to “wet them before feeding” (Ms Mare will NOT touch wet food, LOL - so power would be better), and vitamin C powder for her immune system. She also recommended I put her on Mag Chloride!
She has been on Quiessence for most of her life (is very slightly insulin resistant - has stable numbers and I literally just had bloodwork done and got the numbers back today), but that contains Magnesium Oxide and Magnesium Proteinate.
After looking these things up they are not expensive and can be added to her daily baggie, but I found that. Interesting.
She said that her body is tight (which is actually not the case; I Posture Prep her 4-5 times a week and do a lot of stretching and bodywork - she used to be tighter, but is pretty loose and supple and has been for a good while) - and said it’s mostly her right side. She is stiffer on the right (always has been) - though IME the majority of horses are stiff right and hollow left I work on this diligently both with bodywork and stretching and lateral work and bending work; she also said that I was tighter on the right (true), but I do hours a day of stretching, Feldenkrais, mobilization exercises and recently started a Rider’s Pilates course which has really helped with symmetry and strengthening those small muscles around the core, glutes, and hips. I work on my core daily (it’s a game changer for riders and I’ve been diligent about it for the past 5-10 years.)
So!! I’m not sure what to make of this - and is there any more info from her going forward ?!?!
I am of course more than happy to order and provide those supplements - really NBD - but I was hoping for a more detailed “reading” (FTR it was $140) and more information. sigh
Thoughts?? And @Old_Mac_Donald - will she contact me with more information or questions??
Ultimately, I felt like this was not much? Didn’t address issues or really offer any behavioral insights? Not sure how to feel about it - and am wondering whether there will be more coming from her. Previously, animal communicators have talked to me over the phone – one sent a tape – and there was way more to it…
TIA!
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These are good questions – answer is “it depends” - I’ve had it done three times for three different horses. All were over the phone, and one of them mailed me a tape of our conversation after the fact.
One was $40, but that was quite some time ago, the others were $60-$75 I think?
If you read my most recent post, I was rather disappointed with the paucity of information I got from the highly recommended (in this thread) AC – especially for the cost involved!
Recommending specific supplements is fine, none of them are particularly expensive – but it doesn’t seem to line up with anything I’ve observed, and I’m very aware of her diet and supplementation, and watch her like a hawk for any and all physical symptoms.
She is definitely not tight in her body! This is also per body workers, saddle fitters, and vets - all of whom who have complimented me on how symmetrical, well muscled, and supple she is. I do a lot of core strengthening, have her stand on Sure foot pads before I ride, work a lot over poles and do lots of mobilizations, carrot stretches, belly lifts, butt tucks, Masterson Method, etc.
I was honestly hoping to get more “feedback” in general; the other three ACs have at least described the horse’s feelings, thoughts and behaviors (with a few things about the physical), and have had some observations and insights – though one of them was rather generic. In one case I might have “led her on” a wee bit with my responses, so I was very careful not to do that the other two times!
One of them was really spot on with her observations – and one nailed a couple of things that she couldn’t possibly have known about.
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I will admit to being very skeptical but reading all these stories has me intrigued. I think what I really struggle with is the whole “talking” through a picture thing? I could believe it in person (sometimes we swear one of our horses can understand us) - but is the idea that based on a picture they can somehow locate THAT animal in time and space and communicate to it? I have a Smartpak catalog on my desk, could a communicator just pick it up and “talk” to that horse?
With all that being said - I remember reading a thread of someone saying that a horse said he didn’t like being called fat and I never called my mustang fat again…just in case 
.
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Hmph. My sister used to call all of the ponies bad names. Buddy was butthead. Skippy was Sh%%&*
She claimed the tone of her voice was all that mattered.
Well, I don’t know about that. I do know that mine didn’t like her at all and hers liked me more.
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This gives me pause. I do not allow people to use the word “old” in the barn in a derogatory manner. “Older” is acceptable.
I have a boarder who speaks about/to her horse in a very derogatory manner. He turns his rump to her.
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Uh oh. I called my Hackney pony (registered name Get Crackin’, usual barn name Crackers) Crackhead. It just seemed to suit his hot behavior in harness. I don’t think he resented it, because he was a total cuddlebug on the ground.
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So after putting some thought into this, I’m going to ask you all (oh wise COTH peeps) - what you think I should do?
Should I respond to her, saying that I went ahead and bought the supplements and will try them, but was hoping for more actual information and feedback? Is there any point in mentioning that I didn’t think the observations were very accurate? (Maybe she has the wrong horse? )
Should I just chalk this up, and maybe try one of the other communicators recommended on this thread?
Thoughts would be most appreciated, TIA!
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Dang if this lady is charging $140 to look at a photo and tell people their horse needs gut supplements then I’m in the wrong business. Sarcasm aside, this is why I believe this business is, at best, pure observation and the novelty of an outside perspective… and at worst, a woowoo grift. But relatively harmless either way
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I would. What’s the worst that could happen? You earn the dislike of an animal communicator whom you probably never want to use again already? I’d tell her I am having a specific issue I was hoping she could help with, and maybe even provide a little more info on the issue to get her started in the right direction. I think I’d be past the point of worrying about giving her too much info, and would want to just go for it.
FWIW that’s what I did when I tried an AC for my sleep-deprived horse. She said a lot of other things and we were nearing the end of our time, so I asked whether he was tired. That still didn’t get useful info so I said, “He doesn’t lie down to sleep and I was hoping you could help me figure out why.” If she said something amazingly useful at that point, I wouldn’t care that I led her to it, as long as it worked! (Sadly she did not.)
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I used an animal communicator who semi got my horses right but basically gave their standard breed temperaments. I wasn’t impressed.
I am going to try one for my new horse to see what happens. I have zero info except he’s 4 and looks like a saddlebred that needs a trim.
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@Dr_Doolittle 's experience is why I’m still wary of animal communicator types. I mean, just look at what we do on this forum. People post that their horse is having XYZ issue, and the main things suggested are: scoping for/treating ulcers, addressing hoof issues, addressing management issues (usually more turnout), and addressing diet (more forage, less starch/carbs, add magnesium, etc).
The AC assumes he/she is being contacted by the owner because there is an issue. If they make broad strokes guesses as to what those issues are (digestive problems, lameness, tension/anxiety) they’ll usually hit on something. They even have the ability to say that the owner may not pick up on the suggested malady (tight in the body) but that’s because the horse is hiding it from them, or the owner just isn’t perceptive enough to notice the signs, etc.
Think about how much time, energy, and money is spent chasing mystery issues that are affecting a horse physically and/or mentally. Horses are scanned and scoped and tested in every possible way, often without anything really turning up to explain the symptoms and/or behavior being presented. This is where ACs find their niche. (Heck, I just suggested possibly using one in another thread as a sort of last resort.)
I’ve only had one experience with a so-called AC a few years ago and she was terrible. This was an in-person “clinic” type setting and the woman was so obviously a fraud that I spotted it almost immediately. I think she knew it too, and she kept basically criticizing me for not being more open to what she was trying to do. Keep in mind, I was very polite and played along the best I could, but she made it nearly impossible for me to take her seriously. She was ridiculous. And I paid way too much money for a day of complete nonsense.
I’d like to think there are real ACs out there who can give valuable insight into our beloved critters. But it just seems like an area that is ripe for cons who have figured out a way to prey on vulnerable animal owners.
That said, some of the stories here are very powerful and give me hope that there are some legit ones out there.
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