So update on the reading from the 2nd AC I contacted (the first being Emma, who told me via a 3-4 minute voice message on FB that my horse was “not feeling herself” because she had “leaky gut” - and that she was tight in her body, particularly to the right. She recommended Vitamin C, magnesium chloride flakes, and psyllium powder. 
) No other info was provided - but I did buy all of these things and I am giving them to her.
TL;DR!!! A lot to “report”, so buckle up if you’re interested, scroll by if not 
The second AC was a phone conversation. She and I texted back and forth a few times after my initial contact - she wanted an updated pic of my horse, so I took two head shots in her stall the day before the reading and texted them to her. I also asked since we had a full 30 minutes whether she could also read my dog during the same session?, and she said sure. I sent her a pic of the dog taken the morning of the reading.
Got on the phone and she immediately started “reading” Tea (my dog) - I asked: “did you get the pics of Ella?” (my horse), and she said no - please re-send, which I did.
Apparently my dog was “rattling on” and wanted center stage right off the bat, though 
The first thing Tea “said” (after a momentary pause) was “Are you guys moving? What the hell is up with this $hit?”
I had to EEK! 
and LOL at this because YES!, we are intending to move and have been seriously looking at houses for 4 + years now (Tea - pronounced “Taya” - is 4 1/2) We peruse Zillow and Redfin pretty obsessively several times a day, but our realtor - though we really like her as a person - has been pretty unhelpful in terms of suggesting things, possibly because though we have assured her that we are serious and that we are committed to using her when we do buy, we have been interested in SO few houses over the years that we have only gone to look at about 7 or 8 total - the most recent one was back in February. She probably considers us tire kickers at this point, though always arranges to meet with us at any house we’re considering; only once did she send someone else.
(We have only gone to one open house by ourselves; it was a house that we saw with her and really liked, but literally the day of the open house, another buyer bid “with escalation” and drove the price up by 25K - he wound up buying the house to flip?!?! - he had several “investment houses”, but obviously we couldn’t compete with that and lost out on the house. I still grieve that house. It was the second house we looked at, and it was “pre-Tea.” SIGH
My DH is insanely picky, and won’t consider even going to look at the vast majority of houses we see online in our preferred areas. We did bring the dog with us once!, Ha! The house was empty at the time, so NBD.
Anyway, she asked “why are we moving?”, and “where are we going?” LOL! Well, dearest doggo, we have rented this 3 story TH with a TINY backyard for the past 22 years, and not only do we not have enough space here anymore, but we want a single family house with a YARD both for her, and for the next dog we get - which will likely be my last. I’ve owned 3 Whippets in a row while we’ve lived here, and luckily there is a lot of green space in our neighborhood so I run them out back on a long line and throw the Chuck-It, take them to the tennis court to run, do doggie playdates and have meet ups with her BFF Whippet at the local dog park - along with going to meetups at “Sniff Spots” (with other Whippets) so they can run, romp and play, but this is getting really old.
I would finally like some space - just to sit out on a deck without neighbors 15 feet away would be heaven, and to have a little plot with a nice house with more room to call our own. We’ve waited a LONG time for conditions to be favorable for this and for my DH to be able to WFH full time so we don’t have to move closer to D.C., but instead can move farther out. The areas we’re looking are to the southwest of us - we live in a terribly overpopulated area which has continued to grow and expand with *awful traffic - and this area has pretty much reached saturation. It’s a huge source of stress - not to mention that where I board (and have boarded for 13 years) is a 50 minute drive - at least! - in each direction. 
My apologies for getting fully in the weeds with this!
The AC also said (interestingly) that the dog said that “we need to widen/open up the scope because we aren’t finding what we’re looking for in the area where we’re looking”?!?, which is fascinating, because during our pretty comprehensive searches, we have found a LOT of more affordable and nicer houses that are just too far out - another 15-20 miles farther south and west is just too far - for numerous reasons I won’t further bore you with.
Then she (the AC) said: “you need to manifest what you want - write down the specifics and a ‘date’ - it’s important to put that out in the universe.” She also said: “I feel like some elderly people will die and their kids? will put the house up for sale - and this should happen for you sometime between August and October of this year; I see you moving by the end of the year.”
Wow, okay. 
DH’s company has been intending to go public for years now, and they are finally starting the process - though based on what’s going on in the country right now they may hold off - it’s impossible to know. Fingers crossed.
The AC also said that (in response to my question about WHY Tea is so picky and persnickety with food and is a “grazer” - that “she doesn’t eat on a regular schedule, just nibble nibble (true), and that she is very self-regulated but has a different type of metabolism.” She is very lean, bodywise - unlike our first two who loved their vittles. The AC also said that her favorite food was chicken - or turkey with white fish - the kibble we give her (Badlands Ranch) is turkey and whitefish!! Literally. It’s on the front of the bag. (Along with ingredients like veggies and flax and other good stuff.) She said that Tea liked toast - I tried her on it and she ate about half a slice so not a huge fan - and that she did NOT like peanut butter (she doesn’t!, weirdly!), so that part was spot on. I said that Tea’s favorite was cheese, and she said that “Tea says the yellow cheese upset her tummy, so she prefers the white” - never noticed that, but okay.
So on to my mare, finally! (AC said that Tea said “*I should take priority over the stinky horse” which I can totally see her thinking; she comes along with us to the barn on weekends, to all shows and schoolings, tolerates the horse and is fine around her, but HATES attention taken away from her! LOLOL.)
Anyhoo - I had a list of questions prepared - the first one was “how does she feel” - and Ella immediately started taking supplements. The AC asked: “have you started her on a new supplement?” (she is on several, but YES - though it’s been 6 or 7 weeks now) and so I said “yeah”, and she said: “Ella says she feels better because she has better circulation.”
The new supplement I started her on is Jiaogulan (she is slightly insulin resistant; her 27 year old dam is on the same supplement because she became laminitic last year) - and it is “an herbal supplement that increases circulation and provides respiratory support,”
Okay, well good then!! I notice that she loves the taste (they both do) even though it’s a powder - and it actually smells weird (to me, anyway!)
The next thing Ella “said” (unprompted) was “Are we going to continue showing?”
Another 
because even though it’s now June - and every year we are pretty much into regularly competing at this stage of the game (she gets almost 2 months off every winter), I have only been to ONE competition because of the issue I basically contacted the AC about. I have been instead doing regular off property schoolings until I get this thing “sorted.”
How the heck?!?! would she know this???
Let me interject: my DH is a bit suspicious (let’s call him paranoid) and said “couldn’t she have been stalking your FB and reading your posts to get this information?” to which I responded “well - if she did, she would see nothing about Ella, because I haven’t updated anything about her or written a show report OR posted anything about this recurring issue at all - and no Ella “competition posts” since last summer - though I did do several Horse Trials last fall. I just didn’t write about them online.”
I have kept things close to the vest, so no way for her to figure this out - and I post a LOT of various things on FB so she would have had to go through hundreds of posts over nearly a year. I highly doubt anyone would put that much time and effort into sleuthing. Also, I have mentioned nothing about our continuing house search or intentions to move. I did start a thread about it on COTH last winter-ish - but unless she “knows” who Dr. Doolittle really is IRL, she would not have known about our house search!
Back to Ella.
I was so surprised about the “are we going to continue showing?” thing that I laughed - and said “well, we will if I can get to the bottom of this issue!”
“Can you be more specific”?? Okay, here’s the thing: I event, and Ella has been randomly stopping at x-country fences since last fall; she has always been a "cross country machine - and this is her 6-7th year of competing. No rhyme or reason, and she doesn’t do it at show jumps (ALL horses have a stop in them and she will stop occasionally, but this has been new - and a clear pattern that makes no logical sense.) She has been feeling, moving, and jumping great - no changes (and I am on top of everything)
Last September, she did something very uncharacteristic while running x-country at an HT at one of our favorite venues: it was a wet, muddy day (and the footing was chopped up - but I had mud bullets in and she had no issues with traction) - it was also very dark and overcast. She nailed SJ, and jumped beautifully over the first 5-6 x-country fences, then we had to go down a hill to a half coffin in a lower lying area. The footing there was pretty chopped up, but the “question” was simple: a half coffin - ditch to 4-5 strides to a teeny dark log.
She hopped easily over the ditch, and cantered nicely forward to the dark log - then crash!!, I had NO idea what had happened other than the forward momentum abruptly stopped, she fell over the jump and it felt like she had left really long and hit the fence on landing: she was pitched onto her nose and rolled onto her knees, and I rolled off the right side. She was unscathed, stood up and looked around, and of course they ran to me to check me out. I had a wrenched ankle from my leg twisting in the stirrup when I fell, but had fallen onto VERY soft footing and though my head hit the ground, I was totally fine (yes, replaced the helmet anyway.) They checked me out and then rode me back to trailer parking on a golf cart with Tea, my poor DH had been videotaping on the hill, he had the dog and went to me when I fell off, so had to lead the horse AND dog - one on each side - up the hill to the ambulance! He said “I’ll walk Ella back and you take the dog!” (Ella power walked back to the trailer, she is 15’2" and he is 6’4", and he could barely keep up with her; clearly she was fine!) I of course checked her out from stem to stern.
When I watched the video, I was shocked to see that Ella hadn’t even jumped the log 
, but appeared not to have even SEEN it, and just stumbled through it. This is totally unprecedented behavior for her; she is a very careful mare and doesn’t even have rails!, I also do a ton of strengthening and footwork and proprioception work with her.
Anyway, though this was rather daunting, after thoroughly checking her out I figured it was a “one off” - went back to basics and did jump schools and some x-country schooling and she was pretty perfect. NO issues! In fact I did a Starter Trial about 4 weeks later and she was a total rockstar and came in 2nd. Jumped everything well, confidently, back to her normal self.
Then came more out of the blue stopping “here and there” at different venues - at jumps she had jumped numerous times before (in some cases), so huh. After her vacation over the winter, I started her back slowly and did some schoolings - again, occasional stopping at random jumps - no consistency and she went confidently over everything else without hesitation.
This past spring I had her hoof tested - she has great feet - flexed all around (zero! to flexions), x-rayed (all good other than a little arthritis in her left hock), suspensories ultrasounded (which I do every spring, they are always fine), and I started her on Adequan which I do every year in the spring and fall - and then more recently I had her neck and back x-rayed (they looked great!), and her hocks injected. Also, I had her eyes checked by an excellent equine opthalmologist - no issues there.
I know it’s not ME because I have done all the training on this horse (homebred baby) and I am certainly NOT riding any differently. I work fairly regularly with Stephen Bradley, and he is also perplexed.
Hence the AC thing.
(At the one Horse Trial I did about a month ago - a Starter - Ella rocked around the SJ course, popped over the x-country warmup log without issue, then proceeded to STOP at the first jump - which she has jumped numerous times because we frequent this venue - I got her over the second time but then she stopped again at fence #2, a ramp. (She has jumped everything on this course before, and does it in her sleep.) I retired at that point because I didn’t want to stuff her over every jump on the course. 
Not her day, and back to the drawing board (and then I scheduled a bunch of diagnostic tests.)
SO!, the AC said that she thought that Ella “sees shadowy images” (this is what my DH thinks), and that she now has a “mental block”, where she “doesn’t feel safe.” Apparently it’s mental and emotional for her (which makes perfect sense to me), but that she “may be done with eventing” - UGH! and that if I wanted to do x-country, I can get another horse (HA! Hahahaha, NO I can’t - I’m supporting two!), and it’s not like I would EVER sell her (God FORBID!) But maybe just do SJ and dressage?!? Ella has always loved x-country, has always been brave and eager. The AC said that she knows a woman who does “imprint and emotional work” and can “remove blocks” - not too terribly expensive, but???
Is it worth it?!?, or maybe try Karen?
She also said that Ella “loves her barn and environment, and that I have made it perfect for her” (yes, she has a pretty ideal set up with a huge stall, lots of turnout, unlimited forage, etc. - it’s NOT ideal for me for reasons I won’t go into, but she and her dam come first.)
Ella said she does NOT want me to “move her to a slum situation” 
(like THAT would ever happen!, luckily this place is inexpensive which is why I am still there, though suffering - so my horse(s) can have the very best; it’s a LOT of effort for me but they are the priority.)
The AC groped for a word, but finally said “Ella and her dam” (who are at different barns on the same property) said “they have seniority” - and BOY howdy is that true! They have been there longer than almost all the other horses, and are both bossy Alphas.
Ah! And a couple more things that I asked about. Ella hates going through streams and even rivulets of water on the ground send her into a tizzy - but she eagerly goes through and drops into water in every water complex I’ve done with her! The AC said “because she doesn’t know what’s in the water/stream because it’s moving; water in a water complex doesn’t move.”
And finally - Ella is afraid of hoses. I asked the AC about that and said that Ella said that “the hose became alive!!” and that scared the crap out of her.
About 5 or 6 years ago, I had her in cross ties in the barn aisle, and one of the barn helpers was watering the horses. The hose she was using suddenly sprung a HUGE leak, and started hissing like a snake; water spurting everywhere - into the aisle, on US, on the ceiling, etc. Youngish Ella (usually fairly sensible unless there was GASP! running water in front of her) freaked out, reared up, flailed, broke the cross ties, and I was trying to do damage control by both holding on to this kite and trying to yell to the damn woman to turn the water off but instead, she RAN out of the barn to “go find some Duct tape for the leak” (which is in the category of WTF ARE YOU THINKING!?! you IDIOT?!?), so the water continued to spray wildly while the unattended hose did a snake dance; meanwhile I attempted to extricate Ella from the situation, get her free and get the hell out of the barn.
So yeah. THAT makes total sense…
After all of this “talk by the dog” I didn’t get a chance to ask my other questions, alas.
Still - it was. Interesting.
I have hauled her off property twice since then; once just to do show jumping in the ring (she was perfect) and then again yesterday along with a student who I was giving a lesson to; “back to the scene of the crime” (same venue where I had retired at the Starter 3-4 weeks ago), and zero issues with anything on the course! She was forward and confident. HUH. Went over the same jumps without hesitation.
I found that interesting, since it was “post chat.”
Where to go from here??
Sorry for the novel, but I thought some of you (if you are still reading, you have my admiration and my sympathy!) might be interested in my experience. IF I go with another AC, I will want one who is “horsey” enough to understand a horse who has always been a great and willing jumper, and is suddenly very sporadically stopping for no apparent reason. The AC did say that “Ella feels great” (and of course NO horse is 100% all the time, but I would tend to agree because I obsessively monitor everything about this horse and her training, health, wellness, soundness, fitness, diet, emotional state, etc., etc. so I think I would feel something off kilter.)
Any thoughts would be appreciated if I haven’t put you all into a coma with my excessive verbosity.
TIA! 
. Thank you for the name.