Thoughts on "The Traveling Horse Witch?"

[NerdyHorseLady]

Thinking back, please correct me if I am wrong, but I think the original issue that appeared after THW had the nueropsychology degree claim challenged was a lack of registered business and the chronically changing business names. What entity is she reporting business income under?

The license was something questionable but I believe COTH members discovered she did have a then expired massage license, which clearly has been updated now.

I am simply trying to clarify the facts, it’s easy to get things jumbled after 1500 comments

[Sticky_Situation]

I’m glad someone was able to track down an actual massage license, so at least it seems like she wasn’t flat-out lying about that. I do think she’s still engaged in some intentional misdirection/misleading use of language, such as claiming to be a “health care worker specializing in treating victims of violence and sexual assault” or whatever it was in her post about getting horses’ “consent” … that wording is clearly designed to evoke the image of something other than a massage therapist. But I’m glad the she didn’t actually falsify credentials for herself.

I’m still very doubtful that her “method” works, and think she’s more of an “influencer” selling an aesthetic than anything else.

[fizzyfuzzybuzzy]

When people start saying “it’s not so bad to lie about credentials” or “what she’s doing isn’t harming anyone” (by that meaning they haven’t personally been harmed) it reminds me of a docu-series I watched on Peacock called Dr. Death. I encourage all to watch and see what people not wanting to make it their problem or trying to skirt the possibility of a lawsuit can do…

[Mondo]

@ProfAmEq

It’s not weird considering people were starting to drag vets and other bodyworkers and trainers who associate with her into this mess. Opinions are one thing. Implying she is breaking the law and a fraud is another. She appears qualified and licensed for her work. Maybe she’s a psycho, a bully or whatever, but those are subjective things. Anyway, I’m moving on because I have the information I wanted. She isn’t doing anything illegal or harmful as far as I can tell.

You’re moving on because no one is agreeing with you. Kind of like someone who blocks/bans posters on their own social media because they don’t like people who question them or disagree. Hmm, sounds familiar. And as far as “She appears qualified and licensed for her work,” um, hard no. She’s a licensed massage practitioner. That’s it. She is, by her own admission, totally uneducated and unqualified for the high-priced snake oil she’s selling. She claims a degree in neuropsychology - there is NO SUCH THING. What part of that don’t you get?

[NerdyHorseLady]

@Mondo

You’re moving on because no one is agreeing with you. Kind of like someone who blocks/bans posters on their own social media because they don’t like people who question them or disagree. Hmm, sounds familiar. And as far as “She appears qualified and licensed for her work,” um, hard no. She’s a licensed massage practitioner. That’s it. She is, by her own admission, totally uneducated and unqualified for the high-priced snake oil she’s selling. She claims a degree in neuropsychology - there is NO SUCH THING. What part of that don’t you get?

Thanks for saying what everyone is thinking

[Old_Mac_Donald]

@Mondo

She is, by her own admission, totally uneducated and unqualified for the high-priced snake oil she’s selling. She claims a degree in neuropsychology - there is NO SUCH THING. What part of that don’t you get?

BuT wHeRe Is ThE hArM iN tHaT?

/s

[NerdyHorseLady]

@NerdyHorseLady

Usually frauds will make their business name elusive. Makes it harder to warn others of bad business when the business name keeps changing.

Just want to reiterate I was speaking of typical behavior often associated with frauds, I did not call THW a fraud directly. That has yet to be determined, but the thing about frauds in general is its only a matter of time before the house of cards fall.

[Kduplantis]

I definitely am calling her a fraud. She is fraudulently representing herself as highly “edumacated” when she is assuredly not.

[NerdyHorseLady]

@Kduplantis

I definitely am calling her a fraud. She is fraudulently representing herself as highly “edumacated” when she is assuredly not.

She definitely did do that, we all saw numerous screenshots of that behavior. More recently she hasn’t necessarily retracted anything officially, which would have avoided this entire thread from existing in the first place…

That said, she has stated more recently that she hasn’t read books and has learned from the horse directly (we all saw those screenshots as well)…

I think we all know, figuring out a self-evident truth can be neat because it often confirms existing theories, but it is a far cry from discovering anything new. Now, if she had read books, she would know that…

[Kduplantis]

[Kduplantis]

The “bio” “from the creator” has been on her website since it began. It’s not “new”. Her contradictory pride in her “degree in neuropsych” (I don’t think it means what you think it means, “love”) and her pride in developing her “techniques” out of whole cloth (in a vacuum devoid of outside influence (books)) is simply. Laughable.

[Scribbler]

The thing is, when we check out legitimate trainers there are no red flags. We may decide we don’t like their approach, or their personality. We may decide that though they preach horse whispering they are actually rather P+ in their training approach. We may decide that the popularization of their videos has created a vast clientele of newbies doing unproductive stuff.

But even all these trainers are clear about their credentials and history, have a coherent business profile, and publicize their actual techniques for free. And they don’t trash or dox clients.

In other words, any red flags are indeed red flags. My minimum is no red flags and then I’ll assess your offerings by what I can audit or download for free. If I see red flags I just stop being interested as a client (but still fascinated as a student of bad behavior online and in horses).

[anon68314200]

FB doesn’t tell you why you are blocked. So that is only par for the SM course.

[NerdyHorseLady]

@Kduplantis

pride in developing her “techniques” out of whole cloth (in a vacuum devoid of outside influence (books)) is simply. Laughable.

Grandiose sense of self, not diagnosing because I am not qualified to do so, but anyone can clearly observe the actions and behavior appear to come straight off the page.

[K_VanOlst]

Yikes

[Scribbler]

I would want a vet checkup and I would stop whatever they are doing for groundwork because that horse is really leaning on the forehand.

I have never seen or heard of a gymnastic or bodywork system in which are horse regresses if things are going well

[LiberalSnowflake]

I hope the owner of that poor little chap sees a proper vet and figures out what’s going so obviously wrong, rather than sticking for several more months to the “pillars” when the horse is collapsing as you pick its feet.

I hate seeing this kind of thing, the owner is obviously following what she thinks is right - “pillars” set down by her guru - and her horse is dramatically deteriorating in front of her eyes, but she’s stuck with it for 6 months.

They really need to start teaching “critical thinking” in schools.

[NerdyHorseLady]

My own horse had a similar physical regression (collapsing the shoulders) after THW did her nerve release last year. My horse went from being very amicable and sweet to fractious overnight, not allowing anyone to so much as gently stroke a hand down the neck without defensive biting. It took time, rest, and proper treatments from my highly credentialed bodyworker vet (not associated with THW) to turn this around. Of course, I stopped doing Pillars altogether (because it would send my horse into a panic) and it took months before I was able to touch, brush, scratch, or even lay a hand on my horses neck without extreme defensive behavior. This is a horse who was known to be very personable and friendly prior. My horse also struggled with picking out the feet and standing for the farrier during this time.

Fortunately, given time off and proper support, my horse eventually recovered, but it was a good half a year lost.

I feel for the woman with this little guy who has deteriorated so much, likely she was only wanting to do what is best for her horse.

[Mondo]

@NerdyHorseLady

My own horse had a similar physical regression

Thanks for using the right word, Nerdy. Celeste uses digression incorrectly. She meant regression.

[anon68314200]

You need to provide a lot more documentation than a narrative by an anonymous you. Plenty of perfectly ‘fine’ horses deteriorate for 100’s of reasons. Could have been completely unrelated to TWH, or could have been. But I doubt very much you have any independent quantitative information to put forth. If your horse was going ‘into a panic’ then your were WAY passed the point where you should have changed directions. Sounds like you missed the turn off exit sign a ways back.