ARTICLE 11 - Using Reiki to help with grief

When I lost my horse Tiffany in 2012, after 26 years together, I was beside myself with grief. Although she was 33 years old, she was in fantastic health, and I was not in the least bit prepared for her sudden departure. I literally lost her within a couple of hours, and the vet who witnessed her at the end believed it was neurological.

I know that on some level, I should have been prepared—but I just wasn’t. Her death hit me incredibly hard.

Five days after losing her, I went up to the yard to help with my friend’s horses. As I changed the rug on Esther, the horse in the adjoining stable started licking and kissing me up the neck. Before I knew it, Esther had joined in, doing the same on the other side.

The empathy, understanding, and love these horses showed me was beyond anything I had ever experienced. It was particularly remarkable, as the TB ex-racehorse who instigated it had always been very aloof. Not only was he not my horse, but we had never even had the smallest interaction before.

When I walked out of the stable that day, I was a changed person. My understanding of horses had just gone to a whole new level. More importantly, they had introduced me to a depth of healing I had never believed possible. They had quite literally drawn out my grief and pain, and replaced it with joy, gratitude, and peace.

I felt as if I had been touched by the divine—and in short, this is exactly what effective energy healing feels like.

It was inevitable that after this experience, I too would journey down the healing path. I wanted to give back what I had received, and help the horses as much as I could. A new future beckoned!

Healing from Grief – Esther’s Story

It’s a huge misnomer that animals don’t grieve their friends when they pass.I’ve never understood why we only attribute this emotion to elephants—grief is common throughout the entire animal kingdom.

But as the horses demonstrated that day with my own healing, the trauma of grief can be lifted from your mind and body with surprising ease. You just have to remain open to it and allow the healing to do its work.

A few years into my Reiki journey, I had the opportunity to return the healing Esther had once gifted me. Healing had come full circle.

Esther’s close friend had gone down in the field and couldn’t get back up, even with our help. As she was in her thirties, and as her human had, quite rightly in my opinion, always made the decision to euthanise if that situation arose—Tina’s fate was sealed.

After the vet had been, it was decided to leave her body in the field for a few hours to allow Esther time with her.

Later, as the time approached for the vehicle to collect the body, Esther was still standing vigil. Determined not to be separated from her friend, she refused to let us catch her.

In the end, I led Jazz (my horse and a friend of Esther’s) into the field, and Esther then allowed herself to be caught.

Esther’s grief was heartbreaking to witness. That evening, in her stable, she kept looking into the empty neighbouring box, calling out beseechingly—“Where are you? Why can’t I see you?”

It was breaking my heart.

I asked my friend if she would let me carry out some Reiki healing on Esther, and thankfully she agreed.

Esther really seemed to enjoy it. She leaned into the gentle energy, becoming almost instantly calm and sleepy. The tendrils of peace worked their way into her body, heart, and soul until there were no more signs of sorrow.

I was no longer witnessing an anxious, grieving horse—just a very sleepy one. All was well in her world again.

It was as if Esther now understood what had happened, and she had made peace with not seeing her friend again—at least, not in this earthly life.

From then on, Esther showed no further signs of grief. She adjusted well to the situation and seemed completely herself.

Interestingly, Esther developed a resilience and independence that was quite rare. For example, when one yard she was on closed down, she was the last horse to leave. She spent 24 hours alone on the yard, without another horse present—and was completely fine with it. Few horses would have coped that well.

In conclusion, I truly believe energy healing can bring immense release and comfort to those who are grieving.

Having been both a recipient and a practitioner, I fully appreciate and recognise the speed and depth with which healing can take effect.

It is quite amazing!

 In future Articles, I will share many other ways where reiki can benefit our animals.

If this has interested you, then you may be interested in my book, “Walking a Soulful Path: A healing journey with animals.” You can find this on amazon. This is the link:-

WALKING A SOULFUL PATH: A healing journey with animals: Amazon.co.uk: Sutton, Fiona: 9798334905573: Books