Rebuilding a New Sense of Myself

I went through breast cancer four years ago, so the challenges of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery are now behind me. However, I am currently in the middle of breast reconstruction, so I came to Riding Beyond with the idea of letting it help me particularly with rebuilding — not just a breast but also a new sense of myself, even a new life.

“I found that the time spent connecting with the horse, Mystic, was healing at a deep level. I never knew that the electromagnetic “field” created by a horse’s heart is four times larger than the same for a human. No wonder simply spending time with a horse can be so powerful!

“The time we — Trish, the half dozen women volunteers , and I — spent together before engaging with Mystic was also powerful. I was invited to reflect and share — and listen to the other women — about the meaningfulness of the chest area. For me, it was about being wounded in this part of my body, so close to the heart and to the “cross” between torso and arms, and in my case, seeking balance again between left and right (mine was a single mastectomy on the right side). Our sitting down time together at the beginning of each session brought the group of us humans together as a loving sisterhood.

“I feel that those four beautiful morning times spent with the Riding Beyond team, the horse, on such a gorgeous little farm were well worth it. It’s easy to think we’re too busy, too burdened, too whatever-might-be-the-reason to take part in such a gentle, gently healing practice. I’m very glad I gave that to myself by saying yes to participating.”