Alexa Linton

Query for you all - Patrick and I are considering hosting a few private 2-3 day retreats here on the farm this summer. They would include osteopathy with me, coaching with Patrick, horse connection and nature immersion, plus some pool time of course! We have a vintage travel trailer to stay in and would look into catering so our participants can just fully let go into support and healing.

We think of Raven Moon Farm as a forest cocoon, perfect for restoration and transformation. It's in the heart of the Cowichan Valley, within minutes of the Cowichan River and Cowichan Lake.

Is this something of interest? Would love to hear from you, and any suggestions on things to include or a particular focus that would be supportive. Alexa

When I first learned Applied Kinesiology 22 years ago during my equine sport therapy training with Dave Collins, I was not a fan. Not because it didn't work and not because it wasn't helpful for horses. But because it pushed me way outside of my comfort zone. I had been raised to think in black and white. I had just spent 5 years getting my Bachelor of Science in (ironically) Kinesiology. And I had zero space for the intangible in my tool kit. Or so I thought.

A part of my training was to work with 20 horses each month between classes to practice our new skills, among them AK. I resisted, I doubted, I fought, I avoided. And yet, the horses would bring me back. Diva came into my world 2 months after I started my program - she started to break down my walls and beliefs. At the time, I was convinced that there was nothing outside what I could see and feel. That the physical was the only thing that counted.

Diva would soon prove that theory wrong, showing me in no uncertain terms that the intangible was real, that soul contracts were a thing, that our relationship was both physical but also very energetic and even spiritual. Dozens of horses entered my life as clients at that time to show me the same thing. I used AK with them as a bridge to communicate and they showed me over and over again that it worked, and worked well. Slowly but surely, the resistance melted away, leaving only a sense of awe about what was truly possible.

Since this time, it's been my go-to tool with thousands of horses, and I use it every single day with my herd to connect and communicate with them and keep them well. I am grateful to my past self for getting over her self-doubt so that she might be able to be in relationship with so many horses in such a magical way. I even created a course teaching others 20 years ago, Kinetic Communication, which has helped hundreds of folks learn how to use Applied Kinesiology with their own animals.

If you've ever wanted to add this tool to your tool-kit to work with the horses in your life, you can join me from April-June in the Whole Horse Collective (now open for monthly membership!) for a deep-diving course on this exact topic including the three comprehensive live webinars and supportive video tutorials, and of course, access to the Kinetic Communication course. For the first time ever online, I'm going to be teaching the WHC community how to use this tool effectively to support your equine body work and energy work, and we'll be getting into the nitty gritty of priority testing, pendulum work and more. And you'll have the opportunity to join me for the Whole Horse Collective Retreat here in the Cowichan Valley in June to try your new skills out with the Raven Moon Herd.

Details for signing up for the Whole Horse Collective are in the comments (FB) or in the link in my bio (IG)! Share with a horse friend you'd love to learn this skill with.

Hope to share this amazing skill with you over the next few months! Alexa

Any other horse people out there love to thrift, up-cycle, re-use and re-purpose? How about in your equine habitats? Many times we can find alternatives to purchasing products new, while saving things from the landfill, giving them a different purpose, and putting money back into our wallet for things like feed and footing.

Here's some of my favourite things to re-use and upcycle - would love to hear your ideas!

- Most tire shops are more than happy for you to take used tires off their hands! I like to use smaller tires for stepping obstacles (fill with dirt/gravel) and larger tires for pedestals or stairs.
- Spare logs or wooden rounds? Use them! Horses love the enrichment of eating bark and wood material, stepping over, and more.
- No need to throw away old lumber or rotting posts. Use them as obstacles! Remove any nails, staples or screws and place in zones for stepping over. Or if in better shape, use old lumber and plywood to make obstacles like pedestals, bridges and teeter totters or enrichment like herb bins.
- Here on the west coast we have access to used fishing net and it is wonderful stuff! With 1” holes and very soft material it makes excellent haynets.
- I have a large chest freezer for my feed and it works perfectly to keep the rodents out. I have also used an upright cooler with sliding doors for the same purpose.
- Well-used brushes and curries make great scratching posts! Add to a scratching enrichment space at just the right height.

Just a few easy (and very affordable) ways to make your equine spaces better for all. Want to learn more about creating amazing equine habitats? Find the link to the Build a Horse Track System Online course in the comments (FB) or in the link in my bio (IG)

On the importance of supporting the viscera…

After my acute pancreatitis episode almost four years ago, a part of my pancreas died. It was a very unfun time! Combine that with my initial abdominal surgery post infection and all the ensuing scar tissue and it is safe to say my insides were a bit of a mess. Fast forward five months and my scans came back normal.

Someone asked me the other day how I healed my pancreas and abdominal cavity. On the spot, I talked about supplementation, diet, red light therapy and time, but I actually forgot about my secret weapon! Osteopathy.

I had my first osteo session within days of coming home from the hospital and then every 1-2 weeks for the next several months. I was blessed to have my amazing colleague Irene Borecky come to our house, as I wasn’t able to drive or travel. In our five year program we spent almost two years specifically focused on working with the viscera/organs and boy, was I grateful for this body of work as I moved through my healing process.

What do we, as osteopathic practitioners, do with viscera exactly? Well, the most important thing is that we understand that the functional movement, vitality and vascularization of all the organs and related structures is critical to overall health and vitality. In my program (and not all osteopathy programs are created equal!), we were taught how to include all organs/viscera in our assessment and treatment plan. We work at the level of the tissues and fluids gently and effectively to support these structures and everything they might be affecting.

Daily in my own practice I see visceral issues affecting the structural and vascular systems and beyond - for example, a restriction in the lung, liver, uterus or colon affecting the mobility of the pelvis or sacrum. Or scar tissue from a C-section, hysterectomy, mastectomy affecting the movement of the pelvis, thorax or even cervical spine. Almost none of the clients I see with viscera-related scar tissue have had this addressed therapeutically post surgically, not because they don’t want to, but because they don’t know it is possible and necessary for healthy function of the rest of the fascial system and body. This is not common knowledge although I hope to see that shift!

This was why, after my laparoscopic surgery and my pancreatic necrosis (causing its own scar tissue), I prioritized regular osteopathic treatments. I still get an osteopathic treatment every 4-6 weeks almost four years later with my colleague Michelle at Ladysmith Osteopathy. I truly believe this has been a major contributor in my healing process, helping my organs, viscera and other systems to function at their best to allow the fullest expression of my health and vitality. In my practice, it is an area I focus on because I know first hand how supportive it can be to overall health.

If you live in the Cowichan Valley these are the osteopathic practitioners I recommend for visceral therapy (all went through the same 5 year program as me) - Michelle Sutcliffe (Ladysmith), Trisha Gilks (Cobble Hill), Peter Schreurs (Cobble Hill).

And of course, I would love to see you here at Raven Moon farm (booking link in comments).