02/27/2026
Shared with permission from her magical guardian š«
Neurologic horses have a way of finding themselves with Zak and I. We had seven come under our umbrella in 2025 and since January 1st 2026, I have met with two. Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of coming into contact with Keoki, a four year old mare with an old and cold history of severe neck trauma who had recently and suddenly gone ataxic. Following all available diagnosis, no known cause could be determined. Keoki recovered swiftly from this episode and has been maintaining base line quality of life (eating, drinking, socializing with small bits of play) for several weeks. However, aspects of her ability to move and her overall expression were compromised and I was called in to evaluate her situation and see what might be able to help her, if anything.
The first thing I noticed when I laid eyes Keoki was not in her posture or movement, it was in her expression; her eye. She wasnātā¦ there. Not checked out or fully dissociated, not frozen, not totally helpless but from her I felt hopelessness, disassociation from her body and almost but not all the way- resignation. Her body told the story of a horse who was once confident, curious and interested in connection but when I asked her where she was mentally and if she could be here with me now, in her mind I heard her answer āMy balance is sacred. Without it, I cannotā.
While not strictly symptomatic of neurological disease or disorder, one commonality that I have noticed these horses carry is this particular expression. It is an unusual expression in my work as the majority of horses I come into contact with, when troubled, activate into their sympathetic system (hyper-arousal- fight, flight, and imo, contrary to popular polyvagal theory, freeze and fawn) and may flip back and forth between this and ventral-vagal parasympathetic (rest and digest) within a wide range of tolerance. It is rare (but consistently noted in neurological cases), for me to contact a horse who is in dorsal-vagal parasympathetic (hypo-arousal/shutdown). So rare, that this is something I have not yet heard presented in my equine sphere, outside of the realm of Zak and my kitchen table, anyway.
So here I am with a horse in front of me who wants connection, who demonstrates curiosity and who has a shocking amount of trust in humans, all things considered. And while strikingly confident in her environment and her human, she refused to talk to her body. She had every right.
I asked her to anyway.
And proceeded with components of what has become our āneurological evaluationā routine. This included guiding her head into several orientations and introducing several ways of stacking or aligning her spine (which felt a bit like pushing a wet noodle up a hill). In not too long, Keoki was able to stand upright and square in her front quarters. From here, I was able to confirm that all four of her limbs were able to receive the signal to move independently of one another through cranial contact and signals. I could feel confusion in her neural pathways and congestion through her spinal column as the signals tried to make their way particularly to her hind feet. But the signals made it and her feet moved. Unusual considering how truly badly compromised she appeared in posture and movement. We then began to play with loading each foot independently through similar contact and signal. And sure enough, she could push into the ground from all four quadrants. So I began to link up diagonal pairs, experiment with elevation of frame, relationship to front body and back body, ability to integrate around her central spiral. She could do all of it and this surprised me.
I have been fascinated by this experience ever since and am locked in contemplation over the āWhatsā and āHowsā that we worked through during session. For example, āLimb Loadingā is a common practice in my line of work. I have found that influencing a horse to shift their weight in all four cardinal directions both static and dynamic (for example- Schaukel, BTMM P2 + P3, 5 methods of moving the hindquarters, etc) can unwind pathology, increase proprioception, develop tensegrity, strengthen neural pathways and cultivate nuance in communication with their handler, among other things. From a Training lens, all of this is necessary and honestly, highly intuitive. From the lens of the body, I do not feel I can fully speak for the horse but I know for myself: I was introduced to isometric exercises such as Wall Presses during physiotherapy and they have been a massive contributor in my own wellness journey from recovery through rehabilitation and into integration. Fascinatingly, the Wall Press is also familiar to me from the realm of mental health and wellness. During psychotherapy sessions, I have been guided into exercises such as this as a way to self-regulate the nervous system and bring focus away from mental anguish and into physical sensation PARTICULARLY DURING DORSAL-VAGAL PARASYMPATHETIC SHUTDOWN. Hmmmmmm. Very Intriguing.
To be honest, when we first approached to greet Keoki and I saw her walk, my heart sank into my guts. (Euthanasia possibly imminent). While she was maintaining baseline, chasing her ability to one day thrive appeared to be an exercise in futility. (Iāve seen this before). But as she approached and I stole myself against the expression I knew I would clearly see as we got closer, I was surprised to find a hint of fire in her eye behind the shut down. Not a spark, not even an ember but the almost final glow of heat left before the coal begins to cool. Small, barely a suggestion but could this perhaps be something we can reignite? I believe it can.
I find myself exited by this unusual case and genuinely eager to witness and support the journey between Haley and Keoki. While remaining cautiously optimistic, I cannot help but draw conclusions and comparisons around their situation and ask myself why this relationship is so different and why it might, against all odds, end up becoming a beautiful success story.
1. I believe that Keoki was born to a High Licking Mother. In our Unnatural Horsemanship working theory, Zak and I believe that when a broodmare has the three types of confidence (confidence in herself, her environment and in humans), then this confidence is what she displays to her newborn foal about the world around them during their first two weeks of life. Essentially, the foal experiences the world through secure attachment to their mother, believing that resources are plentiful, humans are good and the field around them is safe. When a horse has a Low Licking Mother, they experience the opposite- resources are scarce, humans are bad, bodies must remain hyper-vigilant because the environment is unsafe. It is our experience that horses with HLM are much more able to tolerate adversity than horses from LLM. What I found in Keoki was deeply rooted concern around her ability to stabilize + balance and a strong desire to try. Her āI cannotā became āI will notā and in a short amount of time, āI am afraid but I will try.ā
2. Haley is an exceptional Guardian. She is mindful, capable, educated and is not attached to outcome. She is well resourced, eager to learn and has access to a strong equine wellness team, the most valuable member being herself.
3. Haley is a student of the Balance Through Movement Method and Lazaris Nerve Release Technique. The application of these will be invaluable in general but integral to their success.
4. Keoki had been in training with a student of this/our style of horsemanship and had been tactfully and appropriately educated to the halter prior to her incident. This is massively important because she is already familiar with following a feel, comfortable in her blind spots and changing eyes, has a healthy relationship to contact and readily looks to the human for support. IMO, many rehabs fail because the handling/training component is either ignored or complicated due to the individual horseās physical limitations.
5. Keokiās environmental and nutritional needs are immaculately met in ideal circumstances. 24/7 access to forage. Lives out with other horses with track access, etc etc. She bathes in the sun and sleeps under the stars.
For these reasons and likely a few more, I feel quite hopeful about their future together. Thank you Haley and Keoki for sharing your story with us ā¤
~ Chiara š
