27/10/2023
Thank you Jo Gray for kindly agreeing to share Jasper's story...
I first met Chris though my good friends Liz and Sean Coleman Sean Coleman - Applied Horsemanship with their horse Bolero. I’d seen Bolero through his journey - his video passed world wide and no vet could help him. Then Liz tells me this witchy type lady said his problems stemmed from parasites in his spinal cord from his old best mate, a dog. So I was curious, of course! I heard all about the treatments this 'witch' was giving over a period of a few months during which time my horse, Jasper, had gone lame on his right fore, become dull, quiet, and was standing in the middle of the field like he wanted to die. My whole being knew it’s wasn’t a vet job and I must wait until this witch lady could fit me in.
The morning came to take Jasper to Liz and Sean’s to meet ‘the witch’. My mum watched me load him up and neither of us held much hope for this poor horse. Now I’d had Jasper from a yearling who my cousin bred and he was about 7 by this time.
I popped him into the stable and Chris said ‘give me a minute I’m just going to have a chat’! I fully expected Chris to neigh and grunt a little bit, but she didn't! She suddenly said "Jasper tells me you don’t know everything about his past". I was shocked and told her that I did - my cousin bred him! She said "give me another minute" and then said "I've got it. He has a problem with his castration, there’s 24 hours you don’t know about... his tongue was tied and it turned blue"
I nearly dropped dead myself! If Chris had said that about any other gelding I’d come across I’d have called b*****it, but Jasper came to me with one testicle, covered his half sister which wasn’t ideal and so I had him re-castrated here, which also didn’t work because they couldn't find said testicle, so I had to take him down to the RVC where I left him overnight, and because he was unconscious, tipped upside down, tongue out, tube in just to find this hidden testie tucked way up high.
So once I explained that Chris was correct (she was probably thinking 'well yes I am because I've just told you!) she went on to say the scar tissue from his left testicle is making him lame on his right fore and because his tongue was tied it threw out C2 and that’s causing him to become so dizzy that he can’t find the horizon and doesn’t want to move. So I’m going to fix that in 3 sessions"
So she treated Jasper for the next hour or so, I loaded him, took him home and my mum came out to see how it went whilst I got him off the box. Her words were "what on earth have you done to that horse!?" It was like flying a kite! He flew off the box a foot taller, head up, eyes bright, tail on end whilst I shrank thinking oh gosh, I think I preferred him when he was ill!
I got him to the field, spoke to Chris and she said "that’s ok, he’s back, next session we will bring him back down to earth a bit"!
I did not know what to think but I had 4 days of strict instructions to circle him 4 times one way and three the other and one inch punch on his neck, and then he would be sound after three months.
Guess what, he was! Astonished, we all were.
I took him back for his second treatment and it turned out he didn’t need the third. Chris had fixed my horse, saved his life and I know there’s isn’t a vet in this world that would have done that let alone for under £200.
We haven’t looked back since, Jasper is 13, and we love to fly around the countryside bridle-less.
