Patrick Buffalo sees horses as majestic animals capable of providing healing powers, something he recognized after experiencing his own trauma.
“My horse came to me and pushed me because my eyes were closed. I opened my eyes, and my horse was standing there looking at me, and I said to her, ‘Okay, I get it,’” shared Buffalo.
“I put my hand on her, and I said a prayer and the translation is ‘Horse spirit, take this pain away’ and instantly, instantly the pain was gone. So, at that moment that horse was starting to show me that they are healers.”
Now, for the first time Buffalo, described as being a distinguished practitioner in the realm of equine-assisted wellness, is conducting hands-on training sessions, teaching participants about the connection between humans and the Horse Spirit.
Buffalo, who comes from Maskwacis, located just south of Edmonton, has had requests from across the country to share his knowledge, as a result, he has designed an eight-day training program which he is sharing at Horse Ability in Corbeil.
”I’m getting calls to go to Ottawa, New Brunswick, Yellowknife, Vancouver. We’ll see how it goes. I have a second group that is going to happen in February in Alberta. So, this is the very first time, based on requests to teach. My hope and expectation is that people learn the healing process and people can actually demonstrate the healing process, utilizing the Horse Spirit,” Buffalo said.
Founder of Horse Ability, Lori Burns, explains what participants will learn during the sessions.
“He has developed this unique way of releasing trauma, anxiety, and depression and transitioning through those emotions, and learning how to facilitate this to help people. What he does is through mind, body, and spirit, so emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. It is very holistic,” stated Burns.
“Horses are very special because they’re non-judgmental, they accept us as we are, they read our energy, they relate to us, they bond with us, communicate to us non-verbally. So, there is a lot we can learn.”
Burns has earned several certifications working with horses over the years.
“This is an additional certification and a completely new model. Patrick’s model is really unique. He has been practicing and developing it for over 30 years and this is the first time he is offering this training, so it is super exciting.”
Participants will go on to teach others going through their healing journey how to release their trauma.
“They’ve never dealt with their core issues, and they’re still stuck in that pain, still wanting vengeance and that’s what a lot of people want when they’ve been hurt, they want somebody to hurt as much as they have been hurt. There’s no healing in vengeance. You’ve got to decide do you want healing, or do you want revenge?” asked Buffalo.
Nicole Van Stone from 7 Pine Medicine Ranch in Blind River Mississaugi First Nation shared her excitement about being a participant.
Like Burns, Van Stone is certified in Equine Assisted Learning but wanted to learn more about healing with horses.
“What Patrick does here is he brings the spirituality in, he brings a connection to the spirit of the horse, and he brings a connection to nature and our belief system that we’re all energy, and we’re all connected. So, I wanted to learn more about that to bring healing to other people who have trauma, all different types of trauma because we all have trauma,” explained Van Stone.
“I learned about healing with horses on a personal level. I had a lot of anger from intergenerational trauma from my mom going to residential school, and there was so much to unpack there. I spent some time with horses and one of the exercises was so beautiful, it showed you how to understand boundaries and reclaim your own boundaries which is so important because of the trauma I had.”
Van Stone will use what she has learned to help others.
“I’m learning to be able to bring this healing modality to our community all along Hwy 17, all along the North Shore corridor. It is so beautiful to learn from someone Indigenous and to have that connection that I can bring to our communities because there is so much addiction, there is violence and drugs. And basically, all that comes from is no sense of identity because of residential schools and because our whole way of being was changed so quickly,” stated Van Stone.
“So, losing that I think is the key to bringing healing. And not only our own Indigenous communities but every other nation. There is so much trauma, and a lot of times that’s what we have to unpack, and we lose our sense of self, and so coming to that is what Patrick teaches.”
Buffalo, who is also a product of the residential school system, has devoted his life to helping people work through their trauma.
“I’ve been doing this work for over 30 years, what is called Community Wellness and Healing. I was doing that work even way before there was such a thing as healing and wellness. I help everybody and anybody.”
Releasing trauma is a process.
“This week is about learning to do it yourself. It is a healing process, actual hands-on healing. Self-respect,” said Buffalo who addresses three key areas: identifying trauma, talking about healing, and energy.
“Energy is that life force, an energy field. I use an aura meter as a visual aid to show people's energy. So, horses have energy, and people ought to have energy but most people who come see me have no energy. Their energy flow has been blocked. And the way I describe it is like a garden hose, you open a valve and the water flows. You tie a knot, and the water stops,” explained Buffalo.
“The same thing with the life force. The life force flows freely. We are gifted with life to enjoy, but many people lose the joy in their life because of the trauma that happens, and 100 per cent of everybody I’ve worked with has suffered trauma. It is something that happens to everybody. So that trauma has to be healed and that is what we do working with energy.”
Buffalo says horses can pick up on that energy.
“A horse can feel a person’s sadness, they can feel a person's hurt, a person’s anger. And what we do is we use the Horse Spirit to help that person untie that knot that they’ve tied, to reestablish that flow of energy. Energy is not good and bad, it is heavy or light, the heaviness of guilt, shame, betrayal, hurt. That is the heavy stuff, and most people carry that heaviness as the norm in their lives. A light feel is joy, peace, happiness.”
Based on his own experiences and those he has witnessed in others, Buffalo notes that horses can bring healing because they are nonjudgmental.
“They don’t make decisions about what can be healed or who can be healed. It is a natural process. There is no judgment, there is no criticism. Our natural state, I believe is to be healthy, to be happy but because we’re programmed by society, that’s not normal to be happy and healthy all the time,” said Buffalo.
“Change happens in a moment. And that’s what these guys (horses) help you do. In that moment you let go and that energy field changes. So, there are core feelings that I work with, with the horses. You’re either mad, you’re sad, or you’re scared. Sad because you’re grieving, scared because of uncertainties in your life, what could, what will. It is the anger that will block the joy in your life.”
A horse can pick up on someone’s energy through a simple touch.
“It is the heaviness that you’re carrying that the horse is feeling. Put your hands on the horse, and in your mind, ask the Horse Spirit to come and help you untie that knot, to reset that switch so you can feel better, so you can feel light, so you can reclaim that joy in your life that you lost. You don’t even have to say it, you just think it and ask the Horse Spirit to help you feel better, to feel light. And when you feel like you’ve had enough just step back.”
Horses can also be traumatized.
“Horses have memories of being hurt, of being abused and their energy can be completely blocked. So, for the horses to help the humans, the horse has to feel good. So, what I usually do for the horse, is I do the trauma release of the horse to reestablish that flow. We become partners. We work as a team.”
After her first day, participant Nicole Van Stone says she already noticed a positive change in herself.
”I am much more grounded, and I’ve let go of a lot of things from my past that I was holding onto that don’t exist right now. The only thing that exists is the right now and so being able to be in the now is what it has helped me,” Van Stone shared.
“It has helped me to believe in myself and understand that my thoughts control my reality and to connect to the energy of who we are.”
