Libertador's story Unique beings, unique treatment.
Medicine; The art or science of treating disease with drugs or curative substances, as distinguished from surgery and medical studies. Characteristic for these drugs is that they, at all times, "work".
In many cases these drugs do not provide an answer for many horse-related problems. A horse is often liable to disease or injury as a result of incorrect training- and or caring methods. For these reasons, it is of utmost importance to know about and understand the exclusive situations and talents of each individual horse, before initiating treatment.
The stories on this page show how a unique treatment yields surprising results.
Read, enjoy and experience the trainings and remedies of Divine Stars!
Libertador's Story
This 16-year old stallion suffered a serious tendon injury during training in the winter of 2006. Despite acute lameness, he still managed to clear the last fence. He was rushed to the nearest clinic where, after thorough examination, his prognosis was given: "chance of recovery is very small, partly due to his age".
His recovery hung from a silk thread. Claire was advised to seriously consider her options; any possible form of recovery would be very minimal. To Claire only one thing seemed evident: she would do anything to help her best friend stand on 4 legs again, no matter the cost.
Divine Stars' Diagnosis
Despite his poor prognosis, Claire was always confident that Libertador could and would recover from his severe tendon injury. To fully understand the extent of his condition, a scan was made. With the help of these scans, Claire was able to devise a suitable plan for the recovery of her stallion.
Treatment
After consulting with a well-known tendon specialist, Claire devised a treatment plan that would be weekly revised and, if necessary adjusted. This plan did not completely coincide with the treatment advised by the veterinarians, but Claire followed her instincts and feelings. Months of perseverance and discipline soon resulted in an obvious recuperation as seen on new scans. Claire's ideas on stimulating blood circulation and its value in practice had given promising results; Libertador was recovering! In good time, Libertador started his training again and now, a year later, Claire can proudly say : "We've been through a difficult year, but I always remained confident the day would come that I would once again be able to enjoy being in the saddle aboard my trusted companion."
"That day has come and now I enjoy training him every day. Libertador set his own boundaries on what he was and wasn't capable of doing. I simply listened to and acted on them. I am most proud of the friendship I have built with him. Libertador is a wise horse who has given me more insight, understanding, and trust in handling "problem horses". I am forever grateful for the trust that he has assured in me. The fact that we can now enjoy our days together is based on the keywords "trust" and "perseverance"
Back to topHickie's story
Hickie is a quarter horse stallion whos owner had become aware that his horse was not feeling 100% and realised that something had to be done. Because the owner did not have access to correct training facilities, and knew little about correctional training, he turned to Divine Stars for help.
Hickie's owner had noticed that his stallion was no longer alert to the horses in his surroundings. Hickie also no longer reacted to his rider's aids. This was, for the owner, a sign to take his horse from his natural surroundings and to hand him over to Divine Stars for training and help.
Divine Stars' Diagnosis:
Hickie was missing the freedom a horse gains from being turned out on a daily basis, a time when horses are truely allowed to be horses. This is of utmost importance; every horse needs daily turn-out, free movement and contact with other horses.
As a result of the lack of social contact and grazing, Hickie no longer responded to his rider's aids : he simply wasn't in the mood! He showed this by continuously stopping during trainings after which there was no moving him.
Treatment:
The first two weeks of the trainingprogram involved daily turn-out only, afterwhich the training was slowly built up starting with 3 days of calm and easy walk-excersizes. These excersizes were then progressivly extended to trot and canter work. The goal of these trainings was to make the horse sensitive to the slightest hand, leg and seat aids making him willing to work and letting him take initiative.
Hickie didn't know what had hit him when he was turned out into the fields again! The first day he remained in one place for hours, staring in front of him and not knowing what to do. On the second day this changed dramatically, sending his hormones through the roof! He bacame a real man, aware of the horses around him and communicating with them enthousiasticly.
After two weeks of grazing the training was picked up again. Claire slowly built the trainings up, and after several days it seemed Hickie had a refreshing new outlook on life; he was alert and seemed to only want more! Despite of this, the excersizes were still being built up slowly, following the training-plan that was made prior to the start of the training. After three weeks of training, Hickie was a willing-worker in all three paces. He was more horse than ever, stronger and more aware of his natural insticts which had allowed him to rediscover himself.
"I saw the sparkles in his eyes again", was the reaction of Hickie's relieved owner. "I am exstatic that he is able to feel as a stallion again, and that he enjoys his work more than ever!"
Back to topAnna and Roza's story
Five years ago, the mare named Roza was stabled at the yard of a homeopathic doctor. This is where Anna first encountered her: big, ugly and very thin.
It was mid-summer, Roza had not fully shed her winter coat and her spine was as good as exposed.
Anna's first impression of this mare was that of a pension-fit old horse. Anna got acquainted with the owners of the horse who later asked her to ride Roza. Without hesitation, Anna accepted the offer with open arms. Roza seemed to be quite feisty, but this suited Anna perfectly.
Anna quickly learned that Roza was very tense, she blocked in her movements and did not feel good. It was the time to ask Roza's owners about the mare's past.
After consulting with the owners, Anna was shocked to find out that the mare was just 4 years old! Roza had been bought as a 2-year old for the daughter of the owners, who was looking to continue to ride at Z-level. Roza quickly seemed to master the art of piaffe and passage, which was then intensely trained on. This is where the problems started to occur: Roza became very difficult to ride, she moved from yard to yard and switched from rider to rider, without any success. During this time Roza suffered from many cases of colic and was therefore also treated in many clinics. Nobody could understand what Roza's problem was.
Roza's owners eventually took the mare back and sent her to a homeopath for light and laser treatment.
After hearing about Roza's past experiences, Anna decided to buy Roza, so she could find a solution to help the horse. She asked the owners what they had been feeding the horse and they replied: 1 kilo of power food per day; no more as the horse otherwise became too difficult to ride. An obvious explanation for Roza's exposed spine!
Roza's training-sessions progressed difficulty. The sight of a whip was already too much for the mare to handle. She would panic and jolt.
Anna had then asked the help of an experienced dressage-rider to teach Roza to be more relaxed and calm. This did not give any promising results.
What was wrong with this horse? Anna had a feeling there might be something wrong with Roza's neck. An acupuncturist claimed that the horse's pelvis was not aligned, and that it had become stuck in the body. Anna trusted the specialist and had her treat Roza several times. Unfortunately, this too led to no results.
The next attempt was to bring in a dentist to find out if there was anything wrong with Roza's teeth. He could not find anything.
Then a vet had then been called in to see if there were any internal problems with the horse, but he too could not find any abnormalities.
Anna kept her faith in her horse and only trained Roza when it suited her. Taking the advice from her surrounding friends, Anna decided to follow lessons from a very experienced and talented dressage rider. Results: Roza was given a sedative to help her calm down during the training sessions. Anna quickly terminated her contact with this rider.
What other options were left? A horse-physiotherapist had suggested taking Roza to an osteopath. This osteopath treated Roza several times and after 5 years, this had led to no improvement.
Recently, Anna had heard of Dian Wienk. After trying so many different treatments, Anna also decided to give this one the benefit of the doubt.
The Diagnosis of Divine Stars:
This horse has been inappropriately trained. This means that the horse has been forced to move in a 'straightjacket' whereby the natural paces of the horse have not been able to mature or develop in a horse-friendly way. From the beginning, this horse has been ridden with draw reins and other aid-reins to force the horse's movements. As a result of this, the horse has suffered from muscle cramps and pulls, which impede the horse and motivates the animal to find a source of relief: Fleeing from that which frightens the horse, the horse will do anything to escape from the rider's aids. The horse moves backwards and rears making the rider completely helpless. This poor animal will and can not listen to the riders aids.
Reason:
This horse has never been on the rein, straightened and flexible.
The three conditions that a horse MUST posses for further training in any discipline.
Treatment:
6 lessons with Anna, Roza and Dian Wienk.
The aim of the lessons: to eliminate Roza's reaction to flee from her rider's aids by riding her in the most horse-friendly way (without force and/or violence), and to achieve a sense of obedience and willingness to accept Anna's friendly hands.
All three leading to the development of the three crucial conditions mentioned above.
By playfully letting the horse feel the aids of spurs and weight (of the rider), the horse builds a trusting relationship with the rider and is eagerly obedient to do what the rider is asking of it.
The horse is given an opportunity to shine!
Anna and Roza received training on a weekly basis from Dian Wienk, and after each lesson they were given homework so they could prepare for their following training.
Six weeks after starting the training Anna's reaction:
"I am extremely impressed! This feels terrifically good and my horse is so awakened! Finally I have found what I have been searching for all these years! I am disappointed that my 6 lessons are over, but I will continue to train Roza in this horse-friendly way! My horse feels exceptionally fit, and we can finally start competing at a high level of dressage! I am very excited!"
Mickey's story
Mickey was a young Shetland foal with a startling large stomach. He ate well, but it was clear he was not feeling happy. The owner contacted a vet, who could not find anything wrong with the foal, and suggested treating the young pony against worms.
After several weeks, Mickey's large stomach hadn't reduced in size, and his coat became dull and stuffy.
Diagnose of Divine Stars:
Mickey was suffering from worms, but a single anti-worm treatment was not sufficient to cure this.
Treatment:
Mickey was given an additional 2 treatments against worms with an advised intermezzo.
After several weeks Mickey was relieved of the worm-infection; he felt good and his coat was shining. The owner was extremely happy that her foal was healthy and once again running and playing in the fields.
Strawinsky's story
Strawinsky was a young gelding of 4 years that, shortly after his purchase, starting having problems with lameness, varying diagonally.
On one day the horse was lame in his front right leg, on another day in his back left, which varied then to his front left leg and back right leg.
Diagnose of Divine Stars:
The cause of lameness in Strawinsky lies with his previous owner who had broken the horse in. Too much was asked of the horse in a very short amount of time, during which the horses muscles were still under-developed and not ready for optimal use, which resulted in lameness.
Treatment:
By following an adapted training-program, with a focus on a sufficient warming-up and cooling-down, the lameness had disappeared. The horse was willing and easy to ride, and showed no complaints during his work.
Viola's story
Viola was an 8-year-old KWPN mare when her owners made a decision to breed her. This wasn't as simple as they had anticipated; after several years of unsuccessful attempts, Viola was still not in foal.
Many tests were done on Viola at various clinics. Blood was sampled, the horse's uterus was tested, and a different stallion was used. Everything was thoroughly investigated, but no cause was found as to why the mare was not able to become pregnant.
The owners had almost given up hope, until they heard about Divine Stars.
Diagnose of Divine Stars:
The cause was more obvious than men thought.
Violas diet was to change as soon as possible.
The diet was missing essential nutrients the horse needed in order to carry a foal.
Treatment:
Viola was given an adapted diet and feeding-schedule, designed by Divine Stars.
It was of utmost importance that the schedule was strictly to be followed, and that this diet was to be followed in the future.
After two months on her new diet, Viola was covered again and scanned after 17 days. The owners waited in excitedly and were delighted when a small embryo was discovered. 3 weeks later, a second scan was made to ensure the embryo was still in place, and it was!
11 months later, Viola foaled a beautiful mare.
The owner’s reactions: "We had almost given up hope! And now, after so long, we are so thankful to Divine Stars! Our little miracle was born and is extremely healthy!
These are just a few examples to give you an idea of the many possibilities that Divine Stars has to offer.